Iran and Russia begin joint naval drill in Indian Ocean
The Iranian and Russian militaries have kicked off a joint naval drill in the Indian Ocean aimed at boosting security of maritime trade in the region, Iran’s state TV reported on Tuesday.
World News
Blinken says that for Iran, ‘the path to diplomacy is open’
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that the US was open to diplomacy with Iran and voiced support for the 2015 deal Iran signed with world powers, while asserting that it must not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Conservative group warns of UN effort to create list of ‘LGBT hate groups’
A conservative group is warning that the United Nations is preparing to compile a list of “LGBT hate groups” that could be used as a “blacklist” to punish groups and organizations that subscribe to traditional beliefs about gender and sexuality.
China dethroned the US as Europe’s top trade partner in 2020
According to new economic data, China dethroned the US as Europe’s top trade partner in 2020, likely buoyed by strong demand in China for European goods, and Chinese medical products in Europe.
EU Condemns Silencing Independent Radio In Hungary
The European Union has urged Hungary to allow one of the nation’s last independent radio stations to continue after it was forced off-air on Monday.
Biden debuts on world stage as president with G-7, Munich meetings
President Biden’s vow to expand U.S. engagement with allies will be put to the test later this week when he participates in a virtual meeting with leaders of the world’s wealthiest democracies and then delivers remarks to the annual Munich Security Conference.
Rocket Attack in Iraq Kills 1, Wounds 5
A rocket attack late Monday near the Irbil airport and a nearby base housing U.S. troops killed one foreign civilian contractor and injured at least five other people, the U.S. coalition and officials in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region in Iraq said.
In major breach of nuclear deal, Iran announces end to snap inspections
Iran has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency, the world’s nuclear watchdog, about its plan to end sweeping inspection powers given to the agency under the 2015 nuclear deal, its envoy to the agency wrote on Twitter on Monday.
China Used Secret Microchip to Spy on US Computers
China’s exploitation of products made by Supermicro, as the U.S. company is known, has been under federal scrutiny for much of the past decade, according to 14 former law enforcement and intelligence officials familiar with the matter.
Kosovo’s Anti-Deal Party To Fuel Tensions After Elections
Kosovo held parliamentary elections to form a new government amid concerns that the popularity of an anti-establishment party could undermine talks on normalizing relations with neighboring Serbia. Adding to problems is the coronavirus pandemic and an economic crisis in what is the Western Balkan’s most impoverished nation.
WHO Wuhan mission finds possible signs of wider original outbreak in 2019
Investigators from the World Health Organization (WHO) looking into the origins of coronavirus in China have discovered signs the outbreak was much wider in Wuhan in December 2019 than previously thought, and are urgently seeking access to hundreds of thousands of blood samples from the city that China has not so far let them examine.
China Refuses to Give WHO Raw Data on Early Covid-19 Cases
Chinese authorities refused to provide World Health Organization investigators with raw, personalized data on early Covid-19 cases that could help them determine how and when the coronavirus first began to spread in China, according to WHO investigators who described heated exchanges over the lack of detail.
As WHO team downplays COVID lab-leak theory, director clarifies: ‘All hypotheses remain open’
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is pushing back on suggestions that the group has “discarded” the hypothesis that SARS-Cov-2 leaked from a Chinese lab, following a WHO researching team wrapping its fact-finding mission this week in Wuhan, China, where the virus was first reported.
Magnitude 7.3 earthquake strikes near site of Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Saturday off the coast of Japan’s Fukushima prefecture, which was home to one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters almost a decade ago.
Mario Draghi Italy’s New Prime Minister
The former head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, has been sworn-in as Italy’s prime minister after political turmoil over coronavirus policies.
China bans BBC World News from showing in the country in what appears to be an act of retaliation
China has barred BBC World News from airing in the country, a move that comes not long after the British broadcasting license for a Chinese state-owned entity called CGTN was revoked.
China rapidly expanding military assets in South China Sea, admiral says
China’s military increased both warship and warplane missions in the South China where two U.S. aircraft carriers recently conducted operations to bolster international rights to the seas there, the commander of a carrier strike group in the region said.
UN Atomic Watchdog Says Iran Has Started Producing Uranium Metal In Violation Of 2015 Accord
Iran has begun producing small amounts of uranium metal, the UN atomic watchdog said on February 10, in the latest breach of Tehran’s 2015 deal with world powers as it seeks to ramp up pressure on U.S. President Joe Biden’s new administration.
WHO’s COVID Investigator Is Recipient Of Chinese Communist Cash, Worked With Wuhan Lab For 18 Years
Peter Daszak’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party call into question the validity of his and the World Health Organization (WHO) investigative team which concluded that it is “extremely unlikely” COVID-19 came from a Chinese Communist Party lab. Their claims echo Chinese Communist Party narratives, and Daszak himself implored the world to not “rely” on U.S. intelligence for it is “wrong on many aspects” and “politically charged.”
UN Security Council fail to agree joint declaration on Syria
The United Nations Security Council was unable to reach agreement on a joint declaration about the devastating war in Syria after yet another round of UN peace talks on Tuesday, i24News reports. It was hoped a new declaration would revive the grid-locked peace talks.