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☆ Belarus's Lukashenko says there can be 'nuclear weapons for everyone'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 29 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that if any other country wanted to join a Russia-Belarus union there could be "nuclear weapons for everyone." Russia moved ahead last week with a plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, in the Kremlin's first deployment of such warheads outside Russia since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, spurring concerns in the West. "If someone is worried ... (then) it is very simple: join in the Union State of Belarus and Russia. That's all: there will be nuclear weapons for everyone." Russia and Belarus are formally part of a Union State, a borderless union and alliance between the two former Soviet republics.

☆ At least three killed in clash on Iran-Afghan border
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, May 27 (Reuters) - Two Iranian border guards and one Taliban fighter were killed after shooting broke out near a border post between Iran and Afghanistan, a Taliban spokesman and Iran's state media said on Saturday. "Today, in Nimroz province, Iranian border forces fired toward Afghanistan, which was met with a counter-reaction," spokesman for the Taliban-run interior ministry, Abdul Nafi Takor, said in a statement. He said one person had been killed on each side and several injured, though Iran's official IRNA news agency later said two Iranian border guards had been killed and two Iranian civilians injured. Following the clash, Iranian authorities closed the Milak – Zaranj border post, a major commercial crossing - and not the site of the clash - until further notice, IRNA said. Iran's border guards said in a statement they had "used their superior heavy fire to inflict casualties and serious damage", IRNA reported, without giving details.

☆ Strongmen are riskier the more they stay in power
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The longer authoritarian leaders stay in power, the greater the risk they will make decisions that damage their economies. For example, the Turkish stock market rose nine-fold in dollar terms during Erdogan’s first decade in charge. Similarly, the Russian stock market rose five-fold in dollar terms during Putin's first 14 years in the Kremlin. Xi’s zero-Covid policy meant the Chinese economy had a bad year in 2022 when the rest of the world was rebounding. In the last nine years, the stock market has lost nearly 20% of its value in dollar terms.

☆ Biden invited Kishida, Yoon to meet in Washington -U.S. official
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol attend a photo op on the day of trilateral engagement during the G7 Summit at the Grand... Read moreHIROSHIMA, Japan, May 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden invited his Japanese and South Korean counterparts for another meeting in Washington at their trilateral meeting in Hiroshima on sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit on Sunday, a senior U.S. official said. Specifically, a scheme to share information on North Korea's missile launches among the three countries was discussed, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met bilaterally earlier in the day, their third meeting this year, as the East Asian neighbours improve ties to counter regional security threats. read moreBiden commended Kishida and Yoon on their "courageous work to improve their bilateral ties", saying the trilateral partnership is stronger because of their efforts, the White House said. Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in Hiroshima, Japan; Writing by Kantaro Komiya Editing by Chang-Ran KimOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Hiroshima G7 marks costs of war and welcomes Ukraine's Zelenskiy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands during the G7 leaders' summit in Hiroshima, Japan May 20, 2023. Zelenskiy will receive a hero's welcome during the closing day of the G7 summit hosted in Hiroshima, Japan, where leaders debated how to respond to a conflict that many expect only to escalate after nearly 15 months of fighting. On Sunday, Japan and South Korea, two of China's wealthiest neighbours, will highlight their improved ties with a joint meeting. But Zelenskiy has pushed the countries to go further on both economic and military measures. "Important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine," Zelenskiy said on Twitter as he arrived in Hiroshima.

☆ Liverpool top-four hopes hit despite late equaliser, Everton grab vital point
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Martyn Herman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Liverpool had won seven games in succession to make a late run for Champions League qualification but defeat by Villa would have guaranteed that Newcastle United and Manchester United finish in the top four. Liverpool's top-four hopes looked over with Manchester United winning at Bournemouth, but Brazilian Firmino, making his Anfield farewell after eight glorious seasons, struck an equaliser in the 89th minute after coming off the bench. Even the point leaves their chances wafer thin, though, as fourth-placed Manchester United and third-placed Newcastle United have 69 points with two games left while Liverpool have 66 with only one game remaining. Casemiro's superb acrobatic volley was enough for Manchester United to win 1-0 on the south coast and one more point from their last two games will guarantee them Champions League football. Newcastle can seal their return to Europe's elite competition after a two-decade absence if they take a point against relegation-threatened Leicester on Monday.

☆ China's Xi calls for stable, secure central Asia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at the round table during the China-Central Asia Summit in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China, 19 May 2023. MARK CRISTINO/Pool via REUTERSXIAN, May 19 (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping said on Friday that the security, independence and territorial integrity of central Asian nations must be safeguarded. Delivering the keynote speech at the China-Central Asia Summit in the historic city of Xian, Xi said the world needs "a central Asia that is stable, prosperous, harmonious, and well-connected", state media reported. Xi, who is hosting Asian leaders from five central Asian countries, characterized relations between China and its western neighbours as having great vigour and vitality. Leaders from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan were on hand for meetings that cover trade and bilateral relations.

☆ Krafton says India revoked ban on its battle-royale game
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The government had in July blocked Krafton's title Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), citing concerns about its data-sharing and mining in China. Following a government directive, the app was removed from Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google Play Store and Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) App Store. A Facebook page for the title says the game will be available for download soon. New Delhi had, back in 2020, banned another Krafton title, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) following which the company launched BGMI. India had ramped up scrutiny of Chinese businesses since a 2020 border clash between the neighbours that led to a ban of more than 300 Chinese apps, including TikTok.

☆ China opposes G20 meeting in Indian-rule Kashmir and will skip it
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, May 19 (Reuters) - China said on Friday that it is opposed to a G20 tourism meeting next week in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir in India and will not attend. "China is firmly opposed to holding any kind of G20 meetings in disputed territory, and will not attend such meetings," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said. In 2019, India split the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir to create the two federal territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, will host a meeting of the tourism working group for G20 members on May 22-24. Kashmir is claimed in full but ruled in part by nuclear-armed neighbours India and China-ally Pakistan, which has also opposed India's decision to hold a G20 meeting in Kashmir.

☆ Japan's G7 refugee balancing act: door open for Ukrainians, but not many others
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Elaine Lies | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The generosity towards Ukrainian evacuees, however, will highlight the stark contrast against Japan's track record with asylum seekers, experts and advocates say, with hopes for broader refugee policy reform still distant. Ukrainians have entered Japan under a framework set up specifically for them and are referred to as evacuees rather than refugees. "We want the world to know how bad Japan's refugee recognition system is," said Keiko Tanaka, head of Osaka-based refugee assistance group Rafiq, noting the group would hold a press conference on Sunday when the G7 summit wraps up. Private charity Nippon Foundation gave her 1 million yen ($7,400)- an annual grant it extends exclusively to Ukrainian evacuees. Advocates are guardedly hopeful the Ukrainian presence could change Japan's overall refugee policy, but Temple University Japan's political science professor James Brown thought it unlikely.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, who advises President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, also urged allies not to fear that a tougher sanctions clampdown could drive some countries closer to Russia, describing such a worry as overblown. He was speaking in an interview from Kyiv as world leaders meet to discuss new sanctions measures and how to prevent Russia and companies in third countries from circumventing sanctions imposed after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year. “We are grateful for all the support we have received from our allies and we have seen some positive signals on the latest sanctions packages under consideration," Vlasiuk said. Tinkoff and Rosselkhozbank have already been excluded from the SWIFT global payments system, but other banks have been subjected to full blocking sanctions. “Russian banks who provide financial services to Russian soldiers fighting an unlawful war of aggression on Ukrainian soil should face the toughest possible sanctions from our allies," Vlasiuk said.

☆ Vietnam rebukes China, Philippines over South China Sea conduct
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HANOI, May 18 (Reuters) - Vietnam criticised on Thursday the recent conduct in the South China Sea of a Chinese research ship and the Philippines coast guard, accusing its neighbours of separate actions that were violating its sovereign rights. Tensions are currently high in contested parts of the South China Sea, one of the world's most important trade routes and a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce. China had said that scientific research was a normal activity in areas under Chinese jurisdiction. China claims almost the entire South China Sea as its territory, based on what it says are old maps, including waters that lie within the EEZ of Vietnam and four other Southeast Asian countries. Asked about the Philippines' move, Hang said: "Vietnam strongly opposes all acts violating Vietnam's sovereign rights."

☆ Analysis: Qatar takes diplomatic back seat as Saudi flexes political muscle
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Andrew Mills | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Qatar has been steadily mending ties with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Qatar cast the Syrian National Coalition as a government-in-exile, handing them Syria's Arab League seat and opening the Doha mission in a villa nearby other embassies. Several Gulf states including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates began backing rebel groups fighting to oust Assad from power. As Syria's anti-Assad movement lost ground, "Saudi Arabia and the UAE shifted their policy most dramatically but Qatar has not," Kamrava said. Qatar initially opposed efforts this spring by Saudi Arabia to galvanise support to readmit Syria to the Arab League following its 2011 suspension.

☆ Traitor next door? Fear stalks Kherson after Russian occupation ends
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Elizabeth Piper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Nonetheless, her garden walls in the Ukrainian city of Kherson are covered with graffiti marking her out as a Russian collaborator. Fear and suspicion stalk the streets of Kherson, a southern port that was occupied by Russian troops for over eight months before they were driven out by Ukrainian forces in November. More than 5,300 collaboration cases have been registered across the country, according to the prosecutor general's website. Cases of collaboration can point to the tough choices people have to make when trying to survive under occupation. He left the business to his workers, who had to register with the Russians and take Russian passports, and fears they could be prosecuted once the occupation ends.

☆ Singapore's Whampoa Group to set up digital bank HQ in Bahrain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, May 18 (Reuters) - Singapore's Whampoa Group, an investment firm with stakes in global tech firms, will set up the headquarters of its new digital bank in Bahrain, the Gulf state's Economic Development Board (EDB) said on Thursday. The bank aims to launch at the end of this year, the EDB said. The island state has been actively trying to expand its fintech and finance industry to diversify and strengthen its non-oil economy. "We were impressed by Bahrain's solid reputation in the financial services sector, transparent regulatory framework, and ongoing pledge to collaborate and innovate," Whampoa Group CEO Shawn Chan said. Writing by Lisa Barrington; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ G7 leaders reckon with Ukraine, haunted by Hiroshima nuclear legacy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 19 (Reuters) - Leaders of the world's advanced democracies start their Group of Seven (G7) summit on Friday in Hiroshima with a sombre remembrance of the costs of war as they grapple with the conflict in Ukraine. Moscow has said it is ready to use its nuclear arsenal to defend its "territorial integrity" if necessary. As part of the efforts, each of the G7 members will be unveiling new sanctions, according to the U.S. official. G7 finance leaders warned in Japan last weekend of mounting economic uncertainty, in a subdued end to a meeting overshadowed in part by concerns about the U.S. debt stalemate. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to address the G7 leaders, though he may do so by video rather than in person.

☆ With eye on Ukraine, top Chinese general calls for unconventional warfare capabilities
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, May 16 (Reuters) - Drawing lessons from the Ukraine crisis, a top Chinese general urged greater integration of novel capabilities, including artificial intelligence, with conventional warfare tactics ahead of any confrontation with the West. A new genre of hybrid warfare has emerged from the Ukraine conflict, with the intertwining of "political warfare, financial warfare, technological warfare, cyber warfare, and cognitive warfare," General Wang Haijiang, commander of the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Western Theatre Command, wrote in a front-page article in an official newspaper on Monday. The scale and sweep of Chinese military preparations are closely watched not just by the West, but also by China's neighbours and democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own. "At present and in the future, local conflicts and turmoil are frequent, global problems are intensifying, and the world has entered a new period of turmoil and change," Wang wrote in Study Times. The ability to win is needed to maintain national security, Wang wrote.

☆ German exports to Russia's neighbours fuel sanctions evasion fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Rene Wagner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Although they remain relatively modest in value, German exports to Georgia rose by 92%, while those to Kazakhstan rose 136%, to Armenia 172% and to Tajikistan 154%. An 11th package of EU sanctions, currently being negotiated, will also focus on people and countries circumventing existing trade restrictions. "The circumvention of sanctions against Russia is unacceptable," German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said in Brussels on Tuesday. That came after a six-fold rise in German exports to Kyrgyzstan last year following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. "But because Turkey does not participate in EU sanctions, EU goods are further exported from there to Russia."

The caller was an Israeli officer who ordered them to evacuate the house five minutes before they bombed it. The cousin, Hussam Nabhan, 45, tried to stall with the officer, telling him the house included disabled people, but it was all in vain, he said. "The house was the girls' shelter, they had got a disabled toilet, wheelchairs, a bed to sleep. "How am I going to carry her after the wheeler was gone, also the (healthy) mattresses were gone," she added. Its borders are sealed off by neighbouring Israel and Egypt, citing security concerns with Hamas, which runs the territory.

☆ Belarus PM replaces Lukashenko at ceremony, sparks speculation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Lukashenko also did not speak at an event in Minsk marking the anniversary for the first time in his long presidency. According to the opposition news outlet Euroradio, Lukashenko was taken to an elite Minsk clinic on Saturday. Russian media rarely publish stories about the health of the leaders of Russia or its allied neighbours. Belarus' foreign minister Sergei Aleinik is expected on Monday to start this three-day visit to Moscow, Russia's foreign ministry said last week. Reporting by Ron Popeski and Lidia Kelly; Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

In 2014, during a previous round of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, the Bashir's home was also hit. "They destroyed our homes before and we rebuilt it, and this time we will rebuild it too," she added. According to officials from Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, the latest round of Israeli air strikes, which began on Tuesday, have destroyed 15 residential blocks, containing more than 50 apartments. "Prior to these strikes, the Israeli Defence Forces took every feasible measure to mitigate harm to civilians as much as possible," the Israeli military said. "We stress that the residential blocks destroyed by the occupation were inhabited by civilians.

☆ Russia rejects accusations it interfered in Turkey elections -news agencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 13 (Reuters) - Russia rejects accusations by a Turkish opposition leader that Moscow interfered in the country's presidential election, domestic news agencies cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Saturday. Russia has been accused in the past of meddling in foreign polls, including in U.S. elections, which it denies. "We categorically do not accept the accusations of interference in the Turkish elections. Under Erdogan, Turkey has conducted a diplomatic balancing act since Russia invaded Ukraine. Ankara opposes Western sanctions on Russia and has close ties with both Moscow and Kyiv, its Black Sea neighbours.

☆ The Turkey candidates for president and other key figures
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Only three candidates remain in the race for president after Muharrem Ince, representing a small party, withdrew. CHP LEADER KEMAL KILICDAROGLUKilicdaroglu, 74, head of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), was named the six-party opposition alliance's presidential candidate in March. Previously a staunch opponent of Erdogan, Bahceli's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) began to work with the president and his AKP after a 2016 attempted coup. OPPOSITION FIGURES:IYI PARTY LEADER MERAL AKSENERFormer interior minister Meral Aksener, 66, leads the second-largest party in the opposition alliance, the centrist and nationalist IYI Party. ANKARA MAYOR MANSUR YAVASNationalist politician and lawyer Mansur Yavas, 67, defeated the AKP's Ankara mayoral candidate 2019 as the CHP candidate backed by an opposition alliance.

One presidential candidate from a small party, Muharrem Ince, withdrew on Thursday citing a faked "character assassination" carried out online. "We find it unacceptable for another country to interfere in Turkey's election process in favour of a political party. [1/4] FILE PHOTO-Kemal Kilicdaroglu, presidential candidate of Turkey's main opposition alliance, greets his supporters during a rally ahead of the May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections, in Tekirdag, Turkey April 27, 2023. Kilicdaroglu said a fundamental problem of Turkey's foreign policy in Erdogan's AK Party (AKP) tenure was the exclusion of the foreign ministry from the policy-making process. Turkey, Kilicdaroglu said, will pursue a peace-oriented foreign policy that prioritises its national interest and acts in line with the modern world.

BRUSSELS, May 12 (Reuters) - Turkey's elections on Sunday are a key moment not just for the country itself but also for its European neighbours. Its internationally recognised government, composed of Greek Cypriots, is an EU member, while the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state is recognised only by Ankara. However, EU officials see little sign that Kilicdaroglu would change much on Cyprus. EU leaders designated Turkey as a candidate to join the bloc in 2004 but the talks ground to a halt years ago. There is already a lot of European money that has made its way to Turkey," said a European diplomat.

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