Israel announces major expansion of West Bank settlements
JERUSALEM, May 29 (BBC/AFP): Israeli ministers say 22 new Jewish settlements have been approved in the occupied West Bank - the biggest expansion in decades.Several already exist as outposts, built without government authorisation, but will now be made legal under Israeli law. Others are completely new, according to Defence Minister...
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US to start revoking visas for Chinese students
NEW YORK, May 29 (Reuters): US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday the United States will start "aggressively" revoking visas of Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.If applied to a broad segment of the hundreds of thousands of...
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Two Lanka ex-ministers jailed up to 25 yrs for corruption
COLOMBO, May 29 (AFP): A Sri Lankan court sentenced on Thursday two former ministers from the government of deposed president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to decades in prison in a landmark corruption case.Ex-sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage and former trade minister Anil Fernando were found guilty by the Colombo High Court of misappropriating...
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Russia proposes to hold next talks with Ukraine in Istanbul
TURKEY, May 29 (Reuters): Russia has proposed holding the next round of direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on June 2 with a view to achieving a sustainable peace settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.There was no immediate reaction from Kyiv.Under pressure from US President Donald Trump...
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Displaced Syrians leave camps to pitch tents near destroyed homes
AL AWASH, May 29 (AFP): Aref Shamtan, 73, preferred to pitch a tent near his destroyed home in northwest Syria rather than stay in a camp for the displaced following longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad's ouster."I feel good here, even among the rubble," Shamtan said, sipping tea at the tent near...
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