VATICAN CITY, April 2 (Reuters) – Pope Leo last May became the first U.S. leader of the global Catholic Church, but for the initial 10 months of his tenure he mostly avoided comment about his home country and never once mentioned President Donald Trump publicly. That era has come to an end. In recent weeks…
MOSCOW, April 2 (Reuters) – Russia is ready to contribute to resolving the Iran conflict and President Vladimir Putin is continuing to talk with regional leaders, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. “The president is continuing these contacts, and if our services are somehow required, we are, of course, ready to make our contribution…
STOCKHOLM, April 2 (Reuters) – Sweden will buy air defence and anti-drone systems worth 8.7 billion Swedish crowns ($916 million) from among others Saab and BAE Systems, the country’s defence minister said on Thursday. Sweden, like most European countries, is racing to bolster its defences following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with military spending projected to…
MOSCOW, April 2 (Reuters) – Students across Russia are being offered large financial incentives to join drone units fighting in Ukraine as operators and engineers, while companies in Russia’s central Ryazan region have been given quotas to sign up workers for the army, documents show. The recruitment effort, which comes as Russian forces continue to…
PARIS, April 1 (Reuters) – China will at one point have to engage more directly on how to restore oil traffic flows in the Strait of Hormuz because the number of vessels it has going through is probably insufficient, France’s navy chief said on Wednesday. “We have not seen China’s navy step in to reopen…
By Mushtaq Ali and Sayed Hassib PESHAWAR, Pakistan/Kabul, April 1 (Reuters) – Afghanistan and Pakistan have opened a new round of talks in China to end the deadliest fighting between two Muslim nations since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, sources said on Wednesday. Beijing has been trying to mediate a negotiated settlement to…
SARAJEVO, April 1 (Reuters) – Bosnians woke with heavy heads and light hearts on Wednesday, buoyed by their soccer team’s dramatic playoff shootout win over Italy that sent them to the World Cup finals for only the second time. Celebrations went late into the night on Tuesday after teenager Esmir Bajraktarevic squeezed his penalty past…
MOSCOW, April 1 (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy should have taken the difficult decision to withdraw his forces from the Donbas area “yesterday” in order to end what it called the “hot phase” of the war. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the comment a day after Zelenskiy said…
LONDON, April 1 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Wednesday that the global instability caused by the war in Iran means Britain should align more closely with the European Union on security and economy, following criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump. At a press conference aimed at easing public concern over rising energy…
GRAPEVINE, Texas, March 28 (Reuters) – When former Congressman Matt Gaetz opened his speech by aligning with a Republican faction “loyal to only one nation,” his message to the Conservative Political Action Conference was clear: It was a veiled swipe at perceived Israeli influence over U.S. politicians, even without naming Israel outright. A month into…