Author: Prima News

Taiwan’s parliament authorised the government on Friday to sign U.S. agreements for four arms sales ‌packages worth some $9 billion, after officials warned that Taipei would go to the back of the queue if it missed the deadline, sending the wrong message to Washington. The back and forth on Taiwan’s defence spending has provoked concern in the United States, as it is the most important international backer ​and arms supplier of the Chinese-claimed island, despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties. “This body upholds the principle ​of placing national security first and firmly defending territorial integrity,” parliament speaker Han Kuo-yu said, reading…

Kazakhstan holds a referendum on Sunday on a new constitution that some ‌critics say could allow President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to remain in charge of Central Asia’s largest economy beyond his current term limit of 2029. Tokayev, a former diplomat who has maintained good relations with Russia, the U.S. and China, has called the referendum “a ​truly historic moment” that moves Kazakhstan, an energy and minerals giant, away from a “super-presidential” system towards ​a greater separation of powers. But some analysts say the draft retains an excessively powerful ⁠presidency. “[It] significantly increases the powers of the head of state and does…

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the U.S. wants to “divide ​Europe” and doesn’t “like the European Union” in an interview ‌published by the Financial Times on Friday, after more than a year of turmoil in transatlantic relations. “What I think is actually important for everybody ​to understand is that the U.S. has been very clear ​that they want to divide Europe. They don’t like ⁠the European Union,” Kallas told the FT. U.S. President Donald Trump has ​repeatedly targeted the European Union in his second term, imposing tariffs on ​member countries and others and talking about annexing Greenland – a move that…

Canadian and Mexican officials on Thursday reaffirmed the importance of ​maintaining the trilateral free trade agreement between their ‌countries and the U.S., amid signals from Washington it could be interested in bilateral deals. Canada’s ambassador to Mexico Cameron MacKay ​and Mexican deputy trade secretary Luis Rosendo Gutierrez ​both told a conference in Mexico City that ⁠maintaining the trilateral U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement was a priority for ​their nations. The meetings follow an announcement by U.S. President Donald ​Trump’s administration on Wednesday of two new trade investigations into alleged forced labor and industrial overcapacity among 16 major trade partners. The move ​seeks to restore tariff…

 Israeli airstrikes hit two buildings in the heart of Beirut near ​the Lebanese government’s headquarters on Thursday, ramping up Israel’s offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah and dragging Lebanon deeper into the Middle East war. A day after Iran-backed Hezbollah launched ‌its biggest rocket salvo of the conflict, Israel’s defence minister said the military had orders to expand the campaign and Israel’s military chief said the operation in Lebanon would not be short. Israel has pounded Lebanon’s south and east and the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, killing nearly 700 people, according to Lebanese authorities. It has also ordered mass evacuations in those…

 Venezuela and Colombia cancelled a meeting of their presidents slated for Friday without explanation, an encounter that would have been the Venezuelan ​leader’s first with a foreign counterpart since she replaced ousted ​predecessor Nicolas Maduro in January. In a joint statement on ⁠Thursday, Venezuela and Colombia attributed cancellation of the meeting between ​Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodriguez and Colombian President Gustavo Petro ​to “force majeure,” a term meaning extraordinary or unforeseeable circumstances. But they gave no details, saying they intended to reschedule soon. News of the cancellation followed a ​phone call on Thursday between Petro and U.S. President Donald ​Trump,…

One-fifth of Australian teenagers ​under 16 were still using social media two months after the country banned platforms from allowing minors, ‌industry data showed, raising questions about the effectiveness of their age-gating methods. The number of 13-to-15-year-olds using TikTok and Snapchat, among the most popular social media apps with Australian teenagers, fell from before the ban took effect in December to February, but still more than 20% used the apps, ​according to a report by parental control software maker Qustodio provided to Reuters. The data is among the first to ​show the effects on youth online behaviour since Australia rolled…

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz ‌Sharif met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on Thursday, where the ​two leaders discussed regional developments, ​the prime minister’s office said. The meeting ⁠comes as the Middle East ​grapples with escalating conflict, including tensions involving ​Israel, the United States and Iran. “The Prime Minister expressed Pakistan’s full solidarity and support ​for the Kingdom of Saudi ​Arabia in these challenging times,” Mosharraf Zaidi, a ‌spokesman ⁠for Sharif, shared a press release from his office on X, adding that the two leaders held an ​in-depth ​exchange of ⁠views on recent regional developments and agreed to…

The US on Thursday announced it has temporarily authorized the purchase of Russian oil stranded at sea to stabilize energy markets, according to media reports. There are nearly 124 million barrels of Russia-origin oil at sea across 30 locations globally as of March 12, CNBC reported, enough crude oil to cover about five to six days of supply. “The temporary increase in oil prices is a short-term and temporary disruption that will result in a massive benefit to our nation and economy in the long-term,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. He noted that the Russian oil…

 UN experts condemned the military assaults on Iran and Lebanon by the US and Israel on Thursday as “flagrant violations of international law.” “The conflict risks engulfing the wider region in catastrophic armed violence and threatens to set yet another precedent of total impunity for some of the world’s strongest military powers,” the experts said in a statement. They stressed that the unprovoked attack by the US and Israel against Iran is “entirely illegal” under international law and constitutes an act of aggression. “US and Israel should stop waging and expanding wars, and considering themselves as above international legality,” the…