DUBAI, April 17 (Reuters) – Significant differences between Iran and the United States remain to reach a deal aimed at ending the war, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Friday, adding that keeping the Strait of Hormuz open is “conditional on U.S. adherence to the terms of ceasefire”. The official, who spoke on condition…
WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) – The U.S. is urging G20 members and the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to take coordinated action to ensure fertilizer access amid disruptions in food trade supply chains caused by the war in the Middle East, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott…
BARCELONA, April 17 (Reuters) – Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was offered a meeting with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his government during her visit to Spain but she declined because she did not consider it “opportune”, Sanchez said on Friday. Machado’s lack of contact with any members of Spain’s leftist coalition government contrasts…
BUDAPEST, April 17 (Reuters) – Hungary’s incoming prime minister Peter Magyar said on Friday he was about to start initial talks with EU officials in Budapest as there was no time to waste in his efforts to unblock funds frozen by the bloc over disputes with his predecessor. Magyar, whose landslide victory in an April…
BUCHAREST, April 17 (Reuters) – Romania’s broad ruling coalition of four pro-European Union parties has no choice but to continue to govern, President Nicusor Dan said, even if its biggest party will likely call for the prime minister’s resignation on Monday. Romania’s leftist Social Democrats are likely to vote on Monday to withdraw their support…
WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) – Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko left the United States on Thursday buoyed by what she called positive talks with top U.S. officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, saying she found him to be supportive of her war-torn country. Svyrydenko told Reuters that she used the meeting with Bessent to hammer…
Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu has met European Union representatives to discuss opportunities for cooperation, with the chief executive saying both sides highlighted a shared belief in multilateralism amid increasing tensions and market turmoil. Ambassador Harvey Rouse, head of the EU Office in Hong Kong, called for both sides to work together, describing the…
BUDAPEST, April 16 (Reuters) – Over 90 journalists from Hungarian state news agency MTI have demanded the immediate restoration of impartial news coverage following election winner Peter Magyar’s pledge to shake up state media, according to a letter obtained by Reuters. Magyar, whose centre-right TISZA party scored a landslide victory in Sunday’s elections, said his…
BRUSSELS, April 15 (Reuters) – NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed optimism Wednesday that the alliance would successfully fund defence aid to Ukraine through the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) mechanism before the end of the year. “I’m optimistic,” Rutte told reporters following a Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting in Berlin, while acknowledging that burden-sharing…
AMSTERDAM, April 15 (Reuters) – The Netherlands will spend 248 million euros ($293 million) on producing drones for Ukraine, Dutch Defence Minister Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius said on Wednesday. “Drones play a crucial role on the modern battlefield. Ukrainians deploy them with incredible skill to repel the incessant Russian attacks,” she said after meeting her counterparts from…