Chinese President Xi Jinping will be in Russia from Mar 20 to 22 for a state visit after he was invited by President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said on Friday (Mar 17). The visit comes as China offers to broker peace in Ukraine, an effort that has been met withContinue Reading
SEOUL: North Korea said that the missile it launched on Thursday (Mar 16) was a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), fired during a drill to demonstrate a “tough response posture” to ongoing United States-South Korea military drills, state media reported. Photos released on Friday by the country’s government media showed KimContinue Reading
BEIJING: China is concerned about an escalation of the war in Ukraine and wants Moscow and Kyiv to hold peace talks, senior Chinese diplomat Qin Gang told his Ukrainian counterpart over a phone call on Thursday (Mar 16). China, which has refrained from condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine,Continue Reading
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras: Honduras President Xiomara Castro said on Tuesday (Mar 14) she had instructed the country’s foreign minister to bring about the opening of official relations with China. Castro made the statement on Twitter. The leader of the Central American country had floated the idea of cutting ties with TaiwanContinue Reading
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said that it had expressed serious concern to the Honduran government and urged it to consider its decision carefully and not “fall into China’s trap”. A source familiar with the situation in Taiwan said that the island needed to exhaust “every possible means” to maintain diplomatic tiesContinue Reading
WASHINGTON: China will once again start issuing a range of visas to foreigners as of Wednesday (Mar 15), the country’s embassy in Washington said, a major easing of travel restrictions in force since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The move marks the latest step towards reopening China to theContinue Reading
KABUL: Afghanistan has launched its annual polio inoculation campaign aimed at reaching 9 million children, the health ministry said on Monday (Mar 13), the second year in a row the vaccination drive has taken place under Taliban rule. Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan are the last countries with endemic polio, anContinue Reading
The majority of activities will take place at Fort Magsaysay, the Philippines’ largest military camp, and one of the five existing sites the US has access to under its Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with Manila. Under the agreement, the US can use the bases for joint training, pre-positioning ofContinue Reading
SEOUL: South Korea and the United States were set to kick off their largest joint exercises in five years on Monday (Mar 13), after nuclear-armed Pyongyang warned such drills could be seen as a “declaration of war”. Washington and Seoul have ramped up defence cooperation in the face of growingContinue Reading
RUSSIAN PURCHASES As director, he was named in sanctions imposed by the US State Department in September 2018 over the purchase of 10 Su-35 combat aircraft in 2017 and equipment related to the S-400 surface-to-air missile system from Russia’s main arms exporter, Rosoboronexport. Some security scholars note the sanctions –Continue Reading