The Japanese government began a rare auction on Monday of its emergency rice stockpiles in a bid to help drive down the surging price of the national staple.Rice shortages driven by factors from poor harvests caused by hot weather to panic-buying over a “megaquake” warning last summer have caused prices to nearly double over a …
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Monday, a day ahead of crucial talks between Ukrainian and US officials on ending the war with Russia.Highly anticipated negotiations on Tuesday on resolving the three-year conflict will see US and Ukrainian officials meet for the first time since Zelensky’s disastrous White House visit last month.Zelensky said he would on Monday meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de facto leader, after which his team “will stay for a meeting on Tuesday with the American team”.At the talks in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has said Washington wants “to get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire as well”.Zelensky has said Ukraine is “fully committed to constructive dialogue”, but wants its interests to be “taken into account in the right way”. “We hope for results, both in terms of bringing peace closer and continuing support,” he said in his evening address on Sunday.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will fly to Jeddah on Monday, the US State Department said. Mike Waltz, US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, has also confirmed his participation.- ‘In constant contact’ -Zelensky said his negotiators will include Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, his chief of staff Andriy Yermak and Pavlo Palisa, a military commander and Yermak’s deputy. Kyiv is in “constant contact with the US team,” Zelensky said.Washington has currently suspended military aid to Ukraine as well as intelligence sharing and access to satellite imagery in a bid to force it to the table with Moscow, which launched its all-out invasion in February 2022 on orders from President Vladimir Putin.Trump has renewed communication with Putin and criticised Zelensky, raising fears in Kyiv and among European allies that the US leader may try to force Ukraine to accept a settlement favouring Russia.On Friday, however, Trump said he was considering further sanctions on Russia for “pounding” Ukraine on the battlefield.Ukraine’s European allies last week held a summit with Zelensky and announced they would greatly increase defence spending.Britain and France have proposed a truce for Ukraine, at sea and in the air, and a halt to Russia’s bombardment of Ukraine’s power facilities.Ukrainian and British diplomats held talks in Kiyv at the weekend, Zelensky said.The Saudi talks come after the public altercation between Zelensky and Trump in the White House led to the Ukrainian leaving without signing a minerals deal demanded by the US leader.Zelensky later called the incident “regrettable” and said he was ready to work with Trump’s “strong leadership”.He also expressed readiness to sign the deal on strategic mineral reserves.Witkoff said Trump received a letter from Zelensky, calling it “a very positive first step” and “an apology”.Asked if Ukraine would sign the deal in Saudi Arabia, Witkoff said: “I think Zelensky has offered to sign it, and we’ll see if he follows through.”- ‘Not ready for peace’ -Witkoff visited Moscow in February to secure the release of a jailed US teacher, and later said he spent a long time talking to Putin and “developing a relationship” with him.Waltz was in the Oval Office during Zelensky’s combative meeting with Trump and JD Vance.He later told Fox News that Zelensky “is not ready to talk peace” but “time is not on his side”.In an interview with CNN, Waltz said that if Zelensky’s “personal motivations or political motivations are divergent from ending the fighting… then I think we have a real issue”. – Saudi mediator -Saudi Arabia has become a key host for US diplomacy with Russia and Ukraine.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Rubio met in Riyadh last month, agreeing to resume dialogue and start talks on the Ukraine conflict. Zelensky has visited Saudi Arabia several times since Russia’s invasion in 2022 but postponed a trip last month, citing a lack of an invitation to the Russia-US talks. In 2022, five prisoners held in Russian-controlled Ukraine were flown to Riyadh to be exchanged after negotiations involving the crown prince.Putin said the crown prince also helped secure the release of jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, jailed by Russia for “espionage” last year.A historic ally of the US, the oil-rich state became an international pariah following the assassination of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey in 2018.But Witkoff has said Trump’s team has a “really good relationship with the Saudis”.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio set off on Sunday to fly to Saudi Arabia for talks with Ukraine, as President Donald Trump decides whether to relent on a freeze in military and intelligence support.Rubio will then travel on to Group of Seven (G7) talks in Canada, making him the first major US official to visit since Trump returned to office, launched a trade war the neighboring country and mocked its sovereignty.In three days of talks in Jeddah, Rubio will discuss how to “advance the president’s goal to end the Russia-Ukraine war,” said State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce.The talks in Jeddah on Tuesday are expected to involve Rubio and Trump’s national security advisor, Mike Waltz, with Zelensky’s national security advisor and foreign and defense ministers. “The fact that they are coming here at senior levels is a good indication to us that they want to sit down and they’re ready to move forward,” a senior State Department official said.Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected in Saudi Arabia, but to pay a visit to Riyadh and not to participate directly in the Jeddah talks.Trump, asked separately about the hopes for a quick resolution, told reporters Sunday: “I think we’re going to have a good result in Saudi Arabia… we have a lot of good people going out there.”And I think Ukraine’s going to do well, and I think Russia is going to do well. I think some very big things could happen this week. I hope so.”Trump suspended aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after a disastrous February 28 meeting with Zelensky at the White House.The Republican leader and his vice president, JD Vance, publicly dressed Zelensky down for alleged ingratitude over billions of dollars worth of previous US weapons shipments.Zelensky left without signing an agreement demanded by Trump in which Ukraine would hand over much of its mineral wealth to the United States, which Trump argues will compensate US taxpayers for the assistance provided under former president Joe Biden.Zelensky has since said he is ready to sign the minerals deal and has sent a conciliatory letter to Trump, who read it at his address to Congress on Tuesday.- Frozen aid -Keith Kellogg, the US special envoy on Russia and Ukraine, said Thursday he would support resuming assistance once Zelensky signs the deal — but that the decision was ultimately up to Trump.NBC News, quoting unnamed sources, said Trump was unlikely to relent just with the minerals deal and would want to be assured that Zelensky is ready to make concessions to Russia.Trump told reporters Sunday he did not think Ukraine had yet shown they “want peace.””Right now they haven’t shown it to the extent that they should… but I think they will be, and I think it’s going to become evident over the next two or three days.”Stunned European leaders have been racing to find ways to make up for US aid, although Zelensky himself has said that there is no substitute for Washington’s security guarantees in a deal with Russia.Rubio last month met his Russian counterpart, breaking a Biden-era freeze on such high-level contacts, and spoke of future economic cooperation if the war ends.Those talks also took place in Saudi Arabia, which has positioned itself as a key diplomatic partner for Trump.Rubio will also meet in Jeddah with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, the State Department said.Trump is expected to push hard for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel, a prospect that seems remote until a permanent end to the Gaza war — a priority for Witkoff as he travels the region. Rubio will then head to Quebec for a meeting of the Group of Seven foreign ministers where his spokeswoman said he will work to “further US interests in peace and security, strategic cooperation, and global stability.”She made no mention of tensions with Canada, which Trump has mocked as the “51st state” as he unleashes tariffs, although he has partially backed off faced with a slide on stock markets.
Beijing’s tariffs on certain US agricultural goods in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s latest hike on Chinese imports came into force Monday, as trade tensions mount between the world’s two leading economies. Since retaking office in January, Trump has unleashed a barrage of tariffs on major US trading partners, including China, Canada and Mexico, citing their …
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio set off on Sunday to fly to Saudi Arabia for talks with Ukraine, as President Donald Trump decides whether to relent on a freeze in military and intelligence support.Rubio will then travel on to Group of Seven (G7) talks in Canada, making him the first major US official to visit since Trump returned to office, launched a trade war the neighboring country and mocked its sovereignty.In three days of talks in Jeddah, Rubio will discuss how to “advance the president’s goal to end the Russia-Ukraine war,” said State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce.She avoided characterizing the crisis as a “Russian invasion of Ukraine” as the previous administration and US allies have done.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously announced that he will be in Jeddah for the talks, as has Trump confidant and envoy Steve Witkoff. Rubio left Miami’s Homestead Air Base at around 08:00 pm local time (midnight GMT).Trump, asked separately on his own plane about the hopes for a quick resolution, told reporters Sunday: “I think we’re going to have a good result in Saudi Arabia… we have a lot of good people going out there.”And I think Ukraine’s going to do well, and I think Russia is going to do well. I think some very big things could happen this week. I hope so.”Trump suspended aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after a disastrous February 28 meeting with Zelensky at the White House.The Republican leader and his vice president, JD Vance, publicly dressed Zelensky down for alleged ingratitude over billions of dollars worth of previous US weapons shipments.Zelensky left without signing an agreement demanded by Trump in which Ukraine would hand over much of its mineral wealth to the United States, which Trump argues will compensate US taxpayers for the assistance provided under former president Joe Biden.Zelensky has since said he is ready to sign the minerals deal and has sent a conciliatory letter to Trump, who read it at his address to Congress on Tuesday.- Frozen aid -Keith Kellogg, the US special envoy on Russia and Ukraine, said Thursday he would support resuming assistance once Zelensky signs the deal — but that the decision was ultimately up to Trump.NBC News, quoting unnamed sources, said Trump was unlikely to relent just with the minerals deal and would want to be assured that Zelensky is ready to make concessions to Russia.Trump told reporters Sunday he did not think Ukraine had yet shown they “want peace.””Right now they haven’t shown it to the extent that they should… but I think they will be, and I think it’s going to become evident over the next two or three days.”Stunned European leaders have been racing to find ways to make up for US aid, although Zelensky himself has said that there is no substitute for Washington’s security guarantees in a deal with Russia.Russia, which invaded three years ago, has not let up in striking Ukraine, including its energy infrastructure. Trump on Friday also threatened to tighten sanctions on Russia if it does not come to the table.Rubio last month met his Russian counterpart, breaking a Biden-era freeze on such high-level contacts, and spoke of future economic cooperation if the war ends.Those talks also took place in Saudi Arabia, which has positioned itself as a key diplomatic partner for Trump.Rubio will also meet in Jeddah with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, the State Department said.Trump is expected to push hard for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel, a prospect that seems remote until a permanent end to the Gaza war — a priority for Witkoff as he travels the region. Rubio will then head to Quebec for a meeting of the Group of Seven foreign ministers where his spokeswoman said he will work to “further US interests in peace and security, strategic cooperation, and global stability.”She made no mention of tensions with Canada, which Trump has mocked as the “51st state” as he unleashes tariffs, although he has partially backed off faced with a slide on stock markets.
Syria’s new leader has vowed accountability and an investigation after reports of mass killings of Alawite civilians triggered an international backlash against the worst violence since Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow.In its latest toll Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said 973 civilians had perished since March 6 in “killings, field executions and ethnic cleansing operations” by security personnel or pro-government fighters in the coastal heartland of the Alawite minority community to which the toppled president belongs.Its previous toll of 830 had specified the “executions” targeted Alawites in the Mediterranean coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus.United Nations rights chief Volker Turk said Sunday the killings “must cease immediately”, while the Arab League, the United Nations, the United States, Britain and other governments have condemned the violence.”We will hold accountable, firmly and without leniency, anyone who was involved in the bloodshed of civilians… or who overstepped the powers of the state,” Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa said in a video posted by state news agency SANA.Earlier Sunday, the presidency announced on Telegram that an “independent committee” had been formed to “investigate the violations against civilians and identify those responsible for them”, who would face the courts.Fighting between the new security forces and loyalists of the former government erupted last Thursday, after earlier tensions, and escalated into reported mass killings.The fighting has killed hundreds of security forces as well as pro-Assad fighters, according to the Observatory, with the overall death toll exceeding 1,300. Sharaa, in a separate address from a Damascus mosque, appealed for national unity.”God willing, we will be able to live together in this country,” he said.- ‘They gathered all the men’ -Images on social media showed Syrian security forces on pickups and trucks driving past thick black smoke that drifted over the road on their way into the city of Jableh, between Latakia and Tartus.The interior ministry said on Sunday that government forces were conducting “sweeping operations” in an area of Tartus province to “pursue the remnants of the toppled regime”.SANA quoted a defence ministry source as saying there were clashes in Tanita village in the same area.An AFP photographer in Latakia city reported a military convoy entering a neighbourhood to search homes.In Baniyas, a city further south, resident Samir Haidar, 67, told AFP two of his brothers and his nephew were killed by armed groups that entered people’s homes, adding there were “foreigners among them”.”They gathered all the men on the roof and opened fire on them,” Haidar said.The mass killings followed clashes sparked by the arrest of a wanted suspect in a predominantly Alawite village, the Observatory said, reporting a “relative return to calm” in the coastal region on Saturday.Chief US diplomat Marco Rubio said Syria “must hold the perpetrators of these massacres against Syria’s minority communities accountable”, while Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Damascus authorities “must ensure the protection of all Syrians and set out a clear path to transitional justice”.In Jordan, Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said that, “Anyone involved in this matter will be referred to the judiciary.”The semi-autonomous Kurdish administration in Syria’s north and east condemned the “crimes” and underlined “that these practices take us back to a dark period that the Syrian people do not want to relive.”- ‘Rule of law’ -Sharaa’s Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the toppling of Assad in December, has its roots in the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda. It is still listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States and other governments.The group has sought to moderate its image in recent years. Since the rebel victory, it has vowed to protect Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities.The new government has received diplomats from the West and its neighbours. It is seeking an easing of sanctions along with investment to rebuild a country devastated by 13 years of civil war under the repressive rule of Assad.Sharaa has said Syria must be built “on the rule of law”.Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, speaking to German newspaper Bild, said Europe “must wake up” and “stop granting legitimacy” to the new Syrian authorities who he insisted were still jihadists.The Alawite heartland has been gripped by fear of reprisals for the Assad family’s five-decade rule which included widespread torture and disappearances.Social media users have shared posts documenting the killing of Alawite friends and relatives.The Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources in Syria, reported multiple “massacres” in recent days, with women and children among the dead.During a sermon in Damascus, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch John X said Christians were among those killed and called on Sharaa to “put a stop to these massacres… and give a sense of safety and security to all the people of Syria, regardless of their sect”.Later on Sunday, Syrian security forces fired into the air to disperse rival protesters in Damascus who engaged in physical altercations over the killings in the coastal areas.
