By David Lawder
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said he warned Chinese officials that continued purchases of sanctioned Russian oil would lead to big tariffs due to legislation in Congress, but was told that Beijing would protect its energy sovereignty.
By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia and France on Tuesday called on countries at the United Nations to support a declaration that outlines "tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps" towards implementing a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
The seven-page declaration is the result of an international conference at the U.N. this week - hosted by Saudi Arabia and France - on the decades-long conflict. The United States and Israel boycotted the event.
VALLETTA (Reuters) -Malta will declare recognition of a Palestinian state during the general assembly of the United Nations in September, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Tuesday evening.
Abela made the announcement hours after a similar declaration by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and days after France also announced its recognition plans.
"Our position reflects our commitment to efforts for a lasting peace in the Middle East," Abela said in a Facebook post.
By Michelle Nichols, Olivia Le Poidevin, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Andrew MacAskill
UNITED NATIONS/LONDON (Reuters) -Britain said on Tuesday it would recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes steps to relieve suffering in Gaza, where starvation is spreading, and reaches a ceasefire in the nearly two-year war with Hamas.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The State Department said on Tuesday that the United States repatriated a U.S. citizen minor from a displaced persons camp in northeast Syria for unification with the child's family.
"Approximately 30,000 individuals from more than 70 countries remain in two displaced persons camps in northeast Syria, the majority of whom are children under the age of 12; they deserve a chance at life outside the camps," the State Department said in a statement.
(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not discuss London's plan to recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel takes a number of steps to improve life for Palestinians.
Starmer said on Tuesday that Britain was prepared to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly in response to growing public anger over the images of starving children in Gaza.
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain announced on Tuesday it was prepared to recognise a Palestinian state in September unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the "appalling situation" in Gaza and meets other conditions.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer's decision follows in the footsteps of France, after President Emmanuel Macron confirmed his country's intention to pursue recognition of a Palestinian state and to encourage other partners to do the same.
Arab countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt joined calls Tuesday for Hamas to disarm and end its rule of Gaza, in a bid to end the devastating war in the Palestinian territory.
Seventeen countries plus the European Union and Arab League threw their weight behind a seven-page text agreed at a United Nations conference on reviving the two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians.
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Emma Farge
(Reuters) -Palestinian health authorities say Israel's ground and air campaign against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 60,000 people, with nearly a third of the dead under the age of 18.
After a two-month ceasefire earlier this year, Israel resumed an all-out air and ground campaign against Hamas in March. Palestinian health officials say more than 8,500 have been killed since then.
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Emma Farge
(Reuters) -Palestinian health authorities say Israel's ground and air campaign against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 60,000 people, with nearly a third of the dead under the age of 18.
After a two-month ceasefire earlier this year, Israel resumed an all-out air and ground campaign against Hamas in March. Palestinian health officials say more than 8,500 have been killed since then.
