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☆ China says unmanned airship over US was isolated, unexpected event
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, April 4 (Reuters) - China has made it clear that the unmanned civilian airship that flew over U.S. terriory was an unexpected and isolated event, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. "China rejects distortion and hyping up of this incident," spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press briefing when answering a question on the Pentagon saying that it could not confirm China collected real-time data from the balloon earlier this year. Reporting by Laurie Chen; Writing by Bernard Orr; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Who is Evan Gershkovich, the American reporter arrested in Russia?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Reporter for U.S. newspaper The Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich appears in an undated handout image taken in an unknown location. The Wall Street Journal/Handout via REUTERSSummary Gershkovich has been reporting on Russia for six yearsFluent Russian speaker joined Wall Street Journal in early 2022His reports examined fallout of Russia's Ukraine campaignDetained for alleged espionage on trip to YekaterinburgMarch 30 (Reuters) - Evan Gershkovich, a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal arrested in Russia on espionage charges, is a 31-year-old American who has reported on Russia for various outlets for six years. "He is a brave, committed, professional journalist who traveled to Russia to report on stories of import and interest." Russia announced the start of its "special military operation" in February 2022, just as Gershkovich was in London, about to return to Russia to join the Journal's Moscow bureau. "Evan Gershkovich is a highly respected, excellent journalist, detained by Russia for doing his job," the Washington Post's Moscow bureau chief Robyn Dixon said.

☆ Sweden summons Russia's ambassador over "legitimate target" statement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OSLO, March 29 (Reuters) - Sweden's foreign ministry said on Wednesday it will summon Russia's Stockholm ambassador to complain about an "attempt at interference" with the Swedish NATO application process. Sweden and Finland in 2022 both sought NATO membership shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and are hoping to complete the process this year. The Russian ambassador in a statement on the embassy's web site said joining NATO made the Nordic countries "a legitimate target for Russian retaliatory measures, including those of a military nature". A Swedish foreign ministry spokesperson told Reuters the ambassador would be summoned. "The foreign ministry is summoning the Russian ambassador to protest this obvious attempt at interference," Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom separately told news agency TT.

☆ Belarus says it will host Russian nuclear weapons to counter NATO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The statement from the foreign ministry was the government's first since Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Moscow will deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus and would build a nuclear weapons storage facility there. Although Putin did not say when the deployment would take place, or give further detail, the announcement appeared to pave the way for Moscow's first deployment of nuclear weapons outside its borders since the 1991 Soviet collapse. The Belarusian foreign ministry said Russia's nuclear bombs offered protection after what it called a campaign of pressure from the United States and its allies aimed at overthrowing the government of President Alexander Lukashenko. Minsk said the Russian nuclear plans would not contravene international non-proliferation agreements as Belarus itself would not have control over the nuclear weapons. Its own troops have so far not fought in the war however, while stepping up joint military training with Russian forces deployed in Belarus.

☆ NATO slams Putin rhetoric on nuclear weapons in Belarus
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Dan Peleschuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

KYIV, March 27 (Reuters) - NATO castigated Vladimir Putin over his nuclear rhetoric a day after the Russian president said he planned to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, escalating a standoff with the West. "Russia's nuclear rhetoric is dangerous and irresponsible," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said on Sunday. We have not seen any changes in Russia's nuclear posture that would lead us to adjust our own." Tactical nuclear weapons refer to those used for specific gains on a battlefield rather than those with the capacity to wipe out cities. Analysts at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said the risk of escalation to nuclear war "remains extremely low."

☆ More than 180 Rohingya Muslims arrive by boat in Indonesia's Aceh
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, March 27 (Reuters) - More than 180 Rohingya Muslims landed in Indonesia's Aceh province on Monday, officials said, the latest among hundreds who have fled by boat from desperate conditions in Myanmar and in camps in Bangladesh. A spokesperson for the local police, Kamil, confirmed by phone that 184 Rohingya had arrived in East Aceh district and were "all in healthy condition". Since November last year, Indonesia has registered 918 Rohingya who reached Aceh, its westernmost region, according to the foreign ministry, having made the journey south in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Nearly 1 million Rohingya live in crowded conditions in Bangladesh, among them those who fled a deadly crackdown in 2017 by Myanmar's military, which denies committing crimes against humanity. Reporting by Ananda Teresia and Stanley Widianto; Editing by Martin PettyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Taiwan told to 'pack up and leave' Honduras after ties severed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Gustavo Palencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A vehicle leaves the Taiwan Embassy after Honduras has given Taiwan 30 days to vacate its embassy after severing relations with Taiwan in favor of China, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras March 26, 2023. China has long argued that democratically ruled Taiwan is part of its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taipei strongly rejects. In his remarks, Garcia said 30 days "is more than enough time to pack up and leave," adding that officials aim for an "orderly, friendly" exit. Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu said 30 days was an "international norm", and that they would comment further later. In its own statement on Monday, the conservative National Party pledged to re-establish ties with Taiwan if it can retake the Honduran presidency in 2026.

☆ France's Macron faces no-confidence vote as protestors arrested, refinery strikes continue
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives to attend the National Roundtable on Diplomacy at the Foreign Ministry in Paris on March 16, 2023. The government of French President Emmanuel Macron faces a no-confidence vote Monday afternoon, as furious opposition lawmakers contest his decision to force changes to the pension system through parliament without a poll. If the no-confidence vote fails, the bill will go through and lift the retirement age of most workers from 62 to 64 by 2030. Much will hinge on how many members of the center-right Les Republicains party break ranks and vote against the government. Macron calculated he did not have the votes to see the legislation through the lower house of the National Assembly.

☆ Kremlin elites are fighting over how best to control their Ukraine war narrative, says the Russian foreign ministry's top spokesperson
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Kremlin's leaders can't agree on Russia's narrative on the Ukraine war, a top official said. Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry's press director, said there's a "battle" among Kremlin elites. "There is a battle going on, including among the elites," said Maria Zakharova, director of the Russian foreign ministry's press department, per Russian news outlet Business Gazeta. Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry's top spokesperson, made that statement at a panel with Russian tech entrepreneur Igor Ashmanov and other pundits. It said Zakharova's public statements further show that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has given up control of the Russian information space to "a variety of quasi-independent actors."

CAIRO, March 9 (Reuters) - Egypt, one of the world's largest wheat importers, has given notice it will withdraw at the end of June from a decades-old U.N. grains treaty, causing consternation among some other signatories to the convention. Egypt signed the GTC, the only international treaty covering trade in grains, at its inception in 1995, and has been a member of the council that governs it since 1949. Several delegations within the IGC are surprised and sad about the decision," Arnaud Petit, executive director of the International Grains Council, which administers the treaty, told Reuters. Other signatories to the GTC include major grain importers and exporters such as the United States and the European Union. Two sources familiar with the matter, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters that Egypt owed the IGC membership fees.

SEOUL, March 8 (Reuters) - South Korea's government approved export licenses for Poland last year to provide Ukraine with Krab howitzers, which are built with South Korean components, a defence acquisition official in Seoul told Reuters on Wednesday. The comments are the first confirmation that South Korea officially acquiesced to at least indirectly providing weapons components to Ukraine for its war against Russia. Seoul officials have previously declined to comment on the Krabs, fuelling speculation over whether South Korea had formally agreed or was simply looking the other way. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said at the time that South Korea, a U.S. ally, had not provided any weapons. Kim said Poland would need further South Korean permission to provide any of those new weapons to Ukraine.

☆ Lebanon says it regains UN voting rights after paying dues
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIRUT, March 7 (Reuters) - Lebanon has regained U.N. voting rights after paying dues for 2022 and 2023, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday, after the country, which is in deep financial crisis, lost its rights at the world body for the second time in three years. Guterres said Lebanon needed to pay a minimum of some $1.8 million to regain its vote. A foreign ministry statement did not say how much Lebanon had paid. "Lebanon has returned to play its natural role ... in the work and discussions of the United Nations and its specialised committees", it said. Lebanon has been in deep crisis since 2019 when its financial system collapsed as a result of decades of profligate spending, mismanagement and corruption by ruling elites.

☆ Factbox: South Korea moves to resolve historical, legal disputes with Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSEOUL, March 6 (Reuters) - South Korea on Monday proposed establishing a public foundation to compensate victims of wartime forced labour by Japan, to help resolve strained ties between the two countries. Efforts to overcome historical disputes between South Korea and Japan were renewed under South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took office in May, with both countries vowing to improve ties. Japan says the matter of any compensation for forced labour was settled under a 1965 treaty normalizing diplomatic ties and providing South Korea with economic assistance. - Relations deteriorated in 2019 when Japan restricted exports of high-tech material to South Korea. Under Yoon, South Korea has resumed trilateral military drills and agreed to more intelligence sharing on things like tracking ballistic missile launches from North Korea.

WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - The World Bank is pausing future work with Tunisia after statements by the country's president on migrants from African countries triggered racist harassment and violence, World Bank President David Malpass told staff in a note seen by Reuters. He said the World Bank viewed the situation as deeply concerning, but viewed steps announced by the Tunisian government to protect and support migrants and refugees as a positive step and would be monitoring their impact. He said the bank was working to ensure the safety of all its staff in Tunisia, and especially Africans, including through additional security measures. The safety measures could affect delivery of World Bank programs, but "staff safety will override program-related concerns," Malpass said. The World Bank has been a major donor to Tunisia, helping it finance food imports and business development as the government seeks an International Monetary Fund bailout for it state finances.

☆ South Korea proposes public foundation to resolve forced labour dispute with Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin speaks during a briefing announcing a plan on Monday to resolve a dispute over compensating people forced to work under Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of Korea, at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, March 6, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/PoolSEOUL, March 6 (Reuters) - South Korea announced a plan on Monday to resolve a dispute over compensating people forced to work under Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of Korea, although victims groups have expressed doubts. Under the plan, South Korea would compensate former forced labourers through a public foundation funded by private-sector companies, Foreign Minister Park Jin told a briefing. Park said that he believes the Japanese government would not prevent Japanese companies from voluntarily contributing. Reporting by Josh Smith, Soo-hyang Choi, and Ju-min Park in Seoul and Yoshifumi Takemoto in Tokyo.

Under the plan, South Korea would compensate former forced labourers through an existing public foundation funded by private-sector companies, South Korea's Foreign Minister Park Jin told a briefing. SOUTH KOREAN FUNDSRelations plunged to their lowest point in decades after South Korea's Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese firms to pay reparations to former forced labourers. Overall there are fewer than 1,300 living victims of forced labour in South Korea, according to media estimates. The South Korean companies include KT&G (033780.KS), Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) (015760.KS) and other companies that benefited from a 1965 treaty between South Korea and Japan. Asked whether Japanese companies would pitch in to compensate, Park said both Japanese and South Korean businesses were considering a plan to contribute.

☆ Argentina asks UK to resume negotiations over Falklands
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BUENOS AIRES, March 2 (Reuters) - The Argentine government has again asked the United Kingdom to restart negotiations over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, the Argentine Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. The request to resume talks is the latest chapter in Argentina's long-held claim over the British-run islands, which included the 1982 war. Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero "formulated a proposal to restart negotiations for sovereignty over the Falklands Question" in a meeting with his British counterpart James Cleverly during a summit in India, the Foreign Ministry said. The Argentine government also invited the UK to "hold a meeting to settle" the debate at the United Nations. Islanders have the right to decide their own future - they have chosen to remain a self-governing UK Overseas Territory."

☆ Japan foreign minister to skip G20 meeting in India -official
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 1 (Reuters) - Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi will skip a meeting of G20 foreign ministers due to take place in New Delhi, India, this week, a Japanese government official said. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kenji Yamada will represent Japan at the meetings scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, the foreign ministry said in a statement. Hayashi will attend an in-person meeting of representatives from the Quad countries - the United States, India, Australia and Japan - in India on Friday, the ministry said. Reporting by John Geddie and Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Edmund KlamannOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] Iranian military ship Iris Makran navigates on the coast of Rio de Janeiro as a Brazilian flag flutters in Copacabana Beach, Brazil, February 27, 2023. REUTERS/Ricardo MoraesRIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Two Iranian warships docked in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government granted permission despite pressure from the United States to bar them. "In the past, those ships facilitated illegal trade and terrorist activities, and have also been sanctioned by the United States. Brazil is a sovereign nation, but we firmly believe those ships should not dock anywhere," she said. He traveled to Tehran to meet then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2010 as he sought to broker a nuclear deal between Iran and the United States.

☆ Egypt's foreign minister to visit Syria, Turkey on Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Egypt's Sameh Shoukry will travel to Damascus on Monday in the first visit by an Egyptian foreign minister since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011, according to a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry. Shoukry will visit Turkey and Syria - both hit hard by a deadly earthquake on Feb. 6 - to "convey a message of solidarity from Egypt with the two countries" according to the foreign ministry statement. Turkey's foreign ministry confirmed the visit, saying Shoukry will hold talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu and visit the southern province of Adana and the port of Mersin, where an Egyptian aid ship is set to arrive. Egypt's President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi spoke with Assad by phone for the first time on Feb. 7 and on Sunday, a delegation of top parliamentarians from around the region - including Egypt's parliament speaker - met Assad in Damascus. Relations began thawing in 2021, part of a push by Turkey to ease tensions with several regional powers.

☆ China says U.S. refused to share information on downed Chinese balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023. "China early on through protected consular channels clearly demanded the United States notify (China) on the progress (of recovery of the balloon), but the United States refused to respond." China said that the alleged spy balloon is a civilian airship used for meteorological purposes, and that it was accidentally blown off course into U.S. airspace. The United States has said a Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory in Virginia is analysing debris from the balloon for "counterintelligence exploitation." The Chinese defence ministry later said it declined a proposed phone call with the Pentagon because the United States had not created the "appropriate atmosphere".

[1/2] Police officers stand amid the rubble of a damaged building at the site of a rocket attack in the Kafr Sousa neighbourhood of central Damascus, Syria, February 19, 2023. Its support for Damascus and the Lebanese group Hezbollah has drawn regular Israeli air strikes meant to curb Tehran's extraterritorial military power. A source close to the Syrian government with knowledge of Sunday's strike and its target said it hit a gathering of Syrian and Iranian technical experts in drone manufacturing, though he said no top-level Iranian was killed. "The strike hit the centre where they were meeting as well as an apartment in a residential building. On Sunday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as attacks on "residential buildings in Damascus which killed and maimed innocent Syrian citizens".

☆ China, Japan square off at first security talks in four years
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Sakura Murakami | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Japan in December said it would double defence spending over the next five years to 2% of gross domestic product - a total of $320 billion - to deter China from resorting to military action. Beijing, which increased defence spending by 7.1% last year, spends more than four times as much as Japan on its forces. China is Japan's largest trading partner, accounting for around a fifth of its exports and almost a quarter of its imports. “While relations between Japan and China have a lot of possibilities, we are also facing many issues and concerns," Yamada told Sun. He pointed to their territorial dispute over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, Beijing's recent joint military drills with Moscow and the suspected Chinese surveillance balloons spotted over Japan at least three times since 2019.

☆ China tells Japan it is troubled by Tokyo's military build up
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Sakura Murakami | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Japanese Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Shigeo Yamada, second from right, speaks to Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, second left, during the Japan-China security dialogue at the foreign ministry Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, in Tokyo. Shuji Kajiyama/Pool via REUTERSTOKYO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - A senior Chinese diplomat told his Japanese counterpart that Beijing was very troubled by Tokyo's military build up and criticised it for adopting a "Cold War mentality" in their first formal security talks in four years. The security talks aimed at easing tensions between the East Asian neighbours come as Tokyo worries, in the wake of Russia's attack on Ukraine, that Beijing will resort to military action to take control of Taiwan, and in doing so embroil Japan. Japan hosts the biggest overseas concentration of American forces outside the United States. Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Writing by Tim Kelly; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Challenged to respond to the invasion, Biden said the United States and its NATO allies replied: "Yes, we would stand up for sovereignty. Biden went on to say that "there should be no doubt: Our support for Ukraine will not waver, NATO will not be divided, and we will not tire." Biden rejected Russia's assertion that Western allies were seeking to control or destroy Russia through their backing of Ukraine. In two speeches last September, Putin indicated that he would, if needed, use nuclear weapons to defend Russia. The biggest land war in Europe since World War Two has displaced millions, left Ukrainian cities, towns and villages in ruins and disrupted the global economy.

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