Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Pakistan announced mourning days

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May 20, 2024
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Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani offered his condolences on Raisi’s death and announced a day of mourning on Tuesday.

Lebanon and Syria announced three days of national mourning.

Iran enjoys sway in both countries, backing the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon and supporting Syria’s government and security forces throughout more than a decade of war.

“I can’t tell you how sorry I am about this incident that happened. Especially that the foreign minister had become a friend,” Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told reporters on Monday.

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, Lebanese officials and Hezbollah also offered their condolences.

Pakistan also declared a day of mourning.

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June 9, 2025
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Russia says plan to boost role in Africa includes ‘sensitive’ security ties

Russia plans to step up cooperation with African countries, including in “sensitive areas” such as defence and security, the Kremlin said on Monday.

Russian mercenary group Wagner said last week it was leaving Mali after helping the military junta there in its fight with Islamist militants. But the Africa Corps, a Kremlin-controlled paramilitary force, said it would remain in the west African country.

Asked what this meant for Russia’s role in Africa, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “The Russian presence in Africa is growing. We really intend to comprehensively develop our interaction with African countries, focusing primarily on economic and investment interaction.

“This also corresponds to and extends to such sensitive areas as defence and security. In this regard, Russia will also continue interaction and cooperation with African states.”

Russia’s growing security role in parts of the continent, including in countries such as Mali, Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea, is viewed with concern by the West, and has come at the expense of France and the United States.

Russia’s Africa Corps was created with the Russian Defence Ministry’s support after Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and commander Dmitry Utkin led a failed mutiny against the Russian army leadership in June 2023 and were killed two months later in a plane crash.

About 70-80% of the Africa Corps is made up of former Wagner members, according to several Telegram chats used by Russian mercenaries seen by Reuters.

Source: reuters.com

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June 9, 2025
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US-China trade, minerals talks in London set to extend to second day

U.S.-China trade talks were set to extend to a second day in London as top economic officials from the world’s two largest economies sought to defuse a bitter dispute that has widened from tariffs to restrictions over rare earths, threatening a global supply chain shock and slower economic growth.

Talks at Lancaster House, an ornate UK government mansion, wrapped for the night on Monday and were set to resume at 10 a.m. BST (0900 GMT) on Tuesday, a U.S. source familiar with the negotiations said.

Washington and Beijing are trying to revive a temporary truce struck in Geneva that had briefly lowered trade tensions and calmed markets.

Since then, the U.S. has accused China of slow-walking its commitments, particularly around rare earths shipments.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the talks were going well and he was “only getting good reports” from his team in London.

“We’re doing well with China. China’s not easy,” Trump said, offering no details on the substance of the discussions.

Asked about lifting export controls, Trump told reporters at the White House: “We’re going to see.”

The London talks come at a crucial time for both economies, which are showing signs of strain from Trump’s cascade of tariff orders since his return to the White House in January.

Customs data showed that China’s exports to the U.S. plunged 34.5% year-on-year in May in value terms, the sharpest drop since February 2020, when the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic upended global trade.

In the U.S., business and household confidence has taken a pummeling, while first-quarter gross domestic product contracted due to a record surge in imports as Americans front-loaded purchases to beat anticipated price increases.

Source: reuters.com