KYIV: Russia and Ukraine said Thursday that they had completed another exchange of captured soldiers, part of a deal reached earlier in June at peace talks in Istanbul. During the talks, the first direct negotiations between the sides in three years, both countries agreed to free more than 1,000 prisoners of war from each side…
BANGKOK: A Thailand-Cambodia territorial row has ignited a political crisis in Bangkok, pushing the government there to the brink of collapse. Tensions flared between the Southeast Asian countries after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a border clash at the end of May. The audio of a diplomatic call between the two sides intended to…
GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli fire killed at least 25 people on Thursday, including 15 who had gathered near an aid distribution site. Civil defence official Mohammad al-Mughayyir told AFP that 15 people were killed and 60 wounded, while waiting for aid in central Gaza’s Netzarim corridor, where thousands of people have…
BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra apologised on Thursday for a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen that has provoked widespread anger and put her government on the brink of collapse. Her main coalition partner has quit and she faces calls to resign or hold an election, throwing the kingdom into a…
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday strongly condemned Israeli attacks on Iran in a phone call and stressed the need for a diplomatic solution, Moscow and Beijing said. Israel has launched an unprecedented wave of strikes at Iran that prompted Tehran to respond with its own attacks with…
JERUSALEM: Israel and Iran exchanged fire again on Thursday, the seventh day of the war between the longtime enemies. Here are the latest developments: Hospital strike A hospital in southern Israel was hit as Iran fired a barrage of “dozens” of missiles, officials said, with impacts also reported in two Israeli towns close to commercial…
KYIV: Ukraine said on Thursday that Russia has for more than three months been refusing a US and Ukrainian proposal to halt some three years of fighting without any preconditions. The inauguration of US leader Donald Trump earlier this year has spurred a flurry of meetings between US, Russian and Ukrainian officials with the aim…
STOCKHOLM: Sweden’s government said Thursday it had gained the support of all parties in parliament for a massive boost in defence spending, as the United States pressures Europe take more responsibility for security. The 300 billion kronor ($31 billion) boost over the next decade, first announced in March and due to be finalised in forthcoming…
JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran would “pay a heavy price” after a hospital in southern Israel was hit during an Iranian missile attack on Thursday, while his defence minister said Iran’s supreme leader would be “held accountable”. “This morning, Iran’s terrorist dictators fired missiles at Soroka Hospital… and at civilians in the centre…
TEHRAN: Iran accused the UN nuclear watchdog on Thursday of acting as a “partner” in what it described as Israel’s “war of aggression”. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accused Iran of a lack of cooperation prior to the start of the Iran-Israel war. The IAEA’s board of governors then adopted a resolution censuring Iran…
