US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that his coming visit to China aims to open up better communications "by addressing misperceptions and avoiding miscalculations.". The first goal of the trip to China, Blinken said in a press conference, is "to establish open and empowered communications, so that our two countries responsibly manage our relationship."
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday called on Ukraine and Russia to de-escalate their conflict, as he arrived in the war-torn country on a mission to broker peace. . Ramaphosa was among a group of African leaders and officials from seven countries visiting Kyiv as part of a mission aimed at brokering peace between Russia and Ukraine.
France said Friday it would throw its weight behind an emissions tax on the heavily polluting shipping industry, adding momentum to a campaign long championed by Pacific island nations and environmental campaigners.. Two Pacific nations exposed to the risk of rising sea levels, the Marshall and Solomon islands, have been pushing over the last decade for a $100-per-tonne tax on maritime industry emissions which would create incentives for operators to cut their pollution.
An American man was found guilty on Friday of massacring 11 Jewish worshippers five years ago in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in US history, local media reported.. The 50-year-old was found guilty of all 63 federal charges against him, including hate crimes resulting in death, CNN, ABC and others reported.
Haiti risks descending into civil war if an international assistance force is not sent to the violence-plagued nation imminently, a minister for the Caribbean country warned Friday.. "If this request is not met in a short period of time, the risk of civil war is very real," Pierre added.
The United States on Friday announced a further $205 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine to help the country with shortages of food, drinking water and other needs as its fights against Russia's invasion.. The United States has provided more than $2 billion in humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the war started, the statement said.
When an Algerian woman with mental health problems killed a 12-year-old child in Paris last year, far-right idealogue Eric Zemmour wasted no time in labelling the crime a "francocide". . An analysis of public Facebook posts shows references to the neologism have been liked or shared 266,000 times since September while the #francocide hashtag was retweeted 60,000 times on a single day in October after the killing of 12-year-old Lola.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Friday the alliance will tighten political ties with Ukraine at a summit next month, but there will be no talk of a membership invite for Kyiv. . "We're not going to discuss an invitation at the Vilnius Summit, but how we can move Ukraine closer to NATO," Stoltenberg said.
Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson was unveiled Friday as the Daily Mail's star new columnist -- but attracted an immediate rebuke from a government watchdog to cap a tumultuous 48 hours.. However, the ever-controversial Johnson was upbraided for failing to respect the rules governing outside appointments for former ministers.
After years of demonising billionaire investor George Soros as a sinister liberal bogeyman, the Hungarian government and its allied media are taking aim at a fresh target -- his son Alexander.. Monday's announcement that the elder Soros will hand over control of his philanthropic empire to 37-year-old Alexander, who goes by the name of Alex, prompted an object lesson in the workings of media loyal to nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
