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Syria's foreign minister visits Qatar as new authorities seek regional and global diplomatic ties

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  • Israel-Hamas ceasefire latest: Netanyahu says US will back return to war with only hours until Gaza ceasefire

    The ceasefire deal was signed off by Israel’s government on Saturday morning - but attacks have continued on the Gaza Strip

  • Taiwan delegation to take 'highest blessings' to Trump inauguration

    The head of Taiwan's delegation to next week's inauguration of Donald Trump as U.S. president said on Saturday he was going there to extend the island's "highest blessings" to the United States. Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, enjoyed strong support from the first Trump administration, including regularising arms sales which have continued under President Joe Biden. Taiwan parliament speaker Han Kuo-yu, a senior member of the opposition Kuomintang party and who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020, said at Taoyuan airport before leaving for Washington that many foreign leaders were also on their way even with the threatened heavy snow.

  • Russia’s growing ties with Iran have shaped the war in Ukraine. A new treaty raises the stakes for Trump’s administration

    Just three days before US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House, Russia and Iran have finally signed a “comprehensive partnership agreement,” a deal that had been in the works for months.

  • US says Gaza ceasefire to start as planned despite 'loose end'

    The Gaza Strip ceasefire should begin on Sunday as planned, despite the need for negotiators to tie up a "loose end" at the last minute, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday. With longstanding divisions apparent among ministers, Israel delayed cabinet meetings to ratify the ceasefire with Hamas, and media reports said voting could occur Friday or even Saturday, although the deal is expected to be approved. Israel blamed the militant group for the hold-up, even as Israeli warplanes pounded Gaza in some of the most intense strikes for months.

  • Netanyahu says deal to release hostages held in Gaza has been reached after last minute snags

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday a deal to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip has been reached, after his office said earlier there were last minute snags in finalizing a ceasefire that would pause 15 months of war. Netanyahu said he would convene his security Cabinet later Friday, and then the government to approve the long-awaited hostage deal. Netanyahu's pre-dawn statement appeared to clear the way for Israeli approval of the deal, which would pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip and see dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

  • Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng to attend Donald Trump's inauguration

    China says Vice-President Han Zheng will attend US president-elect Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony in Washington on Monday. The announcement was made by China's foreign ministry on Friday morning, three days before the event, and will mark the first time a senior Chinese leader has attended a US presidential inauguration. According to media reports in November, Trump invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend the ceremony. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from a

  • Japan opens independent mission to NATO as tensions with Russia, North Korea rise

    NATO has deepened its links with Japan and three other Indo-Pacific partners, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea, though not as part of the military alliance.View on euronews

  • Blasts in Kyiv as UK's Starmer inks 'landmark' 100-year accord

    British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a "landmark" 100-year partnership agreement with Ukraine on Thursday during an unannounced visit to the war-torn country, seeking to shore up support for Kyiv before Donald Trump returns to the White House.Speaking in Kyiv, Starmer hailed it as a "landmark agreement, the very first of its kind, a new partnership between the UK and Ukraine that reflects the huge affection that exists between our two nations".

  • North Korea warns of stronger action over South's drills with US, Japan

    North Korea condemned on Friday joint military drills between South Korea, Japan and the United States held this week, threatening to respond by exercising its right to self-defence "more intensively".North Korea's foreign ministry expressed "serious concern over the provocations" by South Korea, Japan and the United States, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Friday.

  • Across Africa, Russia is growing in influence. What might Moscow want?

    Reliance on Russia’s military offerings has become increasingly prevalent in parts of Africa, amid an aggressive push by Moscow to lessen Western influence on the continent.

  • Nigeria is admitted as a partner country of the BRICS bloc

    Nigeria has been admitted as a “partner country” of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, according to Brazil, the group’s chair. BRICS was formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2009, with South Africa added in 2010, as a counterweight to the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations.

  • China's call for deeper Japan trade ties may clear way for seafood imports to resume

    China may be a step closer to reopening its doors to Japanese seafood imports after Beijing signalled it was keen to strengthen trade in food and agricultural products. Meeting his Japanese counterpart Taku Eto in Beijing on Friday, China's agriculture minister Han Jun said that both sides should deepen cooperation, and noted that relations were "at a key stage of improvement and development", according to his ministry. Eto said after the meeting that he had made a fresh request for the ban on J

  • Factbox-What are Russia's strategic treaties with Iran, North Korea and China?

    All three countries are adversaries of the United States, and Russia has used its ties with them to help blunt the impact of Western sanctions and boost its war effort in Ukraine. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping met in Beijing on Feb. 4, 2022 and announced a strategic partnership that they said was aimed at countering the influence of the United States and would have "no 'forbidden' areas of cooperation".

  • Trump, China's Xi hold call on TikTok, trade, Taiwan

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed issues including TikTok, trade and Taiwan in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump takes office again promising tariffs that could ratchet up tensions between the world's two biggest economies. Both leaders were upbeat about the call, with Trump calling it "a very good one" and Xi saying he and Trump both hoped for a positive start to U.S.-China relations, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. It was the first known phone call between the pair after Trump's election in November.

  • Gaza ceasefire to begin on Sunday as Israel approves deal to free hostages in exchange for prisoners

    Ceasefire set to start on Sunday when first hostages are expected to be released

  • Israel’s approval of the Gaza deal unmasks deep schisms that could threaten the ceasefire and Netanyahu’s political future

    Don’t let Israel’s approval of the Gaza ceasefire fool you: There are deep schisms in Israeli politics that could threaten the longevity of the deal.

  • Biden says Netanyahu should accommodate 'legitimate concerns' of Palestinians

    Outgoing Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "has to find a way to accommodate the legitimate concerns" of Palestinians for the long term sustainability of Israel. "And the idea that Israel is going to be able to sustain itself for the long term without accommodating the Palestinian question ... It's not going to happen," Biden, who hands over to Republican President-elect Donald Trump on Monday, said in an interview on MSNBC. "And I kept reminding my friend, and he is a friend, although we don't agree a whole lot lately, Bibi Netanyahu, that he has to find a way to accommodate the legitimate concerns of a large group of people called Palestinians, who have no place to live independently."

  • AP Exclusive: Egypt's chief diplomat urges Israel and Hamas to enact ceasefire 'without any delay'

    Egypt’s chief diplomat on Thursday called on Israel and Hamas to implement a Gaza ceasefire plan “without any delay,” raising pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the deal. Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty delivered the message at a sensitive time in efforts to end a devastating 15-month conflict. A day after President Joe Biden and other international mediators announced the ceasefire agreement, Netanyahu was still insisting there was no deal.

  • Russia and Iran have a troubled history despite their current alliance

    Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted his Iranian counterpart Friday for the signing of a broad pact between Moscow and Tehran. The Kremlin says the “comprehensive strategic partnership” agreement between Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will take their cooperation to a new level. Russia and Iran fought wars in the 18th and 19th centuries, with the Russian Empire capturing broad territories in the Caucasus and the Caspian region previously controlled by Persian rulers.

  • TikTok CEO One-Ups Zuckerberg With Bootlicking Trump Post

    TikTok CEO Shou Chew appealed to Donald Trump’s ego in a video statement on the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the TikTok ban. “I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States,” he said. “This is a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship.” Trump said that he had “a warm spot” for the app during a December meeting with Chew, who was sure to mention Trump’s popularity on the app