The U.S. federal government has partially shut down after the House of Representatives failed to vote on a budget package, despite its approval by the Senate. As the temporary funding measure that provided financing for most federal agencies expired at midnight local time on January 30, the legislative process for the budget package approved by...
Venezuela’s Interim President Delcy Rodriguez said that a draft general amnesty law covering individuals detained in the country since 1999 will be submitted to parliament. Rodriguez stated that the Venezuelan government will present a general amnesty bill to the legislative body covering the period from 1999 to the present. Speaking at an event attended by...
Turkish and Iranian Foreign Ministers met in Istanbul amid rising U.S.-Iran tensions, with Ankara firmly opposing any military action against Iran and urging dialogue to prevent further regional instability. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Istanbul as tensions across the Middle East continue to rise. The two ministers...
New Zealand has rejected an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to join a Gaza-focused “Peace Council,” citing serious uncertainty over the initiative’s purpose and its relationship with the United Nations. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon confirmed that his country will not participate in the Peace Council established by President Trump in its current...
In the UK, where around 52 percent of voters opted to leave the European Union (EU) in the 2016 referendum, surveys now show that support for Brexit has fallen to as low as 29 percent. Initially voiced by marginal groups in the 1990s, the idea of leaving the EU (Brexit) began to gain mainstream political...
Abandoning energy cooperation with Russia has hit the German economy very hard, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Dmitry Lyublinsky said in an interview with Sputnik. For political reasons, Germany has refused to purchase coal, oil, and natural gas from Russia, and has blocked all forms of bilateral cooperation, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Dmitry Lyubinsky said in...
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. During the conversation, the leaders discussed bilateral Turkey–Iran relations as well as the escalating military tensions in the region. In a statement, the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications said, “Our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, held a telephone conversation with Iranian President...
China has announced that it will include the United Kingdom in its unilateral visa-free entry program, which it launched in 2023 to boost inbound travel following the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. President Donald Trump, referring to the UK, said today, “It is very dangerous for them to do this. For Canada, doing business with China is...
Trump signed a presidential order authorizing the imposition of tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba. U.S. President Donald Trump signed a presidential decree allowing Washington to impose additional customs duties on imports from countries that supply oil to Cuba. In the presidential order released by the White House, the following statements were included:...
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ assessment that the principle of peoples’ right to self-determination does not apply to Crimea and Donbass as “irrational.” Zakharova reacted on her Telegram channel to Guterres’ statement that the right to self-determination cannot be exercised in Crimea and Donbass. “What kind of irrational conclusions...