MILAN, Italy (RNS) – Amid a growing public rift between Pope Leo XIV and President Donald Trump — arguably the two most influential American-born figures in the world — Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the Vatican on Thursday seeking to highlight common ground between the Holy See and the Trump administration. Rubio’s meeting with…
Amid growing tensions between President Trump and Pope Leo XIV, the pontiff met privately with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican on Thursday morning They discussed “the situation in the Middle East and topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere,” according to a statement from Tommy Pigott, the spokesman for the State…
China’s top diplomat met with Iran’s foreign minister on Wednesday and called for greater efforts to open the Strait of Hormuz and for an end to the war, after the Trump administration pressed Beijing to help end Tehran’s chokehold over the waterway. Meeting in Beijing with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, Foreign Minister Wang Yi…
Oil prices pulled back on Tuesday after a sharp increase a day earlier. They had surged on Monday as the fragile truce in the Middle East appeared to be in jeopardy. The United Arab Emirates said it had been attacked by Iran, while the U.S. military said Iran had fired at the ships and commercial…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Rome and Vatican City this week in a bid to ease rising tensions between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV over U.S. policies, particularly the Iran war. The State Department said Monday that Rubio, a Catholic who with this trip will have visited Italy or the Vatican…
Nairobi — Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli has urged the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to move swiftly to curb what he described as escalating premature political rallies. Speaking during Labour Day celebrations, Atwoli warned that unchecked political activity could destabilise the country and hurt workers the most, expressing…
As Saudi Arabia prepared to host a summit of Gulf Arab leaders on Tuesday, political commentators in the neighboring United Arab Emirates began furiously dropping hints online that major news was coming. For weeks, Emirati officials had been openly expressing frustration with their Arab neighbors, complaining about their weak stance toward Iran, which had fired…
Shorouk Express Berlin is recalling for consultations its ambassador to Georgia, Peter Fischer, after he became the target of attacks from the pro-Russia government of the South Caucasus country, the German foreign ministry announced on Sunday. “For many months, the Georgian leadership has been agitating against the EU, Germany and also German Ambassador Fischer personally,” the…
Shorouk Express Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Police and protesters clashed on Saturday as demonstrations against asylum hotels unfolded across the country. Protesters and counterprotesters gathered for demonstrations in towns and…
Shorouk Express BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 18. It appears that oil price uncertainty is a major channel through which the geopolitical tension in the Middle East could affect Azerbaijan, Dmitry Dolgin, Chief Economist, Russia and CIS at the Netherlands-based ING banking group, told Trend. “Based on our estimates, each $1 per barrel of oil price translates…
