ReportWire

Tag: Middle East

  • Iran Insists on Right to Enrichment, Ready for Confidence-Building

    DUBAI, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Recognition of Iran’s right to ‌enrich ​uranium is key for ‌nuclear talks with the U.S. to succeed, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi ​said on Sunday.

    American and Iranian diplomats held indirect talks in Oman on Friday, aimed at ‍reviving diplomacy amid a U.S. ​naval buildup near Iran and Tehran’s vows of a harsh response if attacked.

    “Zero enrichment ​can never ⁠be accepted by us. Hence, we need to focus on discussions that accept enrichment inside Iran while building trust that enrichment is and will stay for peaceful purposes,” Araqchi said.

    Iran and the U.S. held five rounds of nuclear talks last year, which ‌stalled mainly due to disagreements over uranium enrichment inside Iran. In June, the ​U.S. attacked ‌Iranian nuclear facilities at ‍the end ⁠of a 12-day Israeli bombing campaign.

    Tehran has since said it has halted enrichment activity, which the U.S. views as a possible pathway to nuclear bombs. Iran says its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes.

    A diplomat in the region briefed by Iran told Reuters on Friday that Tehran was open to discussing the “level and purity” of enrichment as well as other ​arrangements, as long as it was allowed to enrich uranium on its soil and would be granted sanctions relief in addition to military de-escalation.

    “Iran’s insistence on enrichment is not merely technical or economic (…) it is rooted in a desire for independence and dignity,” Araqchi said. “No one has the right to tell the Iranian nation what it should or should not have.”

    The minister also said that Iran’s missile programme, which the U.S. would like to include in negotiations, had never been part of the agenda.

    President Masoud Pezeshkian said in ​a post on Sunday that talks with the U.S. were a “step forward” and that Tehran wanted its rights under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to be respected.

    The date and venue of the next round of talks will be determined ​in consultation with Oman and might not be Muscat, Araqchi said.

    (Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Chef and author Noor Murad on her latest cookbook


    Chef and author Noor Murad on her latest cookbook – CBS News









































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    Noor Murad’s latest cookbook is a love letter to the Middle Eastern flavors she is known for using in her dishes.

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  • France to Rally Aid for Lebanon as It Warns Truce Gains Remain Fragile

    Feb 6 (Reuters) – France said on ‌Friday ​that Lebanon’s recovery remains precarious ‌despite positive signs following a ceasefire and government transition, and ​it stood ready to support the country’s reconstruction if it continues with reforms.

    French Minister ‍for Europe and Foreign Affairs ​Jean-Noel Barrot, addressing reporters after meetings in Beirut with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun ​and other ⁠top officials, said France was prepared to host a dedicated conference in Paris on reconstruction, but only if reforms continue, legislation is passed and decisions are implemented.

    While Lebanon has adopted banking secrecy and bank resolution laws, it must still complete ‌restructuring, reach an IMF agreement and pass a loss-sharing law, Barrot said. ​He also ‌urged swift action on ‍Hezbollah disarmament ⁠and national reconciliation.

    Barrot said Lebanon had reached a crucial juncture in implementing the November 2024 truce with Israel, as well as restoring state authority over weapons and stabilising a shattered financial system.

    France, the country’s former colonial power, plans to mobilise international backing for the Lebanese armed forces and internal security forces at a separate conference scheduled for ​March 5 in Paris.

    “Lebanon must work to restore confidence – that of its citizens, businesses, depositors, and the diaspora,” Barrot said.

    France’s immediate focus was ensuring respect for the ceasefire, which he emphasised “implies that Israel withdraws from Lebanese territory, in accordance with its commitments, and that civilians are protected from strikes,” alongside implementation by Lebanese authorities of an agreed-upon arms monopoly plan.

    Lebanon has pledged to bring all arms in the country under state control, in line with the 2024 agreement that ended a devastating war between ​Hezbollah and Israel, and has asserted control over areas of the country closest to the border with Israel. But Hezbollah has warned the government that pressing on with efforts to disarm the group throughout the country ​would trigger chaos and possibly civil war.

    (Writing by Feras Dalatey and Tom Perry; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Ukraine Hits Infrastructure at Russian Missile Launch Site, Military Says

    Feb 5 (Reuters) – ‌Ukraine’s ​military said ‌on Thursday it ​had carried out a ‍series of “successful” strikes ​at ​the ⁠infrastructure of a Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile launch site in January.

    Ukraine’s general ‌staff said in a ​statement that ‌some buildings ‍were damaged, ⁠one hangar was “significantly” damaged and some personnel was evacuated from the Kapustin Yar ​test range near the Caspian Sea. It did not provide the dates of the attacks.

    The military added it used its long-range capabilities to carry ​out the strikes, including the Ukrainian-made Flamingo missile.

    (Reporting by Anna ​Pruchnicka; Editing by Daniel Flynn)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • Ukraine, Russia Start Second Day of Peace Talks in Abu Dhabi

    KYIV, Feb ‌5 (Reuters) – ​Ukraine ‌and Russia on ​Thursday started a ‍second day ​of ​U.S.-brokered ⁠talks in Abu Dhabi to discuss how to end ‌their four-year-old war, ​top Ukrainian ‌negotiator ‍Rustem Umerov ⁠said.

    “The second day of negotiations in Abu Dhabi has ​begun,” Umerov said on the Telegram app. “We are working in the same formats as yesterday: trilateral consultations, group work ​and further synchronization of positions.”

    (Reporting by Olena Harmash; ​Editing by Daniel Flynn )

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • Congo Rebel Leader Claims Responsibility for Drone Attack on Strategic Northeast City

    Feb 3 (Reuters) – The leader ‌of ​the AFC/M23 rebel ‌movement in Democratic Republic of Congo ​on Tuesday claimed responsibility on social media for ‍a drone attack targeting ​the airport in the strategic ​northeastern ⁠city of Kisangani.

    The government of Tshopo province, where Kisangani is located, said in a statement on Sunday that eight explosive‑laden drones had targeted ‌the airport serving Kisangani.

    The airport lies about 17 ​km ‌from central Kisangani, hundreds ‍of ⁠kilometres from the front lines in North and South Kivu provinces, where AFC/M23 has seized large swathes of territory since 2022, capturing the key cities of Goma and Bukavu in ​a lightning offensive last year.

    In a post on X, Corneille Nangaa, who leads the AFC, said the attack demonstrated that Congo’s military no longer had air superiority.

    “The use of Kisangani as a platform for projecting terror against our territories is now prohibited. The sanctuary of this rear ​base is over,” he said.

    Congo’s military has not responded to requests for comment on the attacks.

    (Reporting by Clement Bonnerot and ​Congo newsroom; Writing by Ayen Deng Bior and Robbie Corey-Boulet)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • Exclusive-US Shoots Down Iranian Drone Approaching Aircraft Carrier, Official Says

    Feb 3 (Reuters) – ‌The ​U.S. ‌military shot ​down on ‍Tuesday an ​Iranian ​drone that ⁠approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier ‌in the Arabian ​Sea, a ‌U.S. ‍official told ⁠Reuters on Tuesday. 

    The Iranian Shahed-139 drone ​was flying towards the carrier and was shot down by a F-35 U.S. fighter jet.

    (Reporting by ​Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing ​by Chizu Nomiyama )

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Russia Is Ready for a New World With No Nuclear Limits, Ryabkov Says

    MOSCOW, Feb ‌3 (Reuters) – ​Russia is ‌ready for ​the new reality ‍of a world ​with ​no ⁠nuclear arms control limits after the New START treaty ‌expires later this week, ​Russia’s ‌point man ‍for arms ⁠control said on Tuesday.

    Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov ​also said that if the U.S. pumped lots of missile defence systems onto Greenland then Russia would have to take ​compensatory measures in its military sphere.

    (Reporting by Reuters; ​editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • Factbox-What to Know About Gaza’s Rafah Border Crossing

    GAZA, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Gaza’s Rafah border, the only crossing connecting the besieged Palestinian ‌enclave ​with Egypt, reopened on Monday for a limited ‌number of travellers on foot after being sealed shut by Israel for nearly a year.

    The crossing was seized ​by Israel in May 2024, in the early months of its war against Hamas militants. Its reopening comes as a relief to Palestinians who want to leave ‍Gaza for medical care or those who want ​to return after fleeing the fighting.

    Below are details about Rafah as well as the coastal enclave’s crossings with Israel.

    The Rafah crossing sits at ​Gaza’s southern border ⁠with Egypt, connecting the Palestinian territory to the Sinai Peninsula. It is the sole route in and out for nearly all of Gaza’s more than 2 million Palestinians.

    The crossing is adjacent to the city of Rafah, once home to a quarter million people but now completely demolished and depopulated by Israeli forces.

    The border area between Rafah and Egypt is known as the Philadelphi Corridor, a 14.5-km-long (9-mile) sandy stretch that before the war had ‌been crisscrossed by tunnels that allowed Palestinians to smuggle in weapons and commercial goods, circumventing an Israeli-led blockade.

    The crossing is controlled on the ​Gaza ‌side by Israeli security personnel, with ‍monitoring by European Union and ⁠Palestinian Authority officials.

    Photos of the Gaza side crossing published by the Israeli military show a series of tall fences topped with barbed wire leading to high metal and concrete walls.

    WHO WILL BE ALLOWED IN AND OUT?

    The border will only be open for Palestinians entering and exiting on foot, and only after security approvals by Israeli and Egyptian authorities.

    Two Palestinian sources said that 50 Palestinians would be permitted to enter Gaza per day, and a similar number would be permitted to leave.

    Some 100,000 Palestinians escaped Gaza in the early months of the war and many are seeking to return to reunite with family, even if that means living in ​the ruins of their destroyed homes and cities.

    There are also an estimated 20,000 Palestinian medical patients seeking to exit Gaza for urgent care.

    Diplomats say that Israel is expected to allow more people to leave than to enter. The right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made no secret of its desire for Palestinians to permanently depart the enclave.

    Despite the limited reopening of Rafah, Israel is still refusing to allow the entry of foreign journalists, who have been banned from the Gaza Strip since the start of the war.

    Reporting from inside Gaza for international media including Reuters is carried out solely by journalists who live there, hundreds of whom have been killed.

    WHAT ARE GAZA’S OTHER CROSSINGS?

    Gaza has one main border crossing with Israel, Kerem Shalom in the south, that has been mostly operational since the start of the war.

    This crossing sits at the southeastern end of the Philadelphi Corridor. It has handled the entry ​of humanitarian aid and commercial goods. Palestinians are generally banned from crossing.

    Some Palestinian medical patients, students and others have been permitted to leave Gaza through Kerem Shalom. Israel has also allowed some Palestinians to leave through the crossing and board flights out of the country.

    Before the war, Israel operated a crossing at Gaza’s northern border – Erez – but it has been shut since the start of the ​war on October 7, 2023.

    Some other entry points to Gaza have worked intermittently since the start of the war to let in humanitarian aid.

    (Writing by Rami Ayyub; editing by Mark Heinrich)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Trump’s Profiteering Hits $4 Billion

    In September, the company floated shares on the stock market, capitalizing in another way on the cachet of the Trump name. American Bitcoin merged with a penny-stock bitcoin miner as a way of going public without the cost—or scrutiny—of an initial public offering. And the stock market, as expected, has put a far higher price on the company, in part because it owns a stockpile of bitcoin. The brothers’ stake now appears to be worth around two hundred million dollars. A caveat: Eric Trump, as a large and active investor in American Bitcoin, must report any sale of shares, and that might trigger a selloff. So it seems excessive to add it all to the Presidential-profit ledger. I will add only the approximate value of Donald Trump, Jr.,’s stake: about a hundred million dollars.

    The number in August: $3.4 billion
    Additional profit: $100 million
    New total: $3.5 billion

    WORLD LIBERTY FINANCIAL, BINANCE, AND PAKISTAN

    The Trumps have made even more money since August through World Liberty Financial, a digital-finance startup heavily linked to the family. Its website lists the President as a “co-founder emeritus” and displays his photograph prominently; Eric, Donald, Jr., and Barron Trump are all listed as co-founders. Steven Witkoff, the President’s old friend and diplomatic envoy, is also listed as a co-founder emeritus, and his son Zach is C.E.O.

    In May, World Liberty began selling a form of crypto known as a stablecoin. Unlike digital currencies such as bitcoin, which rise and fall in price, a stablecoin is supposed to hold a fixed value in dollars. Before July, when President Trump signed the first legislation regulating stablecoin, some of the best-known examples, such as TerraUSD, had turned out to be Ponzi schemes. (In December, a New York court sentenced TerraUSD’s co-founder to fifteen years in prison.) But World Liberty promised that its stablecoin, USD1, will always be worth exactly one dollar. Buyers can transfer USD1 to move money or make payments, and any holder can redeem USD1 for dollars. In between, while USD1s are circulating, World Liberty invests the cash that it is holding in U.S. Treasury bonds, in much the same way a savings bank might invest deposits. At current interest rates, World Liberty can expect to earn more than four per cent annually on the volume of USD1 in circulation.

    Last spring, a company owned by the rulers of the United Arab Emirates bought two billion dollars’ worth of USD1. The transaction raised alarms about the appearance of a payoff—because the U.A.E. was simultaneously seeking approval from the Trump Administration to acquire sensitive American artificial-intelligence technology. (President Trump soon granted that approval.) The Emiratis immediately used the stablecoin to invest in Binance, the largest crypto exchange, which has its own interest in influencing Trump. In 2023, Binance’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, known as C.Z., pleaded guilty to violating anti-money-laundering laws, served a brief prison sentence, and agreed to stop running the company. At the time of the two-billion-dollar stablecoin payment from the U.A.E., he was petitioning Trump for a pardon. Binance, as the holder of the stablecoin, can determine how long World Liberty continues earning four per cent a year on that two billion dollars. In other words, Binance controls how much profit the Trumps will make from the two-billion-dollar stablecoin sale. In October, Trump granted C.Z.’s request for a pardon. (David Wachsman, a spokesman for World Liberty, told me that Binance cannot “exert control or influence over World Liberty Financial.”)

    Binance is currently seeking to end federal monitoring that had been imposed when he was convicted for violating anti-money-laundering laws. Now the company is goosing the Trumps’ stablecoin profits in another way. On December 11th, Binance dropped its fees for certain crypto trades if they were conducted in USD1. Then, on December 23rd, Binance began paying users of its platform to hold USD1: Binance announced that, for the next month, it would give users a bonus equal to about 1.7 per cent on up to fifty thousand dollars’ worth of USD1 holdings. If this return rate were annualized, it would yield an eye-popping twenty per cent. And, on January 23rd, Binance announced a combination of new giveaways to USD1 holders which roughly extended that offer. Many users leapt at these opportunities. In the months preceding Binance’s maneuvers, the total volume of USD1 in circulation had held steady at about two billion dollars. On December 25th, shortly after Binance announced its first giveaway, World Liberty announced that USD1’s volume had crossed three billion dollars. It has now climbed to roughly five billion, and most of that expansion appears to have taken place on the Binance platform.

    David D. Kirkpatrick

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  • Iran’s Foreign Minister to Visit Turkey for Talks on Tensions With US

    ANKARA, Jan 29 (Reuters) – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas ‌Araqchi ​will visit Turkey on ‌Friday for talks with his counterpart Hakan Fidan on the ​recent developments in Iran and tensions with the United States, a Turkish Foreign ‍Ministry source said on Thursday.

    U.S. ​President Donald Trump urged Iran on Wednesday to come to the table ​and make ⁠a deal on nuclear weapons or the next U.S. attack would be far worse. Trump has sent an “armada” to the Middle East and warned Tehran against killing anti-government protesters or restarting its nuclear programme.

    Tehran, which brutally cracked ‌down on large protests this month and killed or arrested thousands, responded ​with a ‌threat to strike back ‍against the ⁠United States, Israel and those who support them.

    Iranian officials blame the unrest, the biggest since the 1979 revolution, on Iran’s foes, Israel and the United States.

    Turkey, a NATO member that shares a border with Iran, has said it opposes any foreign intervention on its neighbour and urged Washington to resolve its issues with Iran “one ​by one”.

    It has reached out to both sides, warning that destabilisation in Iran would exceed the region’s capacity to manage at this time.

    The source said Fidan would tell Araqchi that Turkey closely followed developments in Iran, and that Iran’s security, peace, and stability were of “great importance” for Ankara.

    Fidan will also repeat Turkey’s opposition to any military attack on Iran and warn that such a move will “create risks on a global scale”, the source said, adding that he would offer ​Turkey’s support in helping resolve tensions with Washington.

    Fidan will “note that Turkey supports finding a solution on Iran’s nuclear programme as soon as possible, and that it stands ready to help on this issue if ​it is needed,” the source said.

    (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Daren Butler and Michael Perry)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • EU’s Kallas: We Expect to List Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a Terrorist Organization

    BRUSSELS, Jan ‌29 (Reuters) – ​The European ‌Union will ​most likely include ‍Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary ​Guard ​Corps ⁠on its list of terrorist organisations, the bloc’s foreign ‌policy chief Kaja ​Kallas said ‌on ‍Friday ahead ⁠of a foreign affairs ministers council.

    “We are putting new sanctions ​on Iran and I also expect we will list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist list,” she ​said.

    (Reporting by Lili Bayer and Benoit Van Overstraeten; ​Editing by Inti Landauro)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • US Says Brooklyn Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Iran-Backed Plot to Kill Dissident

    WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (Reuters) – ‌A ​Brooklyn man was sentenced ‌to 15 years in prison on Wednesday ​for taking part in what prosecutors called a failed Iran-backed ‍murder-for-hire plot against Masih ​Alinejad, a prominent Iranian dissident living in the ​U.S., ⁠the Justice Department said.

    Carlisle Rivera, also known as “Pop,” previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and one count of conspiracy to commit stalking before U.S. ‌District Judge Lewis Liman for the Southern District of ​New York, ‌who imposed Wednesday’s ‍sentence, ⁠the Justice Department said in a statement.

    Alinejad, who fled Iran in 2009, is a longtime critic of Iran’s head-covering laws and a journalist. She has promoted videos of women violating those laws to her millions of social media followers. She ​was living in Brooklyn at the time of the alleged plot on her life.

    The case was part of a crackdown by the Justice Department on what it calls transnational repression: the targeting by authoritarian governments of political opponents on foreign soil.

    Prosecutors said Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps and its intelligence officials have repeatedly tried to target Alinejad.

    Iran has dismissed as ​baseless allegations that its intelligence officers sought to kidnap or kill her.

    Other people have also been convicted in the U.S. and sentenced in relation to ​the alleged plot.

    (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Edward Tobin)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Top Chinese Officials Hold Talks With OIC Secretary General

    BEIJING, Jan 26 (Reuters) – China’s ‌vice ​president and foreign ‌minister held talks with the secretary-general ​of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation ‍on Monday, according to ​a ministry statement and the official ​news ⁠agency, Xinhua.

    The talks in the Chinese capital of Beijing come amid heightened Middle East tension after an Iranian official said the country would ‌treat any attack “as an all-out war against ​us”.

    Those comments ‌followed U.S. President ‍Donald ⁠Trump’s remark the previous day that the United States had an “armada” heading toward Iran, adding it was “just in case”, warning Iran not to kill protesters or restart its nuclear program.

    An ​Iranian official in the region said on Sunday at least 5,000 were killed after a wave of protest over economic hardship.

    In Monday’s talks, Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for the building of a regional security partnership and the political settlement of hot-spot issues, the ministry said.

    U.S. officials ​had said an aircraft carrier and several guided-missile destroyers would arrive in the Middle East in the coming days.

    (Reporting ​by Colleen Howe; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Clarence Fernandez)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • US Climber Scales Taiwan’s Tallest Building Taipei 101 Without Ropes

    TAIPEI, Jan 25 (Reuters) – U.S. climber Alex Honnold scaled the ‌Taipei ​101 skyscraper without ropes or ‌safety netting on Sunday, watched by thousands of cheering and waving fans ​as he clambered up one of the world’s tallest buildings.

    “Sick,” Honnold said as he got to the ‍top spire of Taiwan’s tallest building ​after his 91-minute “free solo” ascent, which was organised and broadcast live by Netflix.

    “What a beautiful way ​to see ⁠Taipei,” he told reporters after his mission, which was postponed by a day due to wet weather.

    The 508-metre (1,667-foot) Taipei 101, which dominates the city’s skyline and is a major tourist attraction, was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010, a crown currently held by the ‌Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

    The climb, with no safety equipment, took place with the full support ​and ‌permission of Taipei 101 and ‍the city government.

    Honnold ⁠said he had once thought of climbing the structure without permission.

    “But then out of respect for the building and respect for all the people on the team who’d allowed me access to look at it, I was like, well obviously I’m not going to poach this, I’m going to respect the people and just see if it ever comes together.”

    Executive Producer James Smith said it was rare for a building ​to trust a climber and allow such an event to take place, calling Taipei 101 “a real icon of this country”.

    Taiwanese politicians took to social media to thank Honnold and Netflix for putting Taiwan – more accustomed to featuring in global headlines for its semiconductor prowess or Chinese military threats – in the international spotlight with such a different perspective.

    “Congratulations to the brave, fearless Alex for completing the challenge,” President Lai Ching-te wrote on his Facebook page.

    “Through Netflix’s live broadcast cameras, the world didn’t just see Taipei 101 – it also saw the warmth and passion of the Taiwanese people, and the beautiful hills ​and scenery of this land,” he added.

    This is not the first time Taipei 101 has been scaled.

    In 2004, French climber Alain Robert, dubbed “Spiderman” for his ropeless ascents of some of the world’s highest skyscrapers, climbed the building, though did so with a safety rope ​in a time of four hours.

    (Reporting by Fabian Hamacher, Angie Teo, Ann Wang and Ben Blanchard; Editing by William Mallard)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • ‘Free Solo’ Climb of Taiwan’s Tallest Building Postponed Due to Weather

    TAIPEI, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Poor ‌weather ​on Saturday forced ‌U.S. climber Alex Honnold to ​postpone his “free solo” rope and harness-free ascent ‍of the outside of ​Taiwan’s Taipei 101 skyscraper, ​one ⁠of the world’s tallest buildings.

    The climb, organised by Netflix for live broadcast, has been rescheduled for Sunday morning in Taipei, the streamer ‌said on its X account.

    “Safety remains our ​top ‌priority, and we ‍appreciate ⁠your understanding,” it added.

    The top of Taipei 101 was obscured by cloud on Saturday morning, with intermittent rain showers.

    The 508 metre (1,667 feet) Taipei 101, which dominates the city’s ​skyline and is a major tourist attraction, was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010, a crown currently held by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

    Taipei 101 has been scaled before.

    In 2004, French climber Alain Robert, dubbed “Spiderman” for his ropeless ascents ​of some of the world’s highest skyscrapers, climbed the building, in a time of four hours with a ​safety rope.

    (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Kate Mayberry)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • EU Concerned About Trump ‘Concentration of Powers’ Over ‘Board of Peace’, Document Says

    BRUSSELS, Jan 23 (Reuters) – The European Union’s foreign ‌policy ​arm has raised questions about U.S. ‌President Donald Trump’s broad powers over his new Board of Peace, according to ​an internal document seen by Reuters. 

    Trump has urged world leaders to join his Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving conflicts ‍globally, but many Western heads of ​government have been reluctant to take part.

    In a confidential analysis dated January 19 and shared with the EU’s ​member countries, the ⁠European External Action Service expressed worries about a concentration of power in Trump’s hands.

    The Board of Peace’s charter “raises a concern under the EU’s constitutional principles” and “the autonomy of the EU legal order also militates against a concentration of powers in the hands of the chairman,” the bloc’s diplomatic service wrote.

    The document also ‌says the new Board of Peace “departs significantly” from the mandate that was authorized by the United ​Nations Security ‌Council in November and solely ‍focused on the ⁠Gaza conflict.

    The new board, which the U.S. president launched on Thursday, is chaired for life by Trump and is set to start by addressing the Gaza conflict and then be expanded to deal with other conflicts. Member states are limited to three-year terms unless they pay $1 billion each to fund the board’s activities and earn permanent membership.

    “Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do. And we’ll do it ​in conjunction with the United Nations,” Trump said, adding that the U.N. had great potential that had not been fully utilised.

    After European leaders met to discuss the transatlantic relationship on Thursday evening, European Council President Antonio Costa told reporters: “We have serious doubts about a number of elements in the charter of the Board of Peace, related to its scope, its governance and its compatibility with the United Nations charter.”

    Costa said that the EU was “ready to work together with the United States on the implementation of the comprehensive Peace Plan for Gaza, with a Board of Peace carrying out its mission as a transitional administration, in accordance with the United Nations ​Security Council Resolution 2803”.

    Several EU countries, including France and Spain, have already said they would not be joining the board.

    In its analysis, the EU’s diplomatic service said that “the provision that a Member State’s choice about the level of its participation needs the approval of the chairman constitutes an undue ​interference with the organisational autonomy of each member”.

    (Reporting by Lili Bayer in Brussels and John Irish in Paris; Editing by Alex Richardson)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • US Envoy Calls for Syria Truce to Be Upheld

    DAMASCUS, Jan 22 (Reuters) – A U.S. envoy called for a truce between the Syrian ‌government ​and Kurdish-led forces to be upheld, urging ‌steps to build trust after Damascus captured swathes of the northeast in a push to reassert central ​authority.

    Tensions between President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spilled into conflict this month as the SDF resisted government demands for its fighters ‍and enclaves to be integrated into the state.

    Under ​a ceasefire announced on Tuesday, the government gave the SDF four days to come up with a plan for its remaining enclaves to merge, ​and said government ⁠troops would not enter two remaining SDF-held cities if an agreement could be reached.    

    U.S. envoy Tom Barrack said he met SDF commander Mazloum Abdi and leading Syrian Kurdish politician Ilham Ahmed on Thursday, and reaffirmed U.S. support for an integration process set out in a January 18 agreement.

    “All parties agreed that the essential first step is the full upholding of the current ceasefire, as we collectively identify and implement confidence-building ‌measures on all sides to foster trust and lasting stability,” he wrote on X.

    The SDF, dominated by the Kurdish YPG militia, and ​the ‌government have accused each other of ‍violating the ceasefire since ⁠Tuesday.

    The SDF was once Washington’s closest ally in Syria but its position has been weakened as President Donald Trump has deepened ties with Sharaa. Barrack said on Tuesday the original purpose of the SDF had largely expired.

    The SDF has now fallen back to Kurdish-majority areas.

    ABDI MEETS IRAQI KURDISH LEADER

    Abdi also met Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, on Thursday. Iraqi Kurdish politician Wafa Mohammed of Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said the meeting had been convened at the request of the Iraqi Kurdish leadership to discuss the SDF’s deal with Sharaa.

    “There is strong U.S. and international pressure on the Syrian Democratic Forces to ​end the disputes and implement the agreement, but that does not necessarily mean the U.S. pressure will lead to a positive outcome. The problem is that the SDF does not trust the promises made by (Sharaa),” Wafa Mohammed told Reuters.

    A second Iraqi Kurdish source close to the meeting said talks would also focus on a proposal for both sides to withdraw forces by around 10 km (6 miles) from the outskirts of Hasakah city, which is ethnically mixed and still in SDF hands.

    The territories seized by the Syrian government from SDF control in recent days have included Syria’s biggest oil fields, agricultural land, and jails holding Islamic State prisoners.

    The SDF, which once held a quarter or more of Syria, has sought to preserve a high degree of autonomy for areas under its control, expressing concern that the Islamist-led government in Damascus aims to dominate the country, despite Sharaa’s promises to ​protect the rights of all Syrians.

    A Syrian foreign ministry official said the government had preferred a political solution from the outset, and continued to, adding the rights of Kurds were guaranteed and they would not be marginalized as they had been under the ousted President Bashar al-Assad.

    All “options were on the table”, the official told Reuters, speaking on the condition of anonymity, urging the ​YPG to “heed the voice of reason and come to the negotiating table”.

    (Reporting by Feras Dalatey in Damascus and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Writing by Tom Perry, Editing by William Maclean)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Putin Says Russia Studying Peace Board Proposal After Trump Says He Accepted Invite

    DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan ‌21 (Reuters) – ​U.S. President ‌Donald Trump on Wednesday ​said that Russian President ‍Vladimir Putin had ​accepted his ​invitation ⁠to join Trump’s Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, a statement that ‌Putin quickly countered, saying that ​the ‌invitation was ‍only under ⁠consideration.

    “He was invited. He’s accepted,” Trump told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland after ​meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte.

    Soon after Trump’s comments, Putin told the Russian security council that the foreign ministry was still studying the proposal and would respond in due ​course.

    (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov, Jeffrey Dastin and Ronald Popeski; Writing by Ryan ​Patrick Jones; editing by Scott Malone)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Syrian-Swede Found Guilty of Preparing Suicide Attack on Stockholm Festival

    STOCKHOLM, Jan 21 (Reuters) – A Swedish ‌court ​on Wednesday sentenced ‌a 19-year-old man to seven years ​and 10 months in prison for planning an attack ‍on a cultural festival ​in Stockholm on behalf of the Islamic ​State ⁠militant group.

    The Stockholm District Court said in a statement that the Syrian-Swedish dual national had intended to carry out an attack in the city-centre’s Kungstradgarden area ‌in August 2025. His sentence included convictions for ​other ‌crimes, including membership of ‍a ⁠terrorist organisation.

    “Among other things … he reconnoitred Kungstradgarden and recorded a martyr film that was intended to be published after the crime,” the court said.

    “The District Court believes the planned terrorist crime could have seriously harmed ​Sweden,” it added.

    The man, described by prosecutors as “self-radicalised”, denied all the charges against him. He was also found guilty of planning to murder a man in Germany in 2024.

    The Stockholm Culture Festival, which was the intended target, drew 2 million visitors over five days last year.

    Islamic State, which imposed hardline Islamist rule over ​millions of people in Syria and Iraq from 2014 to 2019, is attempting to stage a comeback after the fall of Syrian President Bashar ​al-Assad.

    (Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Simon Johnson and Ros Russell)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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