European powers plan fresh nuclear talks with Iran
Tehran had agreed to hold talks with the three European countries, citing an unnamed source. Consultations are ongoing regarding a date and location for the talks, the report said. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a call on Friday with his British, French and German counterparts and European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
"Iran must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon. That is why Germany, France and the United Kingdom are continuing to work intensively in the E3 format to find a sustainable and verifiable diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear programme," the German source said. — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
7 hours ago
- Observer
At least 35 killed in church attack in northeast DR Congo
BUNIA: At least 35 people were killed on Sunday in an attack by Allied Democratic Forces rebels in northeastern DR Congo, ending a months-long period of regional calm, local sources said. The ADF, originally formed from former Ugandan rebels and which pledged allegiance to IS group in 2019, raided a Catholic church in the town of Komanda where worshippers were gathered for prayer, residents said by telephone from Bunia, capital of Ituri province. "Last night around 9 pm, we heard gunfire near the parish church... so far we have seen 35 bodies," Dieudonne Katanabo, an Umoja neighbourhood elder, said. "We have at least 31 dead members of the Eucharistic Crusade movement, with six seriously injured... some young people were kidnapped, we have no news of them," Father Aime Lokana Dhego, parish priest of the Blessed Anuarite parish of Komanda, said. The priest added that seven other bodies had been discovered in the town. Likewise attributing the attack to "ADF rebels", Christophe Munyanderu, coordinator of the local NGO Convention for the Respect of Human Rights, gave a provisional death toll of 38. Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, army spokesman in Ituri, did not comment on the toll but confirmed the attack to AFP, stating that "the enemy is believed to have been identified among ADF" rebels. The bloodshed comes after months of calm in the region of Ituri, bordering Uganda. The last major attack by the ADF was in February, leaving 23 dead in Mambasa territory. The town of Komanda in Irumu territory is a commercial hub linking three other provinces — Tshopo, North Kivu and Maniema. The ADF has killed thousands of civilians and ramped up looting and killing in northeastern DRC despite the deployment both of the Ugandan army alongside Congolese armed forces in the area. At the end of 2021, Kampala and Kinshasa launched a joint military operation against the ADF, dubbed "Shujaa", which has so far been unable to dislodge the group. — AFP
Observer
7 hours ago
- Observer
Ecuador deports more than 600 inmates as Colombia cries foul
BOGOTA: Colombian authorities said that Ecuador had deported about 600 Colombian prisoners via a land border crossing, after Bogota protested the action came without prior agreement. "In the morning, 603 people arrived, 60 women and 543 men, and we completed the reception of them" at the Rumichaca border crossing in Carchi province, Colombia's acting foreign minister Rosa Villavicencio said. Authorities on both sides of the border had previously reported conflicting figures for the number of prisoners deported. The inmates, wearing orange uniforms, waited in line to reenter their home country under the watchful eye of Ecuadoran police and military personnel. Early in the day, some in shorts and t-shirts did exercises while waiting for their turn to cross the border in the chilly Andean air, saying "We want to cross, we want to cross." On Friday, the government in Bogota lodged a formal complaint with Quito, saying such a move without prior agreement was a violation of international law and an "unfriendly gesture." Ecuador's foreign ministry said on Saturday that Bogota was told about the plan on July 8. The mayor of the border town of Ipiales, Amilcar Pantoja, told the media on Friday that prisoners without pending legal cases in Colombia would be released. Drug trafficking gangs operating in Ecuador — some involving Colombian criminals — have turned the country into one of the most violent in Latin America. The homicide rate has jumped from six per 100,000 people in 2018 to 38 in 2024, among the highest in the region. — AFP
Times of Oman
21 hours ago
- Times of Oman
India-Oman FTA almost finalised, talks progressing with EU, US: Piyush Goyal
New Delhi : Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday announced that India's Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Oman is "almost finalised," and negotiations with several other key global economies, including the European Union, the United States, Peru, and Chile, are progressing rapidly. "We are in negotiations at an advanced stage with Oman. It is almost finalised," Goyal stated. He also mentioned that the FTAs with the European Union, the USA, Peru and Chile are also making "fast progress". At the press conference, the minister also pointed to a series of successful FTAs concluded with developed nations in recent years, including Mauritius, Australia, and the four-nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA) bloc, comprising Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland. "The Free Trade Agreement between India and the UK, the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement, clearly reflects the growing relevance and importance of India on the world stage," Goyal said. "The goods and services that India provides to the world have high quality and cost competitiveness." The latest addition is the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the United Kingdom, which the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as one of the most significant deals post-Brexit. Goyal noted that the agreement is "very comprehensive," covering 30 chapters. During the press conference, Goyal also highlighted the Prime Minister Modi's long-standing tenure and international reputation. "Yesterday, the Prime Minister completed 4,078 days and became the second longest serving Prime Minister continuously in office after Jawaharlal Nehru," he said. "This morning, when I read that the latest international survey has again shown the Prime Minister as the most popular leader in the world." The much-awaited India-UK Free Trade Agreement was signed on Thursday, in the presence of Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, during PM Modi's two-day visit to the UK. On May 6, Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Starmer announced the successful conclusion of a mutually beneficial India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This forward-looking Agreement is aligned with India's vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 and complements the growth aspirations of both countries. Both nations desire to increase their trade to USD 120 billion by 2030. On Thursday, the UK government said that India's average tariff on UK products will drop from 15 per cent to 3 per cent under the India-UK FTA.
