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'We come in friendship to Taiwan, peace to the region': Pelosi
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that her delegation had come to Taiwan in "peace for the region", after the visit enraged Beijing and set off a diplomatic firestorm.
OPEC+ meeting to test Biden's Saudi oil entreaty
The OPEC+ group of major oil exporters meets Wednesday to discuss its output strategy after US President Joe Biden lobbied Saudi Arabia to boost production to tame energy-fuelled inflation.
China's Pelosi bombast shows insecurity over Taiwan: analysts
China's tough rhetoric around US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan reveals deep insecurity about Washington's shifting stance towards the island, analysts told AFP, as well as efforts to distract from economic woes at home.
US sanctions Putin 'girlfriend,' more oligarchs for 'complicity' in Ukraine war
The United States blacklisted Russian President Vladimir Putin's purported girlfriend and the tycoon owner of the second-largest estate in London Tuesday in the latest round of sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.
Global markets drop over China-US tensions
Stock markets fell Tuesday as investors dumped equities amid escalating China-US tensions while digesting hawkish comments from US central bankers that lifted US Treasury yields.
Pelosi: a long history of provoking China over human rights
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a long history of riling Beijing over democracy and human rights, whether by unveiling a banner on Tiananmen Square or in regular meetings with Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
Flight frenzy: Pelosi Taiwan trip swamps plane tracker
Hundreds of thousands of people tuned in to a flight tracking website Tuesday anxious to find out whether US official Nancy Pelosi was in fact going to Taiwan, in defiance of China's angry protests.
Russia jails crusading ex-cop for 5 years
A Russian court on Tuesday sentenced an activist for police labour rights to five years in prison for extortion and distribution of pornography.
Yemen's warring parties renew truce for two months: UN
Yemen's warring parties agreed to extend a four-month long truce for a further two months just hours before it was due to expire, the United Nations announced Tuesday.
First Ukrainian grain shipment since invasion reaches Turkey
The first shipment of Ukrainian grain to leave Odessa since Russia's invasion reached Turkey on Wednesday under a landmark deal to lift Moscow's naval blockade in the Black Sea.
Pelosi lands in Taiwan, defying China threats
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan on Tuesday evening, defying a string of increasingly stark warnings and threats from China that have sent tensions between the world's two superpowers soaring.
Zawahiri killing boosts Biden on Afghan exit anniversary
Weeks before the first anniversary of a retreat from Afghanistan that critics said exposed President Joe Biden's weakness, he shrugged off both Covid and critics to announce the killing in Kabul of Al-Qaeda's leader -- an operation the Democrat says shows the US remains as strong as ever.
Pelosi defies China threats and lands in Taiwan
United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan on Tuesday evening, defying a string of increasingly stark warnings and threats from China that have sent tensions between the world's two superpowers soaring.
UK PM hopeful Truss on back foot as poll lead shrinks
British Conservative Liz Truss's leadership campaign faced its first serious peril Tuesday as she was forced into a policy U-turn and came under fierce fire in Scotland, against the backdrop of a shrinking poll lead.
Bike-loving Rutte rides to record term as Dutch PM
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte set a new record for time in the saddle on Tuesday, becoming the Netherlands' longest-serving leader with 4,311 days in power.
French bullfight foes eye coup de grace for 'immoral' spectacle
As thousands of bullfighting aficionados gather across southern France for traditional summer ferias, opponents of the practice are reviving their fight for an outright ban, confident that public opinion is finally on their side.
UK PM hopeful sparks anger with jibe at Scottish leader
Scotland's ruling nationalists on Tuesday angrily rounded on British Conservative frontrunner Liz Truss, after she accused their leader Nicola Sturgeon of being a pro-independence "attention seeker".
Markets drop over China-US tensions
Asian and European stock markets fell Tuesday as investors dumped risky equities on spiking US-China tensions over a possible visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
First Ukrainian grain shipment since invasion heads to Istanbul
The first shipment of grain to leave Ukraine under a deal to ease Russia's naval blockade was expected in Istanbul "after midnight," as Kyiv said Tuesday it had begun mandatory evacuations from the war-torn Donetsk region.
Pakistan election commission says Imran Khan's party accepted illegal donations
Pakistan's ex-premier Imran Khan's party accepted millions of dollars in illegal funds from foreign individuals and groups, the election commission ruled Tuesday.
Afghans cast doubt on Kabul killing of Al-Qaeda chief
Many Afghans expressed shock or doubt Tuesday that Al-Qaeda's chief had been killed in Kabul by a US drone strike, saying they couldn't believe Ayman Al-Zawahiri had been hiding in their midst.
Inside the Ukrainian city that said no to occupation
A motorist yells at a cyclist, churchgoers avoid a street hawker, a shellsuited pensioner crams pampushky -- a Ukrainian bread -- into her face, the falling breadcrumbs causing a pigeon to double-take.
China warns US will 'pay the price' if Pelosi visits Taiwan
China said Tuesday that the United States will "pay the price" if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan during her Asia trip.
US kills Al-Qaeda chief in Afghan drone strike
A United States drone strike killed Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri at a hideout in Kabul, President Joe Biden said Monday, declaring that "justice had been delivered" to the families of the 9/11 attacks.
Markets drop as talk of Pelosi Taiwan trip fans China-US tension
Asian markets mostly fell Tuesday on geopolitical fears after reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would visit Taiwan fanned China-US tensions.
Kansas votes on abortion rights in US test case
Voters in the Midwestern state of Kansas head to the polls Tuesday in the first major ballot on abortion since the US Supreme Court ended the national right to the procedure in June.
Grim fragments of life seep out from Russian-occupied Ukraine
Collapsed social services, financial woes and fear: only brief snippets filter out of the daily reality for Ukrainians in Russian-occupied territory.
Pelosi lands in Malaysia as China rages over Taiwan
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, Malaysian state media reported, her second stop in an Asian tour that has sparked rage in Beijing over a possible stop in Taiwan.
Markets sink as talk of Pelosi Taiwan trip fans China-US tension
Asian markets tumbled Tuesday on geopolitical fears after reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would visit Taiwan fanned China-US tensions.
The killing of Al-Qaeda's Zawahiri: how it happened
Despite a $25 million US bounty on his head, Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri apparently felt comfortable enough with the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan to move into a home in Kabul where he would regularly appear out in the open, on his balcony.
A year on, Iran's Raisi faces economy in trouble
A year after Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi took power, his government has curbed the Covid pandemic but faces a sharp downturn of the sanctions-hit economy as nuclear talks remain stalled.
Qaeda leader Zawahiri: 9/11 planner and bin Laden successor
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who has been killed in a US drone strike in Afghanistan, was the key idealogue behind the global terror network for several decades, but never revived the status it had under charismatic founder Osama bin Laden.
Biden says US killed Al-Qaeda chief al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan
President Joe Biden announced Monday that the United States had killed Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, one of the world's most wanted terrorists and suspected mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
US has killed Al-Qaeda chief al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan: US media
The United States has killed Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, according to US media outlets, in what the White House announced Monday was a "successful" operation against a target in Afghanistan.
Sanctions have huge toll on Russian economy: report
The Russian economy has been deeply damaged by sanctions and the exit of international business since the country invaded Ukraine, according to a new report by Yale University business experts and economists.
W.House warns Beijing against turning Pelosi Taiwan visit into a 'crisis'
The White House on Monday warned China against overreacting to a trip by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, saying she would have every right to visit the self-ruled island despite Beijing viewing it as a highly provocative challenge.
Iran steps up Bahai persecution with wave of arrests
Iranian authorities have stepped up persecution of the Bahais with a wave of arrests of prominent members of the country's biggest non-Muslim minority, leaving the battered community in shock, activists said on Monday.
UN chief warns of 'nuclear annihilation'
UN head Antonio Guterres warned Monday that a misunderstanding could spark nuclear destruction as the United States, Britain and France urged Russia to stop "its dangerous nuclear rhetoric and behaviour."
Iraq tensions soar as protesters rally against parliament occupation
Thousands of Iraqis took to the streets of Baghdad Monday in counter-protests as rival supporters of Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr extended their occupation of parliament into a third day.