Politics

The US is pushing Japan to impose economic sanctions on Russia if it attacks Ukraine, according to media reports on Saturday. Washington has also urged Tokyo to step up its criticism of Russia, Japan’s Kyodo News Agency reported, citing diplomatic sources familiar with the developments. “Japan, however, has deferred its …

Police in Myanmar have filed an 11th corruption charge against Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s elected leader who was ousted from power by a military takeover a year ago, state-controlled media reported. The Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported that Suu Kyi was being charged under the Anti-Corruption Law …

Afghanistan’s Taliban movement has said that its first official talks with the West on European soil since seizing power in Afghanistan would help “transform the atmosphere of war” after a two-decade insurgency against NATO forces. “The Islamic Emirate has taken steps for meeting the demands of the Western world and …

Representatives of Afghanistan’s Taliban will arrive in Norway for three days of talks on how to alleviate a humanitarian crisis. The Taliban representatives will meet Norwegian authorities as well as diplomats from several other countries from January 23 to 25. “These meetings do not represent a legitimisation or recognition of …

The top diplomats of Russia and the United States have met in Switzerland to discuss soaring tensions over Ukraine after a flurry of meetings between officials on both sides in the last week produced no breakthroughs. Friday’s talks between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov come …

China and Russia have blocked a US push to impose United Nations sanctions on five North Koreans in response to recent missile launches by Pyongyang. China’s block came on Thursday before a new closed-door Security Council meeting on North Korea, also requested by Washington, and was followed by Russia’s decision …

United States President Joe Biden said that any Russian troop movements across Ukraine’s border would constitute an invasion and that Moscow would “pay a heavy price” for such an action. The statement on Thursday was the latest US effort to clear up comments Biden made a day earlier when he …

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki has criticized US President Joe Biden for moving too slowly to reverse all of the Trump administration’s adverse policies against the Palestinians. Malki told the UN Security Council on Thursday there were hopes that the end of Donald Trump’s administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin …

A lawmaker from Britain’s governing Conservatives has accused the government of blackmailing and intimidating opponents of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as the party’s internal rifts deepen. William Wragg, a Tory member of Parliament, accused on Thursday Johnson’s staff, government ministers and others of “encouraging the publication of stories in the …

Several Afghan women’s rights activists have said they are going into hiding to escape a Taliban crackdown, just days after the group used pepper spray to break up a rally in the capital. At least one woman was arrested, in what appeared to be a series of raids on Wednesday night, four …