ROME, April 7 (Reuters) – The Iran war has put U.S. global leadership on the line, Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said, expressing fear about the “madness” of nuclear escalation. Like some other NATO allies reluctant to join U.S. President Donald Trump’s attacks on Iran, Italy last week denied permission for U.S. military aircraft to…
KYIV, April 4 (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has arrived in Istanbul for “substantive” talks on security issues with Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan, Zelenskiy said on Saturday. “We are working to strengthen our partnership to ensure real protection of people’s lives, advance stability and guarantee security in our Europe, as well as in the…
MOSCOW, April 3 (Reuters) – A problem with payment systems sowed chaos on Friday for some Russian shoppers, forcing the turnstiles on the Moscow metro to allow people to enter without payment and even forcing a regional zoo to ask visitors to use cash. The cause of the payment system problem was not immediately clear…
KYIV, April 3 (Reuters) – Russia is conducting a rolling aerial attack on Ukraine since Thursday evening, Ukraine’s air force said on Friday, adding that a large number of enemy drones were in Ukrainian airspace. The bombardment is the second time this week Russia has followed a overnight drone barrage with heavy daytime attacks, a…
KYIV, April 3 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the frontline situation for Ukraine was the best in 10 months, adding that Kyiv’s troops had foiled a Russian offensive last month. “The offensive they were planning for March was thwarted by the actions of our armed forces. That is why the Russians will now simply…
MOSCOW, April 3 (Reuters) – Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s powerful Security Council, said on Friday that Moscow should drop its “tolerant attitude” towards Ukraine’s possible EU membership. “The EU is no longer just an economic union. It can transform, and rather quickly, into a full-blown military alliance, one overtly hostile to Russia, and…
KHARKIV, Ukraine, April 3 (Reuters) – Russian forces maintained a day-long barrage of drone strikes on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, on Thursday, injuring at least two people, local officials said. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov posted reports on Telegram throughout the day and well into the evening, noting strikes in four city districts. One city…
More Hongkongers are expected to travel elsewhere during the five-day Easter weekend from Friday despite a sharp jump in fuel surcharges, according to industry leaders. They also expect more visitors from mainland China during an overlapping Ching Ming Festival holiday, but doubt the influx will deliver any significant boost to the city’s tourism revenue. Some…
April 2 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday offered to provide Ukraine’s expertise in dealing with freedom of navigation in the Black Sea to countries considering how to keep the Strait of Hormuz open amid conflict in the Middle East. Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, said Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had taken…
BEIJING, April 2 (Reuters) – China on Thursday repeated calls for a ceasefire in the Middle East and safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in conversations with Western counterparts, widening its diplomatic effort to end the war that has disrupted the global energy market. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the Middle East situation…