International News

BERLIN, November 4 ------ What appeared to be a limited strike by the United States on Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz hours before U.S. elections is raising questions about what’s coming next. For weeks now, US President Donald Trump has said he was considering launching a new wave of strikes on Iran after the elections. Just days ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressed Trump for renewed military action, according to two regional officials and a thir

BRASILIA, Brazil, November 4 ------ Brazil is ending its year-long presidency of the UN climate process with roadmaps aimed at curbing deforestation and accelerating a shift away from fossil fuels to help governments deliver on past climate agreements. COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago, who led last November’s UN climate summit in Belem, said governments must integrate climate goals into policymaking. “We don’t need more negotiations. What we need is for governments to s

November 4 ------ President Volodymyr Zelensky said Elon Musk had been in communication with both him and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, in a PBS NewsHour interview. “At the very beginning of the war, Elon had communication with Putin and with me,” Zelensky said. He gave no details about when the contacts took place, what they were concerned about, or whether they were direct conversations. Zelensky made the remark while

KYIV, November 4 ------ Russia pummeled Ukraine with a fresh wave of overnight strikes a day after a bombing of an aid center killed nearly 30 people, Kyiv said with President Volodymyr Zelensky denouncing the attacks as "terror." Moscow launched the strikes a week before Russia-Ukraine-US talks is due to resume in the United Arab Emirates’ capital Abu Dhabi. The strikes rained down across the country a night after Russian bombs reduced to rubble a former school-turned-huma

NEW YORK, November 3 ------ Oil prices tumbled more than 7 per cent, the eve of crucial midterm elections in the United States, as signals that Tehran and Washington were renewing dialogue boosted hopes of ending the Middle East war. Iran said "intensive" exchanges were underway with Washington and offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz under strict conditions, as efforts escalated to avert a return to conflict. Earlier, the Axios news outlet reported that US Vice President

ATLANTA, November 3 ------ Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said that his country will cooperate even more closely with Saudi Arabia to restore free and safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. At a meeting with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, in Atlanta in the U.S. state of Georgia, Motegi also expressed concern about the deteriorating situation in Yemen and reiterated Japan's commitment to diplomatic efforts in the region. Motegi out

November 3 ------ China has shown no interest in holding a three-way summit with Russia and the US to discuss Russia’s war against Ukraine, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said, adding that Beijing views the conflict as a European issue. Steinmeier made the remarks in an interview with German public broadcaster ARD. He said he had raised the possibility of a Ukraine-focused summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting in Beijing on Friday, Oct. 30.

KYIV, November 3 ------ Ukraine said multiple Russian strikes on a school where humanitarian aid was distributed killed at least 24 people and dashed fragile hopes of "progress toward peace" after a local ceasefire in the south expired without violations. Russia resumed its strikes on the southern region of Kherson after the end of a local ceasefire in the area, the longest truce in the war raging between the neighbors since Russia's 2022 invasion, Kyiv said. A rare pause