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TAIPEI, March 30 (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers visiting Taipei on Monday urged approval of President Lai Ching-te’s stalled $40 billion defence budget, warning further delays risk undermining the island’s ability to deter Chinese military pressure even as Washington accelerates arms sales and security support. The U.S. is democratically governed Taiwan’s most important international backer and …
By Liz Lee and Kantaro Komiya BEIJING/TOKYO, March 30 (Reuters) – China imposed sanctions on Monday on Japanese lawmaker Keiji Furuya, a close aide of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, due to his “collusion with Taiwan independence” forces, in its latest move in a diplomatic row over Taiwan. Beijing will bar Furuya’s entry into China …
NEW YORK (AP) — St. John’s says Hall of Fame basketball coach Rick Pitino has signed a new agreement that will keep him under contract with the school through the end of this decade. Pitino was hired in March 2023 and given a six-year contract through 2029. Several media outlets, citing anonymous sources, reported Sunday …
“Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” Trump told the Financial Times in an interview Monday. “It would also mean we had to be there (on Kharg Island) for a while.” Iran has threatened to mine the Persian Gulf if its territory is invaded. The United States and …
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kushtrim Ajvazi is proud to be part of a successful business in one of the poorest countries in Europe. The company where he is a manager produces potato chips and other snacks that can be found in almost every shop in Kosovo and are exported abroad. But Ajvazi’s company faces unplanned …
DUBAI, March 30 (Reuters) – Iran executed two men convicted of links to opposition group People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran and plotting armed attacks in Tehran using improvised launcher devices, its judiciary news outlet said on Monday. The news outlet did not provide details about when they were arrested. (Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by …
SYDNEY, March 30 (Reuters) – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday said he wanted more certainty from U.S. President Donald Trump on the objectives of the ongoing war in Iran. “I want to see more certainty in what the objectives of the war are and I want to see a de-escalation,” Albanese said, responding …
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump openly mused about seizing Iran’s Kharg Island oil terminal in the Persian Gulf and the United States and Israel kept up their attacks Monday on the Islamic Republic, even as there were signs of progress in nascent ceasefire talks. Tehran, meanwhile, struck a key water and …
KABUL, March 30 (Reuters) – Afghanistan and Pakistan have traded heavy fire, both sides said, days after they announced a temporary pause in fighting, escalating tensions in the volatile region as Islamabad prepares to host talks between the U.S. and Iran. The border clashes came on Sunday, the day Pakistan hosted regional powers to discuss …
BEIJING (AP) — China’s flag carrier resumed direct flights between Beijing and North Korea’s capital of Pyongyang on Monday not long after the restoration of passenger train services between the capitals. The Air China flight was welcomed by the Chinese ambassador to North Korea, Wang Yajun, and other diplomats, according to Chinese state media. Passenger …