Syria's warring sides kick off talks in Astana
New round of negotiations aimed at strengthening a shaky ceasefire across Syria begins in Kazakhstan's capital.
A delegation of Syrian rebels attending a new round of talks in Kazakhstan's capital will not hold direct talks with representatives of the government, according to opposition sources.
The meetings in Astana, organised by Russia, Turkey and Iran, are aimed at strengthening a shaky ceasefire that has largely held despite incidents of violence across Syria.
"The first negotiation session will not be face-to-face because the government hasn't committed, until now, to what it signed in the December 30 agreement," rebel spokesman Yehya al-Aridi told AFP news agency on Monday, referring to the truce deal brokered by Turkey and Russia last month.
White House refusal to release Trump tax returns alienates WikiLeaks
- Adviser Kellyanne Conway: ‘He is not going to release his tax returns’
- WikiLeaks calls for someone to leak documents so they can be published
Donald Trump will not release his tax returns even after repeated promises to do so following a supposed audit, one of his senior advisers said on Sunday – confirming that the president will break a 40-year tradition and not show Americans the extent of his financial interests and obligations.
Kellyanne Conway, a senior counselor to the president, told ABC’s This Week the Trump administration would do nothing about calls to release the information.
“The White House response is that he’s not going to release his tax returns,” she said. “We litigated this all through the election.”
Iran sentences British charity worker to 5 years in jail for espionage
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has both British and Iranian citizenship, was charged with trying to overthrow the government. Her daughter has also not been allowed to leave the country.
A British-Iranian charity worker was sentenced to five years in prison for trying to overthrow the government in Tehran, authorities announced Sunday. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has already been in detention for ten months since her April 2016 arrest on charges of espionage and sedition.
She was arrested when trying to leave the country with her young daughter after a visit to family. Her passport was seized and the toddler has been forced to remain in Iran where she is cared for by her grandparents.
The 37-year-old was employed by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the British news agency. Although Zaghari-Ratcliffe has UK citizenship, Iran does not recognize dual nationality and so she cannot appeal to the British consulate for help.
Russian MPs to vote on winding back domestic violence protections
Russia's parliament is this week expected to take a step closer toward decriminalising domestic violence that falls short of serious bodily harm or rape.
Battery is a criminal offence in Russia, but nearly 20 per cent of Russians openly say they think it is sometimes OK to hit a spouse or a child.
In a bid to accommodate conservative voters, deputies in the lower house of parliament have given initial approval to a bill eliminating criminal liability for such violence.
If the measure passes its second reading in the Duma on Wednesday, when the draft can be changed, approval in the third and final reading would be a foregone conclusion.
The Gambia: Ex-ruler Yahya Jammeh 'plundered coffers'
Exiled former leader accused of 'stealing' state funds as regional troops prepare to secure arrival of President Barrow.
The Gambia's ex-ruler, Yahya Jammeh, plundered the state coffers in his final weeks in power, stealing millions of dollars and shipping out luxury vehicles by cargo plane, according to an aide to new president Adama Barrow.
Jammeh, who ruled the small West African country for 22 years, flew into exile late on Saturday to Equatorial Guinea.
He had refused to concede defeat in a December 1 election but eventually relinquished power after a delegation of West African leaders convinced him to step down, even as troops from neighbouring countries entered The Gambia.
Japanese gov't wary of Trump administration's 'America First' stance
(Mainichi Japan)
Japanese government officials are becoming increasingly wary of the impact on Tokyo's diplomatic and security policies of the "America First" policy, which President Donald Trump mentioned in his inauguration speech.
President Trump stopped short of showing the full picture of his diplomatic and security policies in his inauguration address while saying that his government will urge U.S. allies to bear a greater burden, and how Washington will be involved in the situation of the Asia-Pacific region under the Trump administration remains uncertain.
In his speech, Trump said, "For many decades, we've enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry; subsidized the armies of other countries while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military."
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