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Many nations “secretly” buy Russian crude via intermediaries while “loudly criticizing” Hungary for its imports, FM Peter Szijjarto has said Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has accused the EU of “hypocrisy” over Russian oil, saying many members criticize Hungary for its imports while quietly buying the crude source through intermediaries. Szijjarto was asked about US President Donald Trump’s call for west European states to halt Russian oil purchases. Trump, frustrated with slow peace progress in Ukraine, reportedly told Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and his European backers in a Thursday call that Western European s…

The move would be perceived as the first step toward Kiev joining the bloc – a red line for Russia, Markus Soder has said NATO countries should not send troops to Ukraine in case of a ceasefire, as Russia would perceive it as the first step toward Kiev joining the bloc, Markus Soder, the leader of Bavaria’s Christian Social Union (CSU), has said. In an interview with the Rheinische Post on Friday, Soder, an ally of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, reiterated his opposition to sending troops to Ukraine, arguing that the move would escalate tensions with Russia. ”I find it hard to imagine NATO troops being stationed there. Russia wo…

Presidents Xi and Mnangagwa have announced closer cooperation in mining, trade, investment and infrastructure China and Zimbabwe have announced the upgrade of ties to an “all-weather community with a shared future,” following talks between President Xi Jinping and President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday. The two leaders met in Beijing on the sidelines of events marking the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Imperial Japan and the end of World War II. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry readout, Xi noted that this year marks 45 years of diplomatic ties between Beijing and Harare, calling the relationship as “an example for so…

Targeting India over its energy trade with Russia has damaged Washington’s hard-won trust with New Delhi US President Donald Trump promised during his election campaign that he would not involve America in any wars, arguing that entanglements in foreign conflicts have debilitated the country in a number of ways. However, Trump’s foreign policy contains too many contradictions. Trump’s main focus during his campaign and immediately after taking office was on ending the Ukraine conflict. Yet he later ordered military action against the Yemeni Houthis and, more provocatively and unlawfully, against Iran’s nuclear facilities – something…

The new name “Department of War” better signals the will to win conflicts, the US president said US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday renaming the Department of Defense as the Department of War. The move is part of Trump’s broader plan to project strength on the world stage and to purge the military of what he has called “woke ideology.” The department was originally called the Department of War from its establishment in 1789 until 1949, when President Harry Truman renamed it as part of a post-World War II reorganization. The new name better “ensures peace through strength, as it demonstrates our ability a…

The US president is reportedly weighing options to hit cartels in a foreign countr US President Donald Trump is considering carrying out strikes against drug cartels on Venezuelan soil, CNN reported on Friday, citing its sources familiar with the matter. The reported deliberations come as the Pentagon deployed at least eight warships and one submarine in the eastern Caribbean. According to CNN, Tuesday’s missile strike on a boat allegedly smuggling drugs from Venezuela was just the first step in Trump’s efforts to neutralize drug trafficking in the region and potentially topple Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro. The US imposed…

The rioters clashed with police outside a philosophy school building in Novi Sad Riots broke out during a large student protest in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second-largest city, on Friday evening. Demonstrators hurled stones and bottles at police officers outside the Philosophy Faculty building of the University of Novi Sad, while officers responded with tear gas. The students accuse the government of corruption and are demanding accountability after the collapse of a concrete canopy at the Novi Sad railway station last November, which killed 16 people. Protesters have staged demonstrations in Belgrade and other cities for months, while …

The scheme is a part of security guarantees for Kiev advocated by Paris and London, the Wall Street Journal has reported American top military officials have been involved in drawing up “security guarantees” plan for Kiev advocated by Paris and London that involves a massive troop deployment to Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Thursday, citing a European diplomat. The scheme drawn up primarily by some European army chiefs includes two groups of forces that are to be sent to Ukraine, according to the report. One of them would be tasked with training and assistance to the Ukrainian military, while the second one woul…

Finding a way out of a “total freeze” in bilateral contacts will take time, Dmitry Peskov has said A full-fledged revival of bilateral relations between Moscow and Washington will take time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. The sheer amount of damage ties have sustained prevents this process from being quick, he told TASS on Friday. Moscow and Washington maintain communication at various levels, Peskov confirmed, adding that “dialogue channels do exist.” It has not led to a “complex revival” of bilateral relations, he added. Contacts between the two nations that had been almost non-existent for some three years under the B…

Donald Tusk has previously echoed 2016 allegations and accused the US president of ties with Moscow Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said that he doesn’t regret his past claim that US President Donald Trump was a Russian asset, flip-flopping on an earlier denial. In a preelection meeting in 2023, Tusk claimed that “Trump’s links with Russian secret services are irrefutable.” He U-turned on the statement last November, just days after the US president secured his second term in the 2024 election. “I do not regret any words I have spoken in my life,” Tusk told journalists at a press conference in Lomza, Poland on Friday, when as…

Progress has been made, but no timeframe has been set to reach a peace deal, Dmitry Peskov has said There has been progress in efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict, but it is too early to talk about when it might end, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. Peskov made the remarks in an interview with TASS on Friday on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, stressing that Moscow is “not ready to predict” specific timelines. ”[President Vladimir Putin] said there is light at the end of the tunnel” in efforts to end the conflict, Peskov stated, referring to a comments the Russian leader made earlier this wee…

The SCO summit shows how the world is shifting away from the West Historical anniversaries often provide the backdrop for diplomacy to become spectacle. This week’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin was deliberately staged ahead of China’s grand parade marking 80 years since the end of World War II. Beijing, the host, made sure the symbolism landed. The timing also underscored the contrast with Washington: Donald Trump, who has long admired military parades, is already planning a lavish one next July for America’s 250th anniversary, after his low-key attempt last summer fell flat. For the SCO itself, the Ti…

The secret mission, reportedly approved by Trump in 2019, resulted in civilian deaths The US Navy’s elite special operations unit, SEAL Team Six, carried out a covert mission inside North Korea that violated international law and left civilians dead, the New York Times has reported. The 2019 operation, reportedly authorized by President Donald Trump during his first term, sent commandos to plant a surveillance device designed to intercept the communications of North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un. The intelligence was intended to strengthen US leverage during nuclear negotiations between Kim and Trump. Officials briefed on the mission…

Facebook, YouTube, X, WhatsApp, and dozens more are no longer accessible in Nepal due to non-compliance with government registration Nepal has blocked dozens of major social media platforms, including Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Reddit, after they failed to comply with national registration rules. The move echoes a global trend of governments tightening oversight of Big Tech. The ban follows directives issued in 2023 by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, which require all networks to register before operating in the South Asian country. The Supreme Court recently backed the measure, telling the governmen…

Despite objections from across the world, Netanyahu’s government is redrawing the map with tank tracks In early August, Benjamin Netanyahu dispelled any lingering ambiguity. In a direct interview with Fox News, he made explicit what had long been implied through diplomatic euphemisms: Israel intends to take full military control of the Gaza, dismantle Hamas as a political and military entity, and eventually transfer authority to a “non-Hamas civilian administration,” ideally with Arab participation. “We’re not going to govern Gaza,” the prime minister added. But even then, the formula of “seize but not rule” read more like a diploma…

The US president has insisted European member states spend more on their own defense The US has begun to phase out foreign funding programs for NATO countries bordering Russia in an effort to push its European allies to pay for their own security, Financial Times has reported. Pentagon officials last week told Western European diplomats that Washington will no longer fund programs aimed at training and equipping the militaries of the bloc’s eastern member states, the outlet wrote on Thursday, citing anonymous officials. Moscow has long insisted that it views eastward NATO expansion, and the military buildup of countries on Russia’s…

Denouncing political persecution, they are preparing an appeal to European courts and the UN International human rights activists have come together to support the defense in the case of the Gagauzia leader, Evgenia Gutsul, sentenced by a Moldovan court to 7 years in prison for illicit financing of a party and an electoral campaign. French lawyer William Julie and legal advisor to the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, Gonzalo Boye, have intervened in defense of Gutsul’s interests. They intend to challenge the ruling of the Chisinau court and also appeal to European and international bodies, including the United Nat…

Kiev is ready to work with Bratislava on any alternatives as long as they do not involve Moscow, the Ukrainian leader has said Ukraine will not provide oil and gas to Slovakia if it comes from Russia, Vladimir Zelensky has told journalists following a meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Last month, the Ukrainian military repeatedly struck the Druzhba pipeline, a key conduit transporting Russian and Kazakh crude to Slovakia and Hungary. Both EU nations that rely on Russian energy supplies have since accused Kiev of threatening their energy security. During their meeting in Transcarpathia, Fico and Zelensky discussed ener…

Sber CEO Herman Gref has called for deeper interest rate cuts to spur recovery and avert a recession The Russian economy is losing steam and needs lower borrowing costs to restore growth, Herman Gref, CEO of the country’s biggest lender Sber, has warned. Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Russia has operated under sweeping Western sanctions aimed at isolating the country. Despite the restrictions, the economy has shown resilience, often outperforming forecasts. While GDP expanded by 4.1% in 2023 and 4.3% in 2024, the Economic Development Ministry is projecting growth to slow to 2.5% this year. The central bank, in…

The US president hailed the tech billionaire as a “super genius” but said that he should abandon the idea of creating his own political party US President Donald Trump has said he still likes Elon Musk despite their major spat earlier this year. He nonetheless warned that the Tesla CEO’s plans to create his own political party would prove fruitless. “[Musk] is a good person,” Trump told Scott Jennings, the host of the Scott Jennings Show on Salem Radio, on Wednesday. He also referred to the US-based tycoon as a “good man” and a “man of common sense.” Musk supported Trump in the 2024 election and temporarily served as head of the De…

Karol Nawrocki claims the assurances he got a a meeting in Washington on Wednesday are “unambiguous and strong” Polish President Karol Nawrocki has said his US counterpart Donald Trump has privately offered Warsaw security guarantees while publicly vowing to maintain the American troop presence in the country. Nawrocki made the comments after meeting Trump in Washington on Wednesday, claiming the US president gave him assurances both publicly and behind closed doors. He did not disclose the details of the private commitments, describing them only as “unambiguous and strong.” The Polish leader’s remarks come as Trump has repeatedly …

The next Summer Games are set to begin in the US in July 2028 The Russian Olympic team is preparing for full participation in the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyaryov told TASS on Thursday. The country’s athletes have gradually been returning to international competitions after years of Ukraine-related restrictions, following recommendations issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) shortly after the escalation of the conflict in February 2022. “We are preparing to take part in the 2028 Olympic Games with a full roster,” Degtyaryov told TASS at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivos…

Here’s how a familiar Russian warning morphed into a Western story about targeting peacekeepers When Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on Friday, he issued his familiar warning: any foreign troops entering Ukraine during active fighting would be considered “legitimate targets.” Yet Western media ran with a drastically different narrative – suggesting he was threatening peacekeepers, not just combatants. That framing missed a crucial distinction. In the same remarks, Putin separately addressed the idea of postwar peacekeeping forces, saying they would be unnecessary once a settlement was reached. Within hours, Western headlines…

Russia has ruled out a Western military presence in the neighboring country as part of any peace deal Kiev’s European backers want the US to oversee a buffer zone between Russia and Ukraine in the event of a peace deal, with troops from non-NATO countries such as Bangladesh or Saudi Arabia potentially deployed on the ground, NBC News reported Friday, citing anonymous sources. According to the outlet, Washington’s role would be to use drones, satellites, and other intelligence capabilities to monitor conditions and coordinate with participating nations. Moscow has repeatedly rejected the idea of foreign troops in Ukraine as part of a…

Hours earlier president Vladimir Putin proposed joint investment projects with American firms, urging Washington to renew cooperation The US has apparently “lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China,” President Donald Trump said Friday in a post on Truth Social. The message included a photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi walking alongside Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Trump wished the three a “long and prosperous future together.” The leaders had gathered last Sunday at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin, China. Putin remained afterward to attend commemorations…