The US and China will Monday give details of "substantial progress" touted by Washington on trade talks aimed at ending a devastating tariff war launched by US President Donald Trump that has wiped billions off equities and brought chaos to international commerce.

Asian stocks rallied Monday after top Chinese and US officials held "substantial" trade talks at the weekend, fuelling hopes the two sides will dial down a tariff standoff that has rattled global markets and fuelled recession fears.

Poonch, India -  A ceasefire appeared to hold on Sunday between India and Pakistan, hours after the nuclear-armed rivals accused each other of violating a truce that brought them back from the brink of all-out war. The ceasefire was agreed on Saturday after four days of missile, drone and artillery...

Washington expressed optimism at the end of a weekend of trade talks with China aimed to de-escalate trade tensions sparked by President Donald Trump's aggressive tariff rollout.

Iran and the United States wrapped up nuclear talks in Oman on Sunday with no apparent breakthrough in a public standoff over enrichment, but with both sides confirming plans for future negotiations.

Geneva, Switzerland - US President Donald Trump hailed a "total reset" in US-China trade relations, ahead of a second day of talks Sunday between top officials from Washington and Beijing aimed at de-escalating trade tensions sparked by his aggressive tariff rollout. In a Truth Social post early Sunday, Trump praised...

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said ahead of Sunday's meeting that "the negotiations are progressing and, naturally, the further we go, the more consultations and considerations we need" and the more time is required "to review the issues raised".

Geneva, Switzerland - Senior US and Chinese officials were meeting in Geneva Saturday in what Chinese state media described as an "important step" towards resolving the trade war sparked by President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were holding talks with...

Washington, United States - President Donald Trump said Sunday he was ordering new tariffs on all films made outside the United States, claiming Hollywood was being "devastated" by a trend of US filmmakers and studios working abroad. The announcement comes as the White House is coming under mounting criticism over...

Los Angeles, United States - A cat that fell alongside a couple into a 115-meter-high canyon was the only survivor of the incident in the western United States, an animal protection organization said Thursday. The feline "was found in a black soft-sided carrier that was dirty and torn, but seemed...

The United States said Wednesday it was imposing sanctions on seven companies involved in selling Iranian oil, tightening pressure despite new nuclear talks between the adversaries.

The United Nations expressed deep alarm on Monday at reports that US strikes on Yemen killed scores of people at a migrant detention centre in a stronghold of the Huthi rebels.

Muscat, Oman - The United States and Iran went into detail about a potential nuclear deal Saturday at their third consecutive round of talks, hoping to strike an accord that would ease regional tensions. US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi again led the talks, which...

With several markets still closed for the Easter holiday, business was limited ahead of a week that will see the release of key data that should give an insight into the impact of the US president's trade war. Several nations have moved to cut a deal with Washington to stem...

Washington, United States - The US Supreme Court, in a dramatic nighttime intervention Saturday, paused President Donald Trump's unprecedented use of an obscure law to deport Venezuelan migrants without due process. The emergency ruling, delivered in two terse paragraphs, noted that two of the most conservative of the nine justices...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia’s merchandise imports increased 8 percent year-on-year (YoY) to SAR 72.6 billion ($19.34 billion) in January, according to data issued by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). Meanwhile, merchandise imports fell by 8 percent, or nearly SAR 6.4 billion, month-on-month (MoM). Machinery and mechanical appliances,...

Iran's foreign minister is to visit ally Russia this week to discuss nuclear negotiations with the United States, ahead of a new round of talks planned between the foes.

Washington, United States -- The Trump administration has exempted a raft of consumer electronics from its punishing import tariffs -- offering relief to US tech firms and partially dialling down a trade war with China. A notice late Friday by the US Customs and Border Protection office said smartphones, laptops,...

WHO members on Saturday reached agreement over how to tackle future pandemics after three years of discussions, the co-chair of the negotiating body told AFP.

Last month, Trump sent a letter to Khamenei, who has the final say in matters of state in Iran, calling for direct negotiations but warning of military action if the diplomacy fails.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday lamented the lack of a US response to Russia's refusal to sign "a full, unconditional ceasefire" as two people were killed in Moscow's latest aerial bombardment.

Opponents of the Republican president's policies -- from government staffing cuts to trade tariffs and eroding civil liberties -- rallied in Washington, New York, Houston, Florida, Colorado and Los Angeles, among other locations. "I am so angry, I'm so mad, all the time, yes. A bunch of privileged, white alleged...

It must find non-Chinese owner to avoid ban.

Western countries including the United States have long accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapon, which Tehran has denied, insisting that its enrichment activities are solely for peaceful purposes.

A US journalist was inadvertently included in a group chat in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and other top officials discussed upcoming strikes against Yemen's Huthi rebels, the White House confirmed Monday.

The US-Ukraine and US-Russia talks were originally planned to take place simultaneously to enable shuttle diplomacy, with the United States going back and forth between the delegations, but they are now taking place one after the other.

TikTok faces a deadline to divest from its Chinese owner or be banned in the US.

Moscow has rejected a joint US-Ukraine proposal of a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire, instead suggesting just to halt aerial strikes on energy facilities. Despite that offer, both sides have continued to launch aerial attacks in the run-up to the negotiations.

Donald Trump spoke to both Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky this week and the US is also due to hold talks with Kyiv in the coming days. "These consultations will take place on Monday, March 24th, in Riyadh," Ushakov said Thursday in comments published by the Kremlin.

"We are navigating troubled waters," said the OECD's chief economist Alvaro Santos Pereira as he summed up the world's economic situation in the coming months, with inflation set to rise. US President Donald Trump's return to the White House is in part responsible for the coming turbulence, the OECD said...

Russia has mounted a rapid counteroffensive in the western border region of Kursk over the past week, recapturing much of the territory Ukraine seized in a shock incursion last August.

During the initial six-week phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released 33 hostages, including eight who were deceased, in exchange for about 1,800 Palestinians captive in Israeli prisons. Hamas also released five Thai captives outside the accord.

It was not immediately clear whether Trump's comments signalled further backtracking from his widely criticised proposal to take over the Palestinian territory, displacing its population to neighbouring countries.

The plan by Muslim-majority nations has been rejected by both Israel and its key ally the United States, but has been endorsed by Britain, France, Germany and Italy.

The talks on Tuesday will be the first Ukraine-US meeting since a White House blow-up between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump that led to Washington halting military aid to Kyiv. "We do have a proposal for a ceasefire in the sky and ceasefire at sea," the official told AFP.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia on Friday welcomed a meeting between the United States and Ukraine due next week in Jeddah, describing it as part of the kingdom's efforts "to end the Ukrainian crisis". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had announced he would travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday to...

President Donald Trump suspended military aid to Ukraine on Monday, a US official told AFP, sharply escalating pressure on Kyiv to agree to peace negotiations with Russia. The move comes just days after a stunning public clash at the White House between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump, who is...

Washington, United States -- More than fifty years passed between the last Apollo mission and the United States' return to the lunar surface, when the first-ever private lander touched down last February. Now, starting Sunday, two more missions are set to follow within a single week, marking a bold push...

San Francisco, United States - Microsoft on Friday announced it was retiring Skype, the online voice and video call pioneer that the tech titan acquired in 2011. "Starting in May 2025, Skype will no longer be available," said a post from Skype support on X, directing users to sign into...

Washington noted European nations would have to have a seat at the negotiating table "at some point", following the first high-level official Washington-Moscow talks since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In 2015, Iran struck a landmark deal with the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia to regulate its nuclear programme in return for the easing of international sanctions. However, in 2018, during his first term, Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the agreement and reinstated heavy sanctions...

The United Nations and the European Union also urged Trump on Friday to reverse the decision ordering asset freezes and travel bans against ICC officials, employees and their family members, along with anyone deemed to have helped the court's investigations.

Trump said that by the time of the handover, Palestinians "would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities". Israel's defense minister meanwhile ordered the army to prepare for "voluntary" departures from Gaza, following Trump's remarks.

As the first phase of the ceasefire takes effect, the world watches to see whether this temporary reprieve will be the first step toward lasting peace or whether the violence will soon resume.

Discussions led by the UAE include provisional administration, PA leadership overhaul, and Gaza reconstruction, requiring extensive international cooperation and adherence to a two-state solution framework.

Julani’s appeal comes as Syria signals a shift in its diplomatic tone. Maher Marwan, Damascus’ new governor, told NPR that Syria seeks peace and harbors no hostility toward Israel or any other nation. “We have no plans to interfere with anything that could undermine Israel’s safety. Our people yearn for...

The US proposes an $8 billion arms deal with Israel, plans intensified strikes on Yemen's Houthis, while Israel considers cutting Gaza aid following President-elect Trump’s inauguration, signaling shifting Middle East dynamics.

Barbara Leaf, Washington's top diplomat for the Middle East, told Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa of the "critical need to ensure terrorist groups cannot pose a threat inside of Syria or externally, including to the US and our partners in the region."

Washington, United States -- The United Arab Emirates has informed the United States that it will not arm paramilitaries in Sudan's brutal civil war, US lawmakers long critical of the Gulf power's role quoted the White House as saying on Thursday.The assurance came as the United States announced $200 million in...

Washington, United States -- US President Joe Biden said Friday he was canceling student loans for an additional 55,000 Americans, which would amount to wiping out $4.28 billion in debt in his final month in office.The mass cancellation of debt is for "teachers, nurses, service members, law enforcement officials, and other...