"The resumption of train services suggests that exchanges of people and goods are gradually returning to normal. It also appears to send a message to the international community that China and North Korea are strengthening ties amid the current global situation."
When London granted independence to its former colony in 1960, it reserved this territory and Dhekelia, in the east of the island, to maintain a foothold in the Middle East. In fact, both bases have been used in the invasion of Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, the operation against Gaddafi in Libya, and the protection of Israel during the 2024 Iranian attack.
On Thursday, Azerbaijan's foreign ministry said that Iranian drones attacked the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. It's an exclave to the north of Iran, which is separated from the rest of Azerbaijan by Armenia. One drone damaged the terminal at Nakhchivan Airport, and another fell near a school building, the ministry said. Two civilians were injured, it added.
Jakub Krupa Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the negotiations with the US over a security guarantees agreement were 100% done and the deal was just waiting to be signed, as Russia has praised the trilateral talks with Ukraine and the US over the weekend as held in constructive spirit. It would be a mistake to expect any significant results from the initial contacts But the very fact that these contacts have begun in a constructive spirit can be viewed positively.
Two meetings, held almost simultaneously towards the end of December, offered a stark illustration of the competing strategic visions now shaping the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. In Damascus, Turkiye's foreign, defence and intelligence chiefs met Syrian officials on December 22 as Ankara continued to prioritise the consolidation of state authority and stabilisation after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria.
"Both sides agreed on "shuttle diplomacy" three years ago, with regular meetings at the highest level. Lee's national security adviser, Wi Sung Lac, said the summit's goal was to build trust between the South Korean and Japanese leaders. Lee and Takaichi discussed ways to boost cooperation in a raft of areas including cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, combating cross-border crime, and promoting people-to-people exchanges."