LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) – British cabinet minister Steve Reed said on Sunday that there was no assessment that backed claims Iran is planning to strike Europe with ballistic missiles, or that it even has the capacity to do so. On Saturday, the Israel Defence Forces posted on social media that Iran has missiles “that…
Some United States importers have cut orders and shifted to short-term contracts after the Middle East conflict triggered a global oil crisis, according to Hong Kong business leaders, who warned of eroding profit margins and strained liquidity. Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, an Executive Council member and businessman, said on Sunday that the US-Israel war on Iran…
ROME, March 22 (Reuters) – Italians began voting on Sunday in a referendum to confirm a contested judicial reform put forward by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a key test for her right-wing coalition ahead of a general election due next year. Voters must decide whether to back constitutional changes to separate the career paths of…
PARIS, March 21 (Reuters) – The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven countries said on Saturday they stood ready to take necessary measures to support global energy supplies and reaffirmed the importance of safeguarding maritime routes, including in the Strait of Hormuz. “We … express support to our partners in the region in the…
March 21 (Reuters) – Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators trying to move towards a settlement of the four-year war pitting Kyiv against Moscow opened their latest round of talks in Florida on Saturday, with more discussions planned through the weekend. Russian representatives were not present at the meeting. “We continued discussing key issues and the next…
By the time this column appears, the world will feel very different from when my previous column appeared earlier this month. In just days, a conflict that some in Washington seemed to believe would quickly topple Iran’s leadership has instead become a potentially long and uncertain war, with little clarity on how or when it…
VIENNA, March 19 (Reuters) – The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a 57-nation east-west body comprising former Cold War foes, agreed on a budget on Thursday for the first time in five years, with heavy cuts demanded by the United States. In recent years the Vienna-based security and rights organization, which includes…
March 19 (Reuters) – A pro-Kremlin figure who unexpectedly denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine in a social media post this week that went viral has been placed in a psychiatric facility, Russian media reported on Thursday. Ilya Remeslo made a career denouncing Putin’s critics until he became one himself, posting…
DUBAI, March 19 (Reuters) – Iran’s foreign minister called for vigilance and regional coordination in separate calls with counterparts in Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan as the military warned of a tougher response to any further attacks on its energy infrastructure, state media reported on Thursday. After its energy facilities in South Pars gas field and…
Middle East banks and wealthy investors are poised to increase their investments in Hong Kong amid geopolitical tensions to diversify their risk and capture growing opportunities in Asia, according to the head of InvestHK, the government agency tasked with attracting foreign investment. A couple of Middle East banks were in the process of setting up…