[ad_1]
Below is a summary of the current world news briefing.
Iran, Saudi Arabia agree to restore ties, reopen embassies
Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on Friday to rebuild ties after a seven-year diplomatic breakdown that has ratcheted up tensions in the Gulf and deepened conflicts from Yemen to Syria. The deal came after talks in Beijing between top security officials from the two Middle East rival powers.
Xi Jinping wins third term as China’s president amid many challenges
Xi Jinping assumed the presidency of China for an unprecedented third time at a meeting of the National People’s Congress on Friday, tightening his grip on the world’s second-largest economy as it emerges from a COVID slump and diplomatic challenges mount. In an election with no other candidate, nearly 3,000 members of China’s rubber-stamp parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), voted unanimously for Xi, 69, in the Great Hall of the People.
Georgian parliament drops ‘foreign agents’ bill
Georgia’s parliament on Friday abandoned plans for a “foreign agent” bill that sparked a political crisis and threatened to undermine the country’s efforts to forge closer ties with Europe. Lawmakers voted against the bill in its second reading on Friday after the ruling Georgia Dream party withdrew its support for the bill.
Ukraine says Battle of Bakhmut pinned down Russia’s best troops
An aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine had decided to keep fighting in the destroyed city of Bakhmut because it was drawing down Russia’s best troops and was planned Weaken them before the Ukrainian spring counteroffensive. Mykhailo Podolyak’s comments were the latest signal that Kiev is turning this week to continue defending the small eastern city, site of some of the bloodiest fighting in the war, as Moscow tries to secure its first victory in more than half a year.
Factbox – Jehovah’s Witnesses: some facts about their history and community in Germany
Here are some facts about Jehovah’s Witnesses and their community in Germany, which were shocked by Thursday’s mass shooting at the Jehovah’s Witnesses hall in Hamburg. – The Jehovah’s Witnesses are an international Christian denomination that was founded in the United States around 1870. According to the sect’s website, they have about 8.7 million active followers in 239 countries around the world.
Boat carrying 500 migrants needs rescue in Sicily – charity
About 500 migrants will need to be rescued from a boat off the coast of Sicily following a sharp increase in the number of people at sea heading to Italy and a recent deadly shipwreck, the Alarm Phone charity said on Friday. The charity, which answers calls from migrant boats in distress, said on Twitter that it had alerted the “competent authorities” and urged them: “Don’t waste time: help immediately!”.
After tough years, France and UK tout post-Brexit reset
French and British leaders met on Friday to iron out differences over immigration and deepen military ties after years of wrangling over Brexit. Rishi Sunak, who became Britain’s prime minister in October, is hoping to capitalize on a renewed friendship with Emmanuel Macron and said on his arrival in Paris that he wanted to start negotiations with the EU on a deal that would eventually allow the return of migrants arriving on British shores.
Biden to host Australia and UK to reveal details of submarine deal to counter China
U.S. President Joe Biden will meet Australian and British leaders in San Diego on Monday to announce the way forward for Australia to receive a nuclear-powered submarine in Canberra’s largest-ever defense project. The three countries announced the so-called AUKUS program in 2021 as part of efforts to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region.
Russia says still in touch with U.S. over nuclear treaty, but outlook is bleak
Russia said on Friday that it was still in contact with the United States on the last remaining nuclear weapons treaty despite suspending the treaty last month, but hoped to return to it was unlikely. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying that he did not expect any significant progress in contacts between Moscow and Washington on the New START treaty.
German gunman kills 7, including unborn baby, at Jehovah’s Witnesses auditorium – police
A German gunman shot dead seven people, including an unborn baby, before committing suicide at a Jehovah’s Witnesses chapel in Hamburg, police and prosecutors said on Friday. The 35-year-old German citizen and former Jehovah’s Witness used a semiautomatic pistol he had legally owned since December in Thursday night’s shooting, a Hamburg state prosecutor told a joint news conference with police .
(According to agency opinion.)
[ad_2]
Source link