Author: Roland Rice

The war in the Ukraine created two main opposing camps of countries. An Alliance of Democracies on one side and a Group of Authoritarian. The escalation of geopolitical tensions linked to the Ukrainian crisis has highlighted two main opposing camps of countries — an Alliance of Democracies on one side and a Group of Authoritarian Regimes on the other. A number of countries have resisted choosing sides, however, as they strive to balance their national interests with international developments while simultaneously advocating the need to maintain peaceful diplomacy and global connections. While the number of these so-called “in-between” countries abound…

A devastating eight-alarm fire has destroyed a massive church in southern New Jersey, despite the efforts of more than 150 firefighters who tried to extinguish the flames overnight. The blaze broke out on Monday evening at the Fountain of Life Center in Florence Township, which drew a response from at least 100 emergency teams from five counties, CBS Philadelphia reported. The fire eventually caused the roof of the church to collapse entirely while threatening a nearby K-12 school on Monday night. Firefighters had successfully controlled the blaze by Tuesday morning, although what remained of the church building continued to smolder as crews…

Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, told Sky News that the hardest fighting was yet to come and said the next few months would be crucial in deciding the course of the war, Report informs. He urged western allies to send more weapons, including Royal Air Force Typhoon jets from the UK and fighter aircraft from other partners. “Russia is preparing for maximum escalation,” Mr Danilov said in an interview on Tuesday at his headquarters in the capital Kyiv. “It is gathering everything possible, doing drills and training.” He did not rule out the…

The West sees Moldova as the ‘next Ukraine’, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, told Russia 24 TV. “The West disrespects the neutrality of developing countries and almost daily pressures those who do not join the sanctions against Russia,” Lavrov said. The minister stressed that the thesis about Russia’s refusal to negotiate on Ukraine is false, and Russia will continue to deny it.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is heading to the US on Sunday to meet President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as the three nations unveil the next phase of the AUKUS nuclear submarine program, a security partnership meant to counter China. The decision on how to move ahead will be announced Monday when the three leaders meet in San Diego. The plan will take years to produce its first vessel, probably necessitating stopgap measures, according to people familiar with the discussions. The US may base nuclear submarines in Australia or sell the country Virginia-class submarines in the interim. Australia’s…

U.S. President Joe Biden will meet leaders of Australia and Britain in San Diego on Monday to announce a way forward for Australia to receive nuclear-powered submarines in Canberra’s biggest-ever defense project. The three countries announced the so-called AUKUS plan in 2021 as part of efforts to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region. However, questions remain over strict U.S. curbs on the extensive technology sharing needed for the project and about the length of time it will take to deliver the submarines. Australia is expected to buy up to five U.S. Virginia class nuclear-poweredsubmarines in the 2030s as part of the landmark agreement to be revealed in…

Romanian state-owned company Romgaz and Azerbaijani oil and gas company Socar will sign a new contract for the delivery of natural gas on Friday. Azerbaijan delivered the first quantities of natural gas to Romania in January, and the two state-run companies will sign a contract for new deliveries starting with April, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday after a meeting with his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliyev. Romania will continue to work with Azerbaijan on multiple energy projects, such as the Southern Gas Corridor – an EU initiative to secure a natural gas supply route from Caspian and Middle Eastern…

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday that he expects the situation in Europe and the world to further aggravate in 2023, Report informs via TASS. “I expect that the year 2023 will be more, much more difficult on the European and global levels than 2022,” he told an annual news conference. “The United States is nearing a recession,” he noted. “China’s growth is slowing down. Europe is nearing a recession.” According to Britain’s Financial Times, Europe may face blackouts due to the cold weather in the coming months, but power outages are more probable next winter because of problems with storing…

PHOENIX (AP) — A lawsuit over how much money Arizona’s lawmakers allocate for school maintenance, buses, textbooks and technology won’t go to trial next week, after a judge granted a request for a delay by the state’s incoming attorney general. Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes said her office needs time to determine whether some or all of the claims can be resolved without a trial. The trial was set to begin Monday. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Dewain Fox approved Mayes’ request Friday and scheduled a status hearing for March 17, the Arizona Republic reported. A group of school districts…

Airlines canceled hundreds of flights this week as winter storms, bitter cold and high winds snarled U.S. travel ahead of Christmas weekend. Carriers scrubbed more than 5,000 U.S. flights from Wednesday through Friday, according to tracking site FlightAware. That period includes what airlines expected to be the busiest travel times before Christmas Day. More than 16,000 U.S. flights were delayed. Chicago’s two main airports — O’Hare and Midway — and Denver International Airport had the biggest share of canceled flights on Thursday. New York’s LaGuardia Airport, Detroit and Chicago Midway were set to have the most disruptions on Friday. Airlines…