GENEVA, June 8 (Reuters) – Spending on nuclear weapons by the world’s nine nuclear-armed states rose by almost a fifth in 2025 to $119 billion, a report by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons said on Tuesday. The 19% increase from 2024 produced the highest expenditure on nuclear weapons since the campaign group began…
Hong Kong has taken a monumental step forward in expanding its global economic footprint. Last week, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, leading a high-level business delegation, wrapped up a successful five-day mission to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. This historic visit – marking the first time the chief executive has led a mission to Central Asia –…
By Brenda Goh and Kyu-seok Shim SEOUL, June 7 (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping to Pyongyang on Monday, feeling in a position of strength with a firm ally in Russia, a nuclear arsenal and little apparent appetite to engage with Washington. For Xi, leader of the world’s…
Central Asia can become a strategic logistics hub for Hong Kong as wars in the Middle East and Europe persist, with cargo volume between the city and two countries in the region surging nearly fivefold year on year, the Airport Authority chairman has said. Fred Lam Tin-fuk, who joined a recent trip with Chief Executive…
KYIV, June 5 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s open letter offering face-to-face peace talks to end the war in Ukraine was addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin but meant to echo through the corridors of this week’s St Petersburg investment forum, and beyond. Zelenskiy published the letter on Thursday evening as Putin briefed foreign news…
By Francois Murphy and John Irish VIENNA/PARIS, June 5 (Reuters) – The United States is preparing a draft resolution condemning Iran ahead of next week’s meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s Board of Governors, diplomats said on Friday, a step that could complicate wider talks between the U.S. and Iran. Washington and Tehran are negotiating…
ST PETERSBURG, Russia, June 4 (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposals for peace in Ukraine could end the fighting, but said Kyiv needed to compromise — and that he saw no signs of that, so was ready to fight on to victory. Speaking to foreign media editors…
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, June 4 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday sidestepped a question on whether or not he would stay in power until 2036, saying that it was too early to talk about the issue and that in any case only God knew if he would be healthy enough. Asked by Reuters…
June 1 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that warnings of a possible massive Russian strike on Ukraine remained in effect and urged residents to pay special attention to air raid alerts. “Intelligence warnings regarding Russian strikes remain in effect. A massive strike is possible, they have prepared one,” Zelenskiy said in his…
Hong Kong lawmakers have demanded urgent government intervention for a two-month-old infant left in legal and medical limbo after his parents refused DNA testing on religious grounds following a home birth. The legislators also said on Monday that the parents’ actions clearly deviate from standard behaviour and border on child neglect, emphasising that child protection…