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Lebanese leaders said they were in contact with the United States and France to press Israel to fully withdraw, branding its continued presence in five places an “occupation” after a ceasefire deadline expired on Tuesday.The UN called the incomplete pullout a violation of a Security Council resolution, though it has allowed many displaced residents to return to devastated border villages after more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.It has also enabled the emergency services to retrieve bodies from previously inaccessible areas. Lebanon’s civil defence agency said it had recovered 23 corpses from border villages.Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the government was in contact with truce brokers the United States and France to press Israel to complete its withdrawal, after an initial late January deadline set under the deal was already extended.Decision-makers are “unified in adopting the diplomatic option, because nobody wants war”, Aoun said in a statement.Earlier, Aoun joined the prime minister and the speaker of parliament in declaring that any Israeli presence on Lebanese soil constituted an “occupation”.In a statement, they said the government would ask the UN Security Council to require Israel to leave, saying Lebanese armed forces were ready to assume duties on the border, and that Beirut had “the right to adopt all means” to make Israel withdraw.In the south, residents returned to homes, farms and businesses damaged in the fighting, which included two months of full-blown war before the ceasefire too effect on November 27.”The entire village has been reduced to rubble. It’s a disaster zone,” said Alaa al-Zein from Kfar Kila.Israel announced just before the deadline that it would keep troops in “five strategic points” near the border. The army said they were hilltops overlooking the frontier where troops would remain to “make sure there’s no immediate threat”.Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said they would withdraw “once Lebanon implements its side of the deal”.- ‘Whole village’ returning -The Lebanese army said that since Monday it had deployed in 11 southern border villages and other areas which Israeli troops had vacated.The official National News Agency said two people were found alive in Kfar Kila, three months after contact was lost. One was a Hezbollah fighter thought to have been killed.The news agency said “enemy forces” set off a powerful explosion outside the village of Kfarshuba.UN envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and the UN peacekeeping force said that at “the end of the period set” for Israel’s withdrawal and the Lebanese army’s deployment, any further “delay in this process is not what we hoped would happen”.In a joint statement, they said it was a violation of the Security Council resolution that ended a previous war between Israel and Hezbollah.In Lebanon, the cost of reconstruction is expected to top $10 billion, while more than 100,000 people remain displaced, according to UN figures.Despite the devastation, returning resident Zein said his fellow villagers were adamant about going home.”The whole village is returning, we will set up tents and sit on the ground” if need be, he said.- ‘Embrace the land’ -Others were going south to search for missing relatives under the rubble.The civil defence agency said “specialised teams” removed 23 bodies from several newly accessible villages, including 14 from Mais al-Jabal and three from Kfar Kila.Samira Jumaa arrived in the early hours to look for her brother, a Hezbollah fighter killed in Kfar Kila with others.”I’ve come to see my brother and embrace the land where my brother and his comrades fought,” she said.Hezbollah strongholds in south and east Lebanon, as well as in south Beirut, suffered heavy destruction during the hostilities launched by Hezbollah in support of ally Hamas during the Gaza war.Under the ceasefire, Lebanon’s military was to deploy alongside UN peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period that was later extended.Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle remaining military infrastructure in the south.Since the hostilities began in October 2023, more than 4,000 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the health ministry.On the Israeli side of the border, 78 people have been killed, including soldiers, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Another 56 troops were killed during the ground offensive inside Lebanon.Around 60 people have reportedly been killed in Lebanon since the truce began, two dozen of them on January 26 as residents tried to return to border towns on the original deadline for Israel’s withdrawal.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday dismissed a proposal by the United States to displace Palestinians from the war-devastated Gaza Strip, saying it “will go nowhere”.Khamenei made the remarks during a meeting in Tehran with Ziyad al-Nakhalah, leader of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad.”The idiotic American plans or some other plans regarding Gaza and Palestine will go nowhere,” Khamenei said.US President Donald Trump this month proposed a plan for a US takeover of the war-battered Gaza Strip and its Palestinian inhabitants to be relocated elsewhere, including to Egypt and Jordan.Trump’s plan sparked an outcry from Arab governments including Egypt and Jordan as well as from world leaders, and the United Nations warned against “ethnic cleansing” in the Palestinian territory.”No plan will be completed without the consent of the resistance and the people of Gaza,” Khamenei said, adding that global public opinion favoured the Palestinians.Iran has already rejected the Trump plan for Gaza, calling it “an unprecedented attack” on international law and the UN Charter.”Those who a year and a half ago claimed they would destroy the resistance in a short period of time are now receiving their prisoners in small groups from resistance fighters,” Khamenei said.He was referring to the hostages for prisoners exchange deal between Tehran-backed Hamas and Israel under a fragile Gaza truce which took effect on January 19 after more than 15 months of fighting.Khamenei noted on Tuesday that under the deal, Israel is in return for hostage releases “freeing a large number of Palestinian prisoners”.The Gaza war began after Palestinian militants attacked communities in Israel on October 7, 2023, in an unprecedented attack.Thirty-three Israeli hostages were due to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire deal, with 19 freed so far in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners.Of the remaining 14, Israel says eight are dead.Hamas said on Tuesday it would hand over all six living Israeli hostages on Saturday, and the bodies of four dead captives on Thursday.

Lebanese leaders said Beirut was in contact with Washington and Paris to press Israel to fully withdraw from south Lebanon, branding its presence in five points an “occupation” after a ceasefire deadline expired on Tuesday.The UN called the incomplete pull-out a violation of a Security Council resolution, though it has allowed many displaced residents to return to border villages, many largely destroyed in more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Beirut was in contact with truce brokers the United States and France to press Israel to complete its withdrawal, after an initial late January deadline set under the deal was already extended.Decision-makers are “unified in adopting the diplomatic option, because nobody wants war”, Aoun said, according to a statement.Earlier Tuesday, Lebanon said any Israeli presence on its soil constituted an “occupation”.In a statement, Aoun, along with Lebanon’s prime minister and parliament speaker, warned the government would ask the UN Security Council to push Israel to leave, and said that Lebanese armed forces were ready to assume duties on the border, adding Beirut had “the right to adopt all means” to make Israel withdraw.In the south, many returned to destroyed or heavily damaged homes, farms and businesses after more than a year of fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah that included two months of all-out war, which halted with the November 27 ceasefire.”The entire village has been reduced to rubble. It’s a disaster zone,” said Alaa al-Zein, back in Kfar Kila.Israel had announced just before the pullout deadline that it would keep troops in “five strategic points” near the border, and on Tuesday its Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said they would withdraw “once Lebanon implements its side of the deal”.Israel’s army had said it would remain on the five hilltops, overlooking swathes of both sides of the border, “temporarily” to “make sure there’s no immediate threat”.- ‘Whole village’ returning -Lebanon’s army announced it had deployed, starting Monday, in 11 southern border villages and other areas from which Israeli troops have pulled out.The official National News Agency said two people were found alive in Kfar Kila, three months after contact was lost. One was a Hezbollah fighter thought to have been killed.The agency also said that “enemy forces” set off a powerful explosion outside the village of Kfarshuba.In a joint statement, UN envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and the UNIFIL peacekeeping force said that at “the end of the period set” for Israel’s withdrawal and the Lebanese army’s deployment, any further “delay in this process is not what we hoped would happen”.They said it was a violation of a Security Council resolution that ended a 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.In Lebanon, the cost of reconstruction is expected to reach more than $10 billion, while more than 100,000 people remain displaced, according to the United Nations.Despite the devastation, returning resident Zein said his fellow villagers were adamant about going home.”The whole village is returning, we will set up tents and sit on the ground” if need be, he said.- ‘Embrace the land’ -Others were going south to look for the bodies of their relatives under the rubble.Among them was Samira Jumaa, who arrived in the early hours to look for her brother, a Hezbollah fighter killed in Kfar Kila with others five months ago.”We have not heard of them until now. We are certain they were martyred,” she said.”I’ve come to see my brother and embrace the land where my brother and his comrades fought,” she added.Hezbollah strongholds in south and east Lebanon, as well as in south Beirut, suffered heavy destruction during the hostilities, initiated by Hezbollah in support of ally Hamas during the Gaza war.Under the ceasefire, Lebanon’s military was to deploy alongside United Nations peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew from the south over an initial 60-day period that was later extended to February 18.Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle remaining military infrastructure there.Since the cross-border hostilities began in October 2023, more than 4,000 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the health ministry.On the Israeli side of the border, 78 people including soldiers have been killed, according to an AFP tally based on official figures, with an additional 56 troops killed in southern Lebanon during the ground offensive.Around 60 people have reportedly been killed in Lebanon since the truce began, two dozen of them on January 26 as residents tried to return to border towns on the initial withdrawal deadline.

A British couple charged with spying in Iran during what they called a “slightly bonkers” round-the-world motorbike trip said they had ignored warnings not to travel to the country.Husband and wife Craig and Lindsay Foreman were arrested in the southeast of Iran earlier this year and on Tuesday Iranian authorities said they had been charged with espionage.Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir said the pair had entered Iran “posing as tourists” and gathered information before their arrest in Kerman province.According to the BBC, the couple are in their early 50s and were first detained in January.Before their arrest they had shared videos and photos of the stunning scenery along the way.Lindsay said in a Facebook post that by late December they had “now done 12,499 miles across 13 countries”, having crossed places such as Italy, Albania, Greece and Turkey.A life coach with a doctorate according to her social networks, Lindsay said she had been having “an amazing time” while Craig, a carpenter, praised Iran’s “lovely people.”But the pair, which dubbed their trip PPK2K (people-to-people, knee-to-knee) had ignored warnings from friends, family and the UK foreign office, which advises against all travel to Iran. To their surprise they were given a tourist visa by Iranian authorities, which they collected in Yerevan.Several other Europeans are held in custody in the country, which has conducted multiple prisoner exchanges with Western governments in recent years.- ‘Messages of hope’ -In one Facebook post in December, Lindsay shared a red UK foreign office map which cautioned against travel to Iran.Alongside it, she posted an image of a veiled woman in the dappled light of a stained glass window.”Which image speaks to you most loudly? We’re about to tackle one of the most challenging — and let’s be honest, slightly scary — sections of our journey: Iran and Pakistan.””Despite the advice of friends, family, and the FCDO … we’ve chosen to keep moving forward. “Why? Because we believe that, no matter where you are in the world, most people are good, kind humans striving for a meaningful life.”She said the couple were “aware of the risks” but “also know the rewards of meeting incredible people”.In their social media posts the couple said they had been carrying out a research project on what makes a “good life.” Lindsay said she had interviewed more than 360 people.They said they had come up with the “slightly bonkers idea” for the motorbike trip last year at a conference on positive psychology in Austria.The aim was to do “face to face research with the ‘invisible voices’ to ask what living a good life means” and gathering “messages of hope for the world”.They said they crossed into Iran from Armenia in December and eventually planned to reach the Australian city Brisbane on July 1 this year, where Lindsay was set to attend another conference. The last Facebook post was on January 3, showing a picture of Lindsay with a “thoughtful and kind mullah” at the Madrasa Naseriyah in Isfahan.”Though we came from different backgrounds, we shared a deeper belief in the power of humanity,” she wrote.Iranian authorities accused the pair of having links with Western intelligence services and said they were found to be “cooperating with covert institutions linked to the intelligence services of hostile and Western countries”.On Friday, Britain’s Foreign Office said it was “providing consular assistance to two British nationals detained in Iran” and was in contact with Iranian authorities.

Ali Qashmar walked into his south Lebanon hometown on the Israeli border Tuesday to find bulldozed fields and piles of rubble where there used to be neighbourhoods brimming with life.”We came back to breathe the air of our lands and village, and we found our homes destroyed,” said Qashmar, 74, from Odaisseh.Qashmar, his children and their families fled in October 2023, after Hezbollah initiated cross-border hostilities with Israel over the war in the Gaza Strip.More than a year later, the town “seemed totally abandoned, empty”, he said.”There was total destruction. We have nowhere to live” now, he added.Israeli forces withdrew from a series of border villages including southeast Lebanon’s Odaisseh, Kfar Kila, Mais al-Jabal, Markaba and Hula under an extended ceasefire deadline that expired on Tuesday.AFP correspondents saw vast destruction around the towns and villages, with long lines of cars waiting for hours from the early morning for the Lebanese army to allow residents to go in.Lebanon’s army began deploying on Monday in 11 border towns and villages, removing dirt barriers the Israeli military had set up, later beginning to open roads and check for unexploded ordnance.- ‘In spite of them’ -Many people who did not want to wait for roads to be cleared or army authorisation for vehicles entered their villages on foot, only to find devastated homes, streets and agricultural land.A stunned Qashmar pointed to where buildings had once stood, the walls of nearby homes also collapsed or damaged.”This is my home. The building had three floors, my children lived here too,” he said as he surveyed the scene.His home looked out at the Israeli kibbutz community of Misgav Am across the border.”These are my siblings’ homes — they’ve all been destroyed,” Qashmar added.The November 27 ceasefire came after two months of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, and more than a year of cross-border hostilities.Under the deal, Lebanon’s army was to deploy as Israeli forces withdrew from south Lebanon over a 60-day period that was later extended to February 18, and Hezbollah was to remove any fighters and infrastructure.Israel said Monday its troops would remain temporarily in five “strategic” locations.At one of these points, between Odaisseh and Kfar Kila, AFP correspondents saw high dirt barriers, but no sign of Israeli soldiers.Mohammed Mweisi said he did not care if Israeli forces were near Odaisseh.”We will return to our villages — whether they want or not, we’ll go back in spite of them,” he said.- Unexploded bombs -An AFP photographer saw Lebanese army warnings along the road about the risk of unexploded ordnance in the rubble, reading: “Don’t go near, don’t touch, report it immediately”.In Odaisseh and villages nearby where the Israeli army had withdrawn, several residents said the destruction was so bad that their homes and neighbourhoods were unrecognisable.After the ceasefire, Lebanon’s National News Agency repeatedly reported huge explosions as Israeli ground forces dynamited buildings in areas where they were still operating.In November before the ceasefire, a World Bank report said the conflict was estimated to have damaged almost 100,000 housing units.Lebanese authorities have said more than 4,000 people had been killed, a figure that includes hundreds of Hezbollah fighters.Some families of Hezbollah fighters are still waiting for their bodies, and AFP photographers saw ambulances entering a number of border villages on Tuesday.Samira Jumaa was among those who returned to Kfar Kila in the early morning along with dozens of other residents, some carrying pictures of their sons or yellow Hezbollah flags.”I came looking for my brother,” a fighter, Jumaa said emotionally.”He came here with his comrades… We are certain they were martyred, but we hope to find out something,” she added.

Hamas said Tuesday that it would hand over all six living Israeli hostages due for release under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire this week, as well as the bodies of four dead captives.The fragile Gaza truce took effect on January 19 after more than 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas, sparked by the Palestinian militant group’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.Thirty-three Israeli hostages were due to be released under the first phase, with 19 freed so far in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners. Of the remaining 14, Israel says eight are dead.Five Thai nationals held in Gaza since the 2023 attack have also been released outside the scope of the truce deal.Hamas “decided to release on Saturday, February 22, the remaining living (Israeli) prisoners whose release was agreed in the first phase, numbering six”, the group’s top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya said in a televised address.The group had also “decided to hand over four bodies on Thursday… and the enemy will release the corresponding prisoners”, Hayya said.Israel subsequently confirmed the arrangements, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office saying that during indirect negotiations in Cairo, “agreements were reached” for the six living hostages to be released on Saturday.It added that the bodies of four hostages would be returned on Thursday, ahead of four others next week.These would be the first bodies returned by Hamas to Israel since the start of the war.A Palestinian source close to the negotiations said mediators had presented the request for the new releases, adding they aimed “for this step to create a positive atmosphere, insisting on the continuation of the ceasefire”.The first phase of the truce is due to expire on March 1, and negotiations on the next stages, including a permanent end to the war, have not yet begun.The truce deal has so far held despite both sides trading accusations of violations, and despite the strain placed on it by US President Donald Trump’s widely condemned plan to take control of Gaza and relocate its population.- Arab summits -Saudi Arabia is set to host the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on Friday to present their own plan for Gaza’s reconstruction while ensuring that Palestinians remain on their land.Egypt and Jordan have been floated by Trump as possible destinations for displaced Gazans, though both countries have rejected the idea. After the Saudi meeting, Egypt will host an extraordinary Arab League meeting on Gaza, with participants expected to address Trump’s plan.Though initially set for next week, the summit has been postponed to March 4, Egypt said Tuesday.For Palestinians, any forced displacement evokes memories of the “Nakba”, or catastrophe — the mass displacement of their ancestors during Israel’s creation in 1948.On Monday, Egypt hosted the latest meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, which initially gathered in Saudi Arabia last year.Egypt’s foreign ministry stressed Cairo’s “full commitment to implementing the two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and “the necessity of establishing an independent Palestinian state”.- ‘Demilitarisation’ -Israel, meanwhile, demanded on Tuesday the “complete demilitarisation of Gaza”, with Foreign Minister Gideon Saar saying it would “not accept the continued presence of Hamas or any other terrorist groups” in the Palestinian territory.Saar also said Israel would begin negotiations “this week” on the second phase of the truce, which aims to lay out a more permanent end to the war.A Hamas official and another source familiar with the talks have earlier said negotiations on a second phase could begin this week in Doha.Qatar, a key mediator in the Gaza conflict, said on Tuesday that Palestinians must decide the territory’s post-war future.”From our perspective, this is a Palestinian question on what happens post this conflict,” said Ansari when asked about Israel’s stated objective to eliminate Hamas.”It is a Palestinian question on who represents the Palestinians in an official capacity and also the political groups and parties in the political sphere,” he said.Ansari also said that humanitarian aid into Gaza “today is insufficient”.Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,291 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

Washington said Russia and the United States will name teams to negotiate a path to ending the war in Ukraine as soon as possible, as the superpowers met on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia without Kyiv or the EU.However, no specifics on a possible meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin emerged from the gathering in Riyadh, the first high-level official Washington-Moscow talks since Ukraine’s 2022 invasion.Some European leaders, alarmed by Trump’s overhaul of US policy on Russia, fear Washington will make serious concessions to Moscow and re-write the continent’s security arrangement in a Cold War-style deal between superpowers.  On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed to “appoint respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible”, the State Department said.Washington added the sides had also agreed to “establish a consultation mechanism” to address “irritants” to Russia and America’s relationship, noting the sides would lay the groundwork for future cooperation.Russia offered less detail on the outcome of the talks, saying: “We discussed and outlined our principled positions, and agreed that separate teams of negotiators will be in touch on this topic in due course.””It is still difficult to talk about a specific date for a meeting between the two leaders,” said Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy aide.Russia sketched out some of its perspectives on future talks to ending the fighting in Ukraine, arguing that settling the war required a reorganisation of Europe’s defence agreements.Moscow has long called for the withdrawal of NATO forces from eastern Europe, viewing the alliance as an existential threat on its flank.”A lasting and long-term viable resolution is impossible without a comprehensive consideration of security issues on the continent,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday, responding to a question by AFP.Before invading Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow had demanded NATO pull out of central and eastern Europe.European leaders held an emergency meeting in Paris a day earlier, but struggled to put on a united front. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in Turkey on Tuesday, said on the eve of the talks that he was not invited and would not “recognise any things or any agreements about us without us”. Isolated by the West for three years, Russia is hoping for a “restoration” of ties with the United States and a comeback to the international arena. At the Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, negotiations began without visible handshakes. – ‘How to start negotiations’ – Both Russia and the United States have cast Tuesday’s meeting as the beginning of a potentially lengthy process and downplayed the prospects of a breakthrough.  Russia’s Ushakov told state media the talks would discuss “how to start negotiations on Ukraine”.Trump has said he wants to end the war in Ukraine, but has thus far presented no concrete plan. The United States has urged both sides that concessions will have to be made if any peace talks materialise. Russia on the eve of the summit said there cannot be even a “thought” on it giving up territory seized from Ukraine. The Kremlin said Tuesday that Ukraine had the “right” to join the European Union, but not the NATO military alliance.It also said Putin was “ready” to negotiate with Zelensky “if necessary”, though repeated its questioning of his “legitimacy” — a reference to his five-year term expiring last year, despite Ukrainian law not requiring elections during wartime.The Ukrainian leader was in Turkey on Tuesday for discussions on the conflict with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He is due in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, though he said he does not plan to meet with US or Russian officials. – ‘Efforts toward peace’ -The EU, reeling from a series of speeches by Trump’s officials indicating Washington does not see Moscow as a threat, said it still wants to “partner” with the United States on any truce talks.Trump’s administration has given no clear answer on whether the EU would take part and Moscow has said it sees no point in Europe having a seat at the table. “Financially and militarily, Europe has brought more to the table than anyone else,” the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on social media.  “We want to partner with the US to deliver a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.”Key Russian ally China also welcomed “efforts towards peace” on Tuesday.”At the same time, we hope that all parties and stakeholders can participate,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.Russia has presented cautious optimism on the talks.

Formal, tense and laced with distrust, the highly anticipated Saudi-hosted talks between the United States and Russia on Tuesday carried all the hallmarks of a major diplomatic showdown.The rare encounter marked a dramatic shift in US-Russia relations, following last week’s phone call between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.The setting itself was striking.Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, hosted the meeting at Diriyah Palace, where the kingdom rolled out the red carpet.The sprawling palace was teeming with Saudi staff, their roles unclear. At the entrance, American and Russian flags fluttered above the conference centre.The US-Russia meeting was the first of this level and format since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.It offered Russia, largely isolated on the global stage, an opportunity to engage diplomatically.Gathered around a vast mahogany table, separated by large bouquets of white flowers, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov led their respective delegations.Rubio, 53, recently appointed to the post, faced off against Lavrov, a seasoned diplomat of 74. The two had never met before, speaking only by phone days earlier.Among the US officials present were National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. On the Russian side, Putin’s diplomatic adviser Yuri Ushakov attended.Expressions were stiff and guarded, with officials aware of the high stakes.In Kyiv and European capitals, concerns mounted that decisions affecting Ukraine might be made without them.Suspicion was palpable, with both sides appearing to be sizing each other up, testing intentions.There were no smiles, no handshakes for the cameras, and no statements to the media as the meeting began just before 10:30 am (0730 GMT) — slightly behind schedule.Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and National Security Adviser Musaad bin Mohammad al-Aiban attended the opening session before leaving the room.The talks began with a two-and-a-half-hour session, followed by a 15-minute break before resuming over lunch.By the time they ended shortly after 3:00 pm, a Kremlin aide said it was “hard to say” whether US and Russian positions were getting closer and that it was too early to talk about a date for a Trump-Putin summit.

Singapore will pour an additional $3.7 billion into upgrades at Changi airport, including a long-awaited fifth terminal, as the nation seeks to maintain its position as a top global aviation hub, its leader said Tuesday.Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced the fresh infusion while presenting the city-state’s 2025 budget, which also included a wide range of …

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