US troops on ‘heightened alert’ over rising Ukraine-Russia tensions
Donald Trump has said his administration is now exploring the possibility of normalising relations with Syria – his comments coming shortly after he met Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose forces ended the decades-long dictatorship of the Assad family. The extraordinary encounter, unthinkable just months ago, was short but significant. “I think he has got…
The United States stepped up preparations for possible military action against Iran last night as the regime pleaded for peace talks. Drones were deployed to survey Iran’s defences, as another US ship entered the region and refuelling aircraft left bases in the mainland US for Europe. International diplomacy efforts were intensified last night in a…
TOKYO, Feb 27 (Reuters) – The number of babies born in Japan fell for an eighth straight year to a fresh record low in 2023, preliminary government data showed on Tuesday, underscoring the daunting task the country faces in trying to stem depopulation. The number of births fell 5.1% from a year earlier to 758,631,…
Five soldiers and at least 13 civilians, including women and children, were killed in a twin suicide bombing Tuesday that targeted a military compound in northwestern Pakistan, according to the military. The attack in Bannu district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province injured at least 32 others, the military’s media wing, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), said…
JERUSALEM/GAZA/WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) – Israel formed an emergency unity government on Wednesday as its jets pounded Gaza and tanks massed around the densely populated Palestinian enclave while Hamas militants said they were still fighting on Israeli territory following their shock weekend incursion. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to form a war cabinet with former…
Ukraine’s Zelensky says Russian vote was a farce • Tribune erected on Red Square proclaiming provinces are Russia Moscow was poised on Wednesday to annex a swath of Ukraine, releasing what it called vote tallies showing support in four partially occupied provinces to join Russia, after what Kyiv and the West denounced as illegal sham…