WASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump discussed a new Iranian proposal on resolving the war with Tehran with his top national security aides on Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. Answering questions at a briefing, Leavitt did not offer an opinion of the proposal, in which the Strait of…
BEIRUT, April 27 (Reuters) – The Israeli military began carrying out strikes in eastern Lebanon on Monday, expanding the scope of its bombing campaign during a ceasefire that has failed to fully halt hostilities with Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. The strikes on Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley marked the first time the area has been hit…
MOSCOW, April 27 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in St. Petersburg on Monday and told him he hoped the Iranian people would weather what he described as a “difficult period” and that peace would soon prevail. Russia has offered to mediate to try to help restore…
TAIPEI, April 27 (Reuters) – The top U.S. diplomat in Taiwan on Monday pressed the island’s opposition-majority parliament to pass a “comprehensive” defence budget, saying integrated air and missile defence systems and drones are critically important and in high demand globally. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te last year proposed $40 billion in supplemental defence spending, covering…
SEOUL, April 27 (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would continue to support Russia’s policies and discussed bolstering military ties with Moscow, state media KCNA reported, as analysts said such cooperation looked set to endure beyond the war in Ukraine. A Russian delegation including Defence Minister Andrei Belousov attended a…
WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he has “good conversations” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as he aims to settle the Ukraine war. “We’re working on the Russia situation, Russia and Ukraine, and hopefully we’re going to get it,” Trump said in an interview…
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po recently said the city could rise to become the world’s No 2 financial centre in 10-15 years. That is the right kind of ambition. In a world being reshaped by geopolitical fragmentation, China’s growing global weight and rapid technological change, Hong Kong must think beyond remaining internationally competitive…
KYIV, April 24 (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday arrived in Jeddah on his second visit to Saudi Arabia in a month, as Kyiv tries to bolster security cooperation and advertise its battle-tested technology in the Middle East amid the Iran war. “Yesterday, at a meeting with European leaders, we secured financial guarantees…
MOSCOW, April 24 (Reuters) – Russia said on Friday that it stood in solidarity with Cuba and would continue to provide humanitarian aid to the Communist‑run island republic, rejecting what it described as blackmail and threats from Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump has said that he expects to have the honour of “taking Cuba”, though…
Life insurance sales in Hong Kong rose 50.6 per cent to another record last year as affluent customers continued to buy policies in the city for wealth transfer, protection and medical needs. The industry wrote HK$330.9 billion (US$42.2 billion) in new life policies in 2025, compared with HK$219 billion a year earlier, which was also…