WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and United Nations on Friday criticized Vietnam’s detention of members of an environmental group including its founder, saying such actions were part of a broader trend toward curbing free speech. “The United States is concerned by the detention of leaders and staff of CHANGE, including the ongoing detention of…
By Greg Torode Singapore (Reuters) -A senior NATO official on Friday urged Beijing to be more open about its accelerating nuclear weapons build-up, saying that as a global power, China had a responsibility to improve transparency. Angus Lapsley, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning, told the Shangri-La…
TBILISI (Reuters) – Armenia is not a Russian ally in the Ukraine war and is worried about the impact of that crisis on its relations with other countries, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, drawing a cautious response in Moscow. The tiny ex-Soviet nation in the southern Caucasus region has close security and economic ties to…
By Essi Lehto, Anne Kauranen and Humeyra Pamuk HELSINKI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday warned against any peace initiatives that could help legitimize Russia’s seizure of Ukrainian territory, saying a “just and durable” peace effort should address accountability and reconstruction. Delivering what U.S. officials described as a highlight speech that lays…
By Fatos Bytyci PRISTINA (Reuters) – Kosovo opposition parties on Friday blamed Prime Minister Albin Kurti for worsening relations with Western allies over violence in the north in which NATO peacekeepers were injured, and they called for a no-confidence motion against the government. Unrest intensified in the area after elections in April that were boycotted…
By Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW (Reuters) – Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most famous opposition leader, on Friday shared letters showing how he has poked fun at prison authorities for several months with a host of bizarre requests for a kimono, a balalaika, a beetle and even to keep a kangaroo. The requests were turned down by the…
By Jessie Pang and Laurie Chen HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) -As restrictions in Hong Kong have snuffed out what were once the largest vigils marking the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, cities like London, New York, Berlin and Taipei are left carrying the candle to commemorate the June 4 anniversary. Tens of thousands of people have left…
LONDON (Reuters) – A British teenager who detectives believe may have been just hours away from launching an attack on police or soldiers, was on Friday sentenced to a minimum of six years in jail for terrorism offences. Matthew King, 19, who converted to Islam during the COVID-19 lockdown and then became quickly radicalised by…
By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The latest standoff over the U.S. debt ceiling, resolved just days before the government faced a devastating default, has prompted some to call for the country to ditch its self-imposed borrowing limit. That’s not likely to happen any time soon. Though the showdown unnerved investors and prompted threats of…
DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland’s domestic economy returned to growth in the first three months of the year after a shallow recession, data showed on Friday, and the finance minister said momentum was set to continue as the country hits full employment. Modified domestic demand, the preferred gauge of the Irish economy due to the distorting…
