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Syria's foreign minister visits Qatar as new authorities seek regional and global diplomatic ties

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  • Putin Ally Says Ukraine Will 'Cease To Exist' As A Country In 2025

    The comments came as Russia continues to make progress ahead of the third anniversary of the war.

  • US agrees to new Russian ambassador to Washington, Russian senator says

    Russia has been told by the United States that it has granted approval for the appointment of the new Russian ambassador to Washington, a senior Russian lawmaker told state television on Monday. The new ambassador may be formally appointed in the coming weeks, said Grigory Karasin, head of the International Affairs Committee in the Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament. "The agrément has not yet been received," Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, told the TASS state news agency.

  • As first Israeli hostages are released, Hamas sends a message: It is far from being destroyed

    Israel’s longest war has so far failed to destroy its main enemy, Hamas, which, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself – and a failure for Israel.

  • Australia foreign minister says Quad in Washington shows 'iron-clad' commitment

    Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong met her Indian and Japanese counterparts in Washington and said the invitation for Quad foreign ministers to attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration showed an "iron-clad commitment" to close cooperation in the Indo Pacific region. Republican Senator Marco Rubio appears on track for confirmation as Trump's secretary of state on Monday, clearing the way for a meeting of Quad foreign ministers the following day, people familiar with the matter previously said. The grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. was formed amid shared concerns about China's growing power.

  • Middle East latest: Released Israeli hostage says she has 'returned to life'

    One of the Israeli hostages freed on the first day of the Gaza ceasefire said Monday in her first comments since being released that she has “returned to life.”

  • Negotiators zero in on potential deal to disarm Syria's last battleground

    Negotiators are zeroing in on a potential deal to resolve one of the most explosive questions looming over Syria's future: the fate of Kurdish forces that the U.S. considers key allies against Islamic State but neighbouring Turkey regards as a national security threat. Diplomatic and military negotiators from the United States, Turkey, Syria and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are showing more flexibility and patience than their public statements suggest, a dozen sources told Reuters, including five directly involved in the intensive web of discussions in recent weeks. This could set the stage for an accord in the coming months that would see some Kurdish fighters leave Syria's restive northeast and others brought under the authority of the new defense ministry, six of the sources said.

  • Why Kurds face an uncertain future in Ahmed Al-Shara’s rebel-led Syria

    While Ahmed al-Shara consolidates his authority in Damascus, armed conflict is escalating in northern Syria.

  • Trump 'unlikely to take the initiative to use Taiwan as a bargaining chip' with Beijing, Bonnie Glaser says

    What does a second Trump term mean for Taiwan, especially with a Republican-controlled Congress? After Trump was elected in 2016, he initially tried to use Taiwan to gain leverage over Beijing. After taking a congratulatory call from then-Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen, Trump questioned whether the US should continue to adhere to a one-China policy.

  • Han and Vance strike positive tone for US-China ties ahead of Trump inauguration

    Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng has held talks with the US vice-president-elect J.D. Vance and tech billionaire Elon Musk at separate meetings in Washington ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to a "long and fruitful" relationship. The meetings came two days after Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping's phone conversation on Friday, when they "discussed balancing trade, fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects", the incoming US president said on his

  • Newly minted Secretary of State Rubio is meeting with members of the Quad. What's it for?

    On his first full day as secretary of state, Marco Rubio is meeting with his counterparts from a group of countries known as the Quad, which is made up of the United States plus India, Japan and Australia, representing nearly 2 billion people and more than a third of global GDP. The Quad was established in 2007 to bring together countries that had worked together in response to the devastating 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean. Its members stress its diplomatic nature and broad focus on regional issues including infrastructure, humanitarian aid, disaster relief, climate change, and maritime security.

  • Mediators on standby for obstacles as Gaza ceasefire starts

    Sunday's delayed start to the Gaza ceasefire and incidents on Monday in which Israeli troops shot at Palestinians approaching them underline some of the hiccups likely to face a deal that will play out in the shadow of mutual mistrust and bitterness. Qatar and Egypt, which brokered the deal alongside the U.S., have set up a communications hub to tackle any problems, where officials who worked on the deal for months hope to head off new clashes between foes locked in a years-long cycle of Gaza wars. "These kinds of deals are never easy to maintain," said Majed Al-Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar's foreign ministry.

  • With Donald Trump's inauguration, US-China rivalry opens new and uncertain chapter

    When Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Monday, a new chapter of geopolitical uncertainty will be written, potentially ushering in an intensified rivalry between the US and China under his "America First" policy. For the first time in 40 years, it will be held indoors due to severe weather, foreign leaders will take part and security measures for the swearing-in are some of the most stringent Washington has ever witnessed, with 30 miles (48km) of fencing encircling federal buildings in downtown Washington. The swearing-in ceremony for Trump and vice president-elect J.D. Vance will start at noon inside the US Capitol.

  • A long-awaited ceasefire has finally begun in Gaza. Here’s what we know

    Three hostages were released from Hamas captivity in Gaza and returned to Israel on Sunday, as a highly anticipated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect.

  • Biden welcomes Gaza ceasefire as aid trucks rush to help civilians

    "Today the guns in Gaza have gone silent," Biden said in brief remarks during a visit to North Charleston, South Carolina. "We anticipate several hundred trucks will enter the Gaza Strip probably just as I am speaking." Most civilians in the Gaza Strip have been displaced during 15 months of Israeli bombardment aimed at eliminating the Hamas militants who attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

  • Who is Han Zheng, the senior Chinese official attending Trump’s inauguration?

    Chinese leader Xi Jinping may not have personally accepted US President-elect Donald Trump’s invitation to his inauguration, but Beijing has taken the rare step of dispatching a top official to join the swearing-in ceremony in Washington.

  • Bernie Sanders's Face During Donald Trump's Inauguration Is Going Viral

    Probably the only reasonable response to such a speech.

  • MAGA Offers Baffling Explanation for Elon Musk’s Salute

    The MAGA world wasted no time finding an explanation for Elon Musk’s evocative hand gesture. Musk quickly flung up his hand and after placing it over his heart at a post-inauguration rally, putting his arm at an angle that raised eyebrows across the world. While many were quick to call the gesture a Nazi salute—or a Roman salute, which also has fascist connections—some conservative influencers have countered Musk is merely awkward and it was his way of showing his appreciation to Donald Trump su

  • Trump Really Is Renaming the Gulf of Mexico on Day 1 of MAGA 2.0

    Part of Donald Trump’s long list of day one executive orders is a pair of controversial name changes. Trump is set to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” and revert Alaska’s Mt. Denali back to its previous name of Mount McKinley, the New York Post reported. A preview of the orders said the immediate change is to honor “American greatness.”

  • 14 Big Yikes, Awkward Moments From Trump's Second Inauguration

    The silence before Carrie Underwood sang was deafening.

  • Ivanka Trump's Custom Oscar de la Renta Pre-Inauguration Dress Has Already Caused a Commotion

    Welcome to the next four years.