
-
Chinese developer under scrutiny over Bangkok tower quake collapse
-
Sirens wail and families cry at Myanmar disaster site
-
Three things on Australia's former Russian tennis star Daria Kasatkina
-
Stock markets rise ahead of Trump tariffs deadline
-
Facing US tariffs, Canadians hunt for business in Europe
-
Trumpets, guns, horses: northern Nigeria's Durbar ends Ramadan in style
-
Defiant French far right insists 'we will win' despite Le Pen ban
-
Hezbollah official among four dead in Israeli strike on Beirut
-
Liverpool's Slot unfazed by Alexander-Arnold Real Madrid links
-
Hezbollah official targeted in deadly Israeli strike on Beirut
-
Israel PM drops security chief nominee under fire from Trump ally
-
Stock markets edge up but Trump tariff fears dampen mood
-
South Korea court to rule Friday on president impeachment
-
'Can collapse anytime': Mandalay quake victims seek respite outdoors
-
Stock markets edge back but Trump tariff fears dampen mood
-
Myanmar holds minute of silence for more than 2,000 quake dead
-
Kenya president still handing cash to churches despite his own ban
-
Israeli strike on Beirut kills three
-
Russia-born Kasatkina says 'didn't have much choice' after Australia switch
-
Carmakers face doubts and jolts over US tariffs
-
China holds large-scale military drills around Taiwan
-
'Heartbreaking' floods swamp Australia's cattle country
-
South Korean baseball put on hold after fan killed at stadium
-
Celtics, Thunder power toward NBA playoffs, Lakers shoot down Rockets
-
French prosecutors demand Volkswagen face fresh Dieselgate trial
-
Sam Mendes to launch four 'Beatles' movies in same month
-
Battery boom drives Bangladesh lead poisoning epidemic
-
South Korea president impeachment ruling Friday: court
-
Israel strikes Hezbollah operative in Beirut, kills 3
-
Desperate Rohingya mark Eid in Indonesia limbo
-
Sam Kerr has 'full support' of Australia squad, vice-captain says
-
Asian markets edge back but Trump tariff fears dampen mood
-
Teenage opener Konstas gets Australia contract with Ashes on horizon
-
S. Korea court to rule Friday on President Yoon impeachment
-
Myanmar to hold minute of silence for more than 2,000 quake dead
-
Far-right leaders rally around France's Le Pen after poll ban
-
SpaceX launches private astronauts on first crewed polar orbit
-
China launches military drills around Taiwan
-
Political support leading to increasing fallout for crypto
-
France's Le Pen seeks to keep presidency hopes alive after election ban
-
Trump tariffs threaten Latin American steel industry
-
'Tariff man': Trump's long history with trade wars
-
Tariffs: Economic 'liberation' or straitjacket?
-
Undocumented migrants turn to Whatsapp to stay ahead of US raids
-
What next for Venezuela as Trump goes after oil revenues?
-
New Zealand Rugby and Ineos settle sponsorship dispute
-
China says launches military exercises around Taiwan
-
Team New Zealand fails in bid to host 2027 America's Cup
-
Cerrado Gold Makes Final Payment for the Acquisition of Its Minera Don Nicolas Gold Mine in Santa Cruz, Argentina
-
DEA’s Marijuana Legal Blunder and Loss: MMJ Serves Up an April Fools ‘Gift’ a Gut Punch LawSuit for Irreparable Harm

Norway says putting 'tangible demands' to Taliban at aid talks
Norway said it would press the Taliban with "tangible demands" during talks in Oslo on Tuesday, the last day of the hardline Islamists' controversial first visit to Europe since returning to power in Afghanistan.
A Taliban delegation led by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has been in Norway since Saturday for talks focused on aid to Afghanistan.
The humanitarian situation has rapidly deteriorated since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, when international aid came to a sudden halt, worsening the plight of millions of people already suffering after several severe droughts.
The Taliban delegation met members of Afghan civil society on Sunday, followed by Western diplomats on Monday.
They were to wrap up their visit on Tuesday with several bilateral meetings, including with a Norwegian political official, and discussions with non-governmental organisations.
"This is not the beginning of an... open-ended process", said Norwegian state secretary Henrik Thune ahead of his talks with the delegation.
"We are going to place tangible demands that we can follow up on and see if they have been met", he told Norwegian news agency NTB.
The demands were to include the possibility of providing humanitarian aid directly to the Afghan people, according to NTB.
It was also to call for human rights to be respected, in particular those of women and minorities, such as access to education and health services, the right to work, and freedom of movement.
- Missing women activists -
While the Islamists claim to have modernised, women are still largely excluded from public-sector employment and most secondary schools for girls remain closed.
Norway was also expected to raise the plight of two women activists who went missing in Kabul last week after taking part in a demonstration. The Taliban have denied responsibility.
The Taliban were toppled in 2001 but stormed back to power last August as US-led forces began withdrawing.
They view this week's meetings -- held behind closed doors in a hotel near Oslo -- as a step toward international recognition and the unblocking of financial aid.
"Norway providing us this opportunity is an achievement in itself because we shared the stage with the world," Foreign Minister Muttaqi said Monday after talks with representatives of the United States, the European Union, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Norway.
No country has yet recognised the fundamentalist regime, and Norway has insisted the talks do "not represent a legitimisation or recognition of the Taliban".
Some 55 percent of the Afghan population is suffering from hunger, according to the United Nations. But the international community is waiting to see how the Taliban intend to govern before unblocking any aid.
"We cannot save lives unless all the sanctions are lifted", the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, told AFP before sitting down with the Taliban.
Freezing aid is "hurting the same civilians that the NATO countries spent hundred of billions on defending until August", he said.
A spokesman for the Taliban foreign ministry said the delegation also held bilateral talks on Tuesday with a senior French foreign ministry official, Bertrand Lotholary, and EU special representative Tomas Niklasson.
Oslo's decision to host a delegation has been criticised by some experts and members of the Afghan diaspora. Several protests have been held outside the foreign ministry in the capital.
Among the 15 members of the all-male Taliban delegation is Anas Haqqani, a leader of the most feared and violent faction of the Taliban movement.
D.Sawyer--AMWN