Turkey

Ukraine receives more than 1,200 fallen soldiers’ bodies from Russia

11 Jun 2025 - 8:37PM

Kremlin says Putin, Zelensky, and Trump meeting ‘unlikely’ after Istanbul talks

3 Jun 2025 - 8:51PM

Ukraine invited to Nato summit as peace talks make little headway

Trump ‘open’ to meeting leaders of Ukraine and Russia to push for a ceasefire.

3 Jun 2025 - 11:42AM

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in Vilnius, Lithuania on Monday. Photo: AP

Russia sets out punitive terms at peace talks with Ukraine

Two sides talk for barely an hour in Istanbul in their second round of direct negotiations since 2022.

3 Jun 2025 - 10:02AM

Ukraine strikes Russian airbases in long-range drone assault on eve of talks

Ukraine said it damaged US$7 billion worth of Russian aircraft parked at four airbases in ‘operation Spider’s Web’.

2 Jun 2025 - 4:37PM

Fashion

Meet the fashion designer Kylie Jenner just collabed with, Dilara Findikoglu

The designer is inspired by Islamic mythology and horror films, but her most recent collab with Kylie Jenner showed her corset-heavy artistry while keeping Khy’s signature body-hugging silhouettes.

1 Jun 2025 - 6:00AM

Dilara Findikoglu has been called the “sorceress” of British design. Photo: Getty Images

United States

US to scrutinise visas for officials, targeting those ‘responsible for censorship’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US will refuse visas to foreign officials who block Americans’ social media posts.

28 May 2025 - 11:48PMvideocam

US and Russia row as Moscow masses 50,000 troops near Ukrainian region

Ukraine-Russian war intensifying as Trump warns Putin he is ‘playing with fire’.

28 May 2025 - 7:58PM

Emmanuel Macron

Macron denies dispute with wife as Russia mocks face shoving video

France’s first lady seems to push her husband as they land in Vietnam. He says they were joking.

27 May 2025 - 9:05AMvideocam

The hand of Brigitte Macron can be seen on the face of French President Emmanuel Macron as the couple arrive in Vietnam. Photo: Reuters

United States

Opinion | With his ‘historic’ tour, Trump puts US power back in the Middle East

In reasserting the US in the centre of the Middle East’s strategic calculus, Trump also weakens the leverage and influence of Russia and China.

23 May 2025 - 5:30AM

President Donald Trump visits US troops at the Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, on May 15. Photo: Reuters

Japan

Japan’s road safety at risk: accidents spark foreign drivers licensing debate

Surge in inbound tourism and immigration, coupled with ease of permit system, has led to more foreigners unfamiliar with Japan’s traffic rules.

22 May 2025 - 3:50PM

Middle East

Opinion | How Trump’s Middle East tour revealed Gulf states’ priorities

While the Gulf states seek benefits from Washington and Beijing, Chinese leaders must deliver more tangible support to secure recent gains.

22 May 2025 - 8:51AM

Why India is boosting arms sales to Armenia amid Pakistan, Turkey tensions

India’s move is seen as an effort to counter a growing strategic alignment between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Pakistan.

21 May 2025 - 11:00AMvideocam

A soldier salutes next to an Akash missile system during a parade in New Delhi. India is planning to deliver a second batch of Akash-1S surface-to-air missile systems to Armenia under a 2022 treaty. Photo: AFP

Ukraine’s Zelensky accuses Russia of ‘trying to buy time’ to ‘continue war’

The accusation comes a day after US President Donald Trump spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Zelensky urging the two to begin ceasefire negotiations.

20 May 2025 - 7:42PM

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the media during a press briefing after his phone call with the US president, in Kyiv, on Monday. Photo: AFP

From jam to jeans, Indians’ boycott of Turkish goods grows

Some 13 million family-run grocery stores plus fashion websites Myntra and AJIO have joined the boycott over Turkey’s support for Pakistan.

20 May 2025 - 11:29AMvideocam

Opinion | Rapid escalation of India-Pakistan clashes a warning of new tech dangers

Drones, long-range missiles and related technologies spare soldiers from live combat but also allow conflicts to be escalated in almost no time.

20 May 2025 - 5:45AMvideocam

Trump and the art of the deal: expects to meet Putin to broker Ukraine peace

‘There can’t be a meeting without me,’ the US president says after pulling back from first direct peace talks in Putin’s absence.

17 May 2025 - 1:40PM

US President Donald Trump walks across the South Lawn upon arrival at the White House on Friday. Photo: AP

Trump to speak to Putin, Zelensky by phone after Ukraine-Moscow talks in Turkey

A potential meeting between Zelensky and Putin was discussed in the talks, but there were few signs of significant progress towards ending the war.

17 May 2025 - 11:20PM

Trump caps Gulf tour with America-first policy for peace in Middle East

Trump’s vision sits well with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, two Gulf nations closest to Washington, but its feasibility remains to be determined, analysts say.

16 May 2025 - 9:00PMvideocam

Russia, Ukraine talks for peace end in under two hours

The officials present in Turkey – including Ukraine’s defence minister – sat together around a table, but the two sides are far apart in their conditions for ending the war.

16 May 2025 - 9:02PMvideocam

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are in Turkey for talks about Vladimir Putin’s war, which began in February 2022. Photo: Handout via EPA-EFE

India boycott of Turkey, Azerbaijan reflects growing ‘consumer-led diplomacy’

From traders to travel platforms, Indian companies are using economic tools to signal foreign policy displeasure, analysts note.

16 May 2025 - 6:00PMvideocam

People carry Indian national flags during a tricolour march to support “Operation Sindoor” in Pahalgam, Indian-controlled Kashmir, on Thursday. Photo: AP

Ukraine peace breakthrough unlikely as Putin declines to meet Zelensky in Turkey

‘We can’t be running around the world looking for Putin,’ Zelensky said after meeting Turkish President Erdogan in Ankara.

16 May 2025 - 4:50AM

Aviation

This country fines air passengers who unbuckle seat belts too early

US$67 fines to be levied under new law in Turkey on passengers who unbuckle prematurely, grab their cabin bag and try for a quick exit.

15 May 2025 - 5:56PM

Putin not on Kremlin list for Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Turkey

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had challenged the Russian leader to meet him in person in Istanbul.

15 May 2025 - 11:15AM

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks in Moscow on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Trump move to end Syria sanctions catches his own administration by surprise

The very officials who’d be responsible for implementing the policy change were not warned before the US president made his announcement.

15 May 2025 - 7:18AMvideocam