International

GBDESK// US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was to meet Gulf Arab officials in Saudi Arabia today at a time of rapidly shifting alliances following the oil-rich kingdom's rapprochement with Iran. Blinken will attend a Gulf…

GBDESK// Meetings between senior US and Chinese officials in China this week struck an upbeat chord, with both sides agreeing to maintain communication lines, even as Beijing remains leery of more "provocative" US moves and open clashes…

GBDESK// An explosion near the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Saturday hit a two-storey dwelling, injuring 20 people including five children, and rescuers pulled residents out from under the rubble, the regional governor said.…

GBDESK// China's defence minister yesterday warned against establishing Nato-like military alliances in the Asia-Pacific, saying they would plunge the region into a "whirlpool" of conflict. Li Shangfu's comments came a day after US…

GBDESK// CIA director William Burns visited China last month for talks with Chinese counterparts, two US officials said on Friday as Washington seeks to boost communications with Beijing. "Last month, Director Burns traveled to…

GBDESK// With hundreds killed and more injured in a three-train collision in India, AFP looks back on some of the worst rail disasters of the last 10 years: - Greek collision - On February 28, 2023, a head-on collision between a…

GBDESK// The US Senate voted in favor of a bipartisan deal to suspend the government's $31.4 trillion (€29.4 trillion) debt ceiling on Thursday. The Senate approved the bill with a vote of 63-36 in a race against time after months…

GBDESK// Senior officials from more than a dozen countries, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, were in talks on forging closer links with the BRICS bloc of major emerging economies today as it met to deepen ties and position itself as a…

GBDESK// US congressional leaders yesterday invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a joint meeting of the House of Representatives and Senate on June 22, one of the highest honors Washington affords to foreign…

GBDESK// Top diplomats from BRICS countries called for a "rebalancing" of the global order during talks in South Africa today, as the bloc seeks a larger voice in the international arena. Foreign ministers from the five-nation…