Author: Ayyoob el-Firman

South Korea’s military said Thursday it scrambled fighter jets as two Chinese and four Russian military planes entered its air defence zone, an area wider than the country’s airspace. The Chinese and Russian planes entered and exited the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ) in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, from 11:53 am (0253 GMT) to 12:10 pm, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. But “there was no invasion of airspace”, it added, and the South Korean military identified the planes “before they entered KADIZ, and deployed air force fighter jets to take tactical measures in…

WASHINGTON — The effort to ease tensions in the Asia-Pacific region begun at last week’s U.S.-China summit is expected to continue at coming talks among three Northeast Asian powers, but experts say South Korea’s close alignment with Washington leaves little room for major improvement. Trilateral talks among the foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan are expected to take place as early as this weekend in Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city. They come little more than a week after Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met on November 15 near San Francisco, the site of an APEC summit. Biden said…

We have travelled a long road together in a short time. Over the last two weeks, we have worked hard to secure a better future for our people and planet. We should be proud of our historic achievement. And the United Arab Emirates, my country, is rightly proud of its role in helping the world to move this forward. The world needed to find a new way. By following our North Star, we have found that path. We have delivered a comprehensive response to the Global Stocktake and all the other mandates. Together, we have confronted realities and set the…

While the world’s attention has been fixed on the Israel-Hamas crisis in the Middle East, the ingrained Sino-US rivalry and developments in the Indo-Pacific, including in Taiwan and the South China Sea, are still on the radar. Taiwan will elect a new president in January, and Democratic Progressive Party candidate William Lai Ching-te has emerged as the frontrunner in the race. On the mainland, there has been a shake-up of senior officials in the past few months. Beijing remains determined to maintain its dominance in the South China Sea, as evidenced by the recent hard-power intimidation of Philippine vessels and the dangerous manoeuvre with a US…

Economic officials from the UAE and the Philippines have held advanced discussions to strengthen relations as the two countries work towards forging a key trade deal. The talks were held during the UAE-Philippines Business Forum held in Manila, where the two sides explored opportunities for investments and co-operation with the private sector. The countries began talks for a Comprehensive and Economic Partnership Agreement in February 2022. In September this year, officials said the both sides were edging closer to a deal. The UAE trade delegation, led by Ahmed Al Sayegh, Minister of State, and Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign…

ABU DHABI, Nov 4 (Reuters) – The United States needs to push for a quick end to the Israel-Hamas war and a new process to resolve the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian issue or Washington will be seen as ineffective, the diplomatic adviser to the United Arab Emirates president said on Saturday. Anwar Gargash also said that Israel’s response to the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack has been “disproportionate”, while the two decade policy of containment of the Palestinian issue by Israel had failed. Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip has angered Arab states who are concerned about sharply rising civilian casualties and…

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea leader Kim Jong Un exchanged letters with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, vowing to advance their ties and wishing him victory over what he called hegemony and pressure from imperialists, Pyongyang’s state media KCNA said. The letters mark the 75th anniversary of bilateral relations, and came about a month after Kim’s rare trip to Russia during which he and Putin discussed military cooperation, including over North Korea’s satellite programme, and the war in Ukraine. In his letter, Kim said he was extremely satisfied with their “candid, comprehensive” discussions during the visit. He pledged to…

Toronto, Atlanta (24/10 – 10) Not too long ago, “Halloween”, a contraction of the Christian holiday known as “All Hallows’ Eve,” was a time to honors dead saints. Take a look at the multi-billion-dollar enterprise, celebrated on October 31st every year, which it has evolved into, at least in North America, and you’ll find no sainted creatures – but a plethora of devils and the dead. Not to mention the Undead (imagine Yoko Ono) which have leaked out of the hundreds upon hundreds of horror movies, many of them truly horrible horrors, since brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière invented the…

DUBAI, Oct 14 (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates and South Korea have concluded talks towards a bilateral trade deal, known as a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the two countries said on Saturday. Trade and investment ties between the Gulf state and South Korea have been steadily advancing; in the first half of 2023, bilateral non-oil trade reached $3 billion, similar to the same period last year, but up 21% over 2021, a statement said. The Korea Electric Power Corporation and a consortium of Korean firms also constructed all four units of the $20 billion nuclear Barakah Power Plant…

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, September 27. The aviation authorities of Uzbekistan and Russia have agreed on a significant increase in the number of flights, Trend reports. As per data by the Ministry of Transport of Russia, increase will be recorded in the number of following routes: Tashkent – Moscow – Tashkent – from 39 to 50 times a week Tashkent – St. Petersburg – Tashkent – from 7 to 14 times a week Bukhara – Moscow – Bukhara – from 10 to 14 times a week Urgench – Moscow – Urgench – from 7 to 14 times a week Tashkent – Krasnoyarsk – Tashkent –…