resume

North Korea and China resumed an international passenger train service linking their capitals Thursday for the first time in six years, with a train spotted crossing the border bridge between the two countries.

A nine-car train traveling from Pyongyang to Beijing was seen by Yonhap News Agency passing over the Amnok River bridge, also known as the Yalu River bridge, connecting North Korea’s Sinuiju and China’s Dandong, at around 4:23 p.m.

Some train cars had closed curtains, while passengers were visible in others.

According to China’s Xinhua News Agency, a five-car passenger train departed from the Chinese border city of Dandong at 10 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive in Pyongyang at 6:07 p.m.

The Dandong-Pyongyang passenger line will operate daily in both directions, Xinhua said, quoting a Chinese official as saying the service will serve as a “dynamic link strengthening the friendship between these two nations.”

Also on Thursday, North Korea and China were set to resume a rail route connecting their capitals, Pyongyang and Beijing.

The resumption marks the first cross-border passenger train service between the two countries since operations were suspended in 2020 following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, North Korea resumed direct flight and train services between Pyongyang and Moscow, Russia’s capital.

The reopening of the North Korea-China rail services comes as the two countries appear to be aligning more closely as they seek to repair relations frayed by Pyongyang’s military cooperation with Russia, amid speculation that the United States may seek to reengage Pyongyang for talks.

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NEW YORK — The WNBA and its players’ union met again Wednesday, hours after a marathon negotiating session over a new collective bargaining agreement.

The two sides ended a 12-hour negotiation at 5 a.m. EDT without reaching a deal. They started talking again Wednesday afternoon and discussions were ongoing at sundown.

Union executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson said Wednesday morning that there were “a lot of conversations going in the right direction.”

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert came out of the hotel where negotiations took place to talk to reporters briefly.

“It’s complex, but we’re working towards a win-win deal like we’ve been saying, transformational deal for these players. That balances all the things we’ve been trying to balance with continued investment by our owners,” she said. “So, we’re working hard towards that and still have work to do.”

Executive committee members Nneka Ogwumike, Breanna Stewart, Alysha Clark and Brianna Turner once again were at the hotel with Jackson and the union staff. The league was represented by Engelbert, head of league operations Bethany Donaphin and New York Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai. Connecticut Sun president Jen Rizzotti joined the negotiating team on Wednesday.

Neither side left the hotel during the marathon bargaining session. A day later, both sides were outside during breaks enjoying an unseasonably warm mid-March day in Manhattan.

The sides have been exchanging proposals during the bargaining sessions over the last two days, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.

Revenue sharing and housing are key sticking points between the sides, as well as assigning a franchise tag to a player and benefits for retired players.

The league had said that at least a handshake agreement on a labor deal would need to be done by Tuesday to start the season as scheduled.

“We’ve got to get this deal done. We’ve got to get it done soon,” said Engelbert, who didn’t take questions from reporters.

When a deal is reached in principle, the league has said it would need a few weeks to finish off the CBA. After that work is done, the expansion draft for new franchises in Portland and Toronto would be held sometime between April 1-6, according to a timetable obtained by the AP.

Free agent qualifying offers, including franchise player tags, would be sent out April 7-8. Teams would then have three days to negotiate with the more than 80% of players who are free agents. The signing period would take place from April 12-18.

Training camps would open the next day and the season would be able to start on May 8.

But for any of that to happen, the two sides have to figure out a revenue sharing model. The union’s proposal from a week ago had asked for an average of 26% of the gross revenue — revenue before expenses — over the course of the CBA. That would include only 25% in the first year. The league has said that number was unrealistic.

The WNBA’s last few proposals have offered more than 70% of net revenue, with that number going up as the league continues to grow.

Train service linking Pyongyang and Beijing will resume this week for the first time since it was suspended six years ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sources said Tuesday.

The Beijing-Pyongyang train route will resume operations Thursday, running four times a week, on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, an official at China State Railway Group told Yonhap News Agency.

The train will depart from Beijing at 5:26 p.m. and arrive in Pyongyang at 6 p.m. the following day, stopping once at the Chinese border city of Dandong en route. The last two train cars will be reserved for passengers, according to sources.

The resumption marks the first cross-border train service between the two countries since operations were suspended following the outbreak of the pandemic.

Last year, North Korea resumed direct flight and train services between Pyongyang and Moscow, Russia’s capital.

The Chinese official said the upcoming Beijing-Pyongyang train will primarily serve diplomats and those on official business trips, while plans to accommodate general passengers will be considered if empty seats are available.

China’s foreign ministry said maintaining a regular passenger train service between China and North Korea takes on “significance” in facilitating exchanges of personnel between the two nations.

“China supports creating more convenient conditions for both sides’ exchanges of personnel by strengthening communication between relevant authorities of the two nations,” Guo Jiakun, spokesperson at the ministry, told a press briefing.

The move comes as North Korea and China appears to be seeking to promote cooperation amid the fluid international situation, highlighted by U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and the subsequent intensifying conflict in the Middle East.

North Korea also seems to be trying to expand cooperation with China as speculation arises that U.S. President Donald Trump may seek to resume diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the occasion of his planned trip to Beijing on March 31-April 2.

North Korea’s ties with China, the North’s traditional ally and economic benefactor, became cool amid Pyongyang’s deepening military cooperation with Russia on the occasion of Moscow’s war with Ukraine.

Kim held summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in September last year on the occasion of a Chinese military parade and discussed ways to improve bilateral ties.

But relations between Pyongyang and Beijing do not appear to be restored in a full-fledged manner with no signs of high-level exchanges of personnel spotted.

“The government is closely monitoring the development of Korean Peninsula affairs, including North-China relations,” an official at South Korea’s foreign ministry said.

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Simon Calder warned that, even if the major airports reopen, it will take some time for normal service to resume

A travel expert claims international airports currently shut due to military action in Iran could reopen earlier than many anticipate. Journalist Simon Calder shared his forecast whilst boarding a flight from Istanbul, Turkey.

One individual has died and 11 others have been wounded at airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Over 3,400 flights have been scrapped and airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), along with Qatar’s capital, Doha, and Manama in Bahrain were among those shuttered.

The Foreign Office is advising British nationals against all but essential travel to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. This means hundreds of thousands of travellers are stranded in the region, many of whom are believed to be either British or those attempting to fly to the UK.

In an Instagram video, Mr Calder stated: “The main question is when is the disruption going to stop?”.

“Dubai indefinitely closed; Emirates is kind of saying that sometime on Monday it might start up again. Doha, they’re going to give an update at 6 o’clock British time tomorrow. And Etihad and Abu Dhabi airport, they’re saying, well actually, yeah, we might be opening before that.

“And I hope that the flight ban and also the travel advice from the Foreign Office saying do not go to these places will be lifted as soon as possible so that people can come back.

“I’m going to say, if you twisted my arm, we will probably see flights start up in the next couple of days but in a small way because, of course, planes and pilots and cabin crew and passengers are all out of position. So it’s going to take some time to get this back to normal and I simply hope that it is done with the maximum energy and indeed money just to try to make sure that people are back when they need to be as soon as possible.”

Mr Calder explained that – aside from the Covid-19 pandemic – disruption on the scale witnessed over the weekend hadn’t been seen since the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption and resulting ash cloud in Iceland.

READ MORE: Travel expert Simon Calder issues three-word advice for Brits caught up in Iran attacksREAD MORE: Travel expert Simon Calder predicts when BA, Etihad and Emirates flights will resume after Iran attack

During that week-long episode, approximately 20 countries shut their airspace to commercial aircraft, affecting roughly 10 million passengers. Mr Calder suggested things weren’t quite that severe ‘yet’ but described these as extraordinary circumstances and warned matters were ‘definitely heading in that direction’.

He also noted that, given the sheer scale of the airports affected and the extent of the chaos, it would require a substantial amount of time for the situation to resolve itself even once flights restarted.

He added: “Just bear in mind that every day that there are no flights going in and out of the world’s busiest international airport, Dubai, and Doha, and Abu Dhabi, that is two and a half thousand flights and about half a million people. The numbers are really staggering.

“Every hour generally, on average, 20,000 people land and depart from those airports, and so you have a massive problem building up. And certainly the numbers haven’t been added to because, of course, people are there, but what’s happening is that people’s holidays are ending and so they are being added to the back of the queue at the airport. It’s a desperate position for them to be in.

“It is going to be quite interesting to see how it is done, because you’ve got to remember that the numbers in Dubai rather exceed the current capacity of them.

“So let’s take a case of an expat who’s booked on the 5th of March, and let’s hope very much that flights are back on the 5th of March. That expat is expected to take her or his seat, and the fact that somebody’s been there for five days and really wants to get home isn’t relevant; it’s whoever’s got the booking in.

“And so I think there may well be shuttle services operated. They might even go to somewhere like Cyprus; they might just take people back and forth to a relatively short-haul destination from where people can board relatively short-haul flights. That would seem to cause the least amount of problem. I

” don’t know if this is going to happen, but I do know that there’s an awful lot of people out there who really want to be somewhere else and heavens, just imagine the stress and upset if you know that there’s somebody across the Gulf who is sending drones and missiles in your direction. A horrible situation for everybody.”

Airlines serving the Middle East cancelled or diverted a large number of flights on Saturday in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes against on Iran – Emirates have issued an update

Thousands of holidaymakers have been left stranded after aviation giant Emirates axed all flights in and out of Dubai on Saturday.

The ongoing situation in Iran and the Middle East has lead to multiple regional airspace closures over Dubai.

Emirates issued a “red alert” suspension lasting until at least 3pm local time Sunday. The carrier is “actively monitoring” the high-stakes situation as authorities scramble to manage the unfolding crisis. While safety remains the “highest priority,” the move has sparked travel mayhem for those caught in the crossfire.

Airlines serving the Middle East cancelled or diverted a large number of flights on Saturday in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes against on Iran. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Wizz Air were among carriers to scale back their schedules to destinations in the Middle East, citing safety concerns.

READ MORE: WW3 mapped as US and Israel launch strikes on IranREAD MORE: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s daughter, son-in-law, and grandchild reportedly killed in airstrikes

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Taking to X an Emirates spokesperson said: “Due to multiple regional airspace closures, Emirates has temporarily suspended all operations to and from Dubai, up until 1500hrs UAE time on Sunday, 1 March. If you are booked to travel in the next 72 hours, your options are:

“Rebook on an alternate flight. You can rebook on another flight to your intended destination up to 10 days from your original date of travel. If you booked your flight with a travel agent, please contact them. If you booked with us directly, contact us.

“Request for refund. You can request for a refund of your ticket by completing the refund form if you booked with us directly. If you booked your flights with a travel agent, please contact them. We urge all customers to check flight status before proceeding to the airport. Customers impacted by flight cancellations must contact their travel agency for rebooking.

“If booked directly with Emirates, please contact us. Customers are requested to ensure their contact details are correct by visiting http://emirat.es/managebooking to receive updates We are actively monitoring the situation and engaging with relevant authorities. We apologise to customers affected by disruptions for any inconvenience caused. The safety and security of our passengers and crew remain our highest priority.”

The update comes in the wake of confirmation from Iran’s state broadcaster that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the early hours Sunday local time in US and Israeli aristrikes.

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Major airlines including British Airways, Emirates and Qatar Airways have cancelled flights following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran

Travel expert Simon Calder has forecasted when flights between the UK and the Middle East might recommence. Several leading airlines, including British Airways, Emirates, and Qatar Airways, have suspended flights in the wake of joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of travellers are stuck in the region, with no immediate hope of return flights due to the unstable situation. Airports in Dubai and Doha have halted all operations after US bases in Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait were hit by Iranian retaliatory strikes.

British Airways has called off all flights to Tel Aviv and Bahrain until 3 March. Speaking on Radio 5 Live, Mr Calder admitted it was difficult to predict when flights would start again.

He stated: “It’s possible that flights will resume tomorrow (Sunday). Looking at what Emirates are saying in Dubai, it is possible there will not be any more flights until 3pm on Sunday afternoon – that is 11am GMT – with the implication that flights may well resume again then.

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“Etihad, just down the road in Abu Dhabi, are saying that flights will be resuming at 2pm local time, so 10am tomorrow morning GMT. We will see if that happens. Quite a lot would need to be said and done to make the airlines confident that the airspace was safe.

“At the moment though, if I had a flight booked back from Doha then, my goodness me, my absolute sympathy with anybody who is stuck in a war zone with missiles coming in, it is unbelievable and I am so, so sorry it is happening, but I would think March 5 is not a bad day to have planned your escape.”

Airports across London and Manchester have reported disruptions, with one British Airways flight from London to Doha forced to turn back to Heathrow after three hours in the air.

Leading global carriers including Delta, Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific and Turkish Airlines have suspended services to the Middle East, alongside certain routes traversing the region.

The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) urged British nationals in affected nations to “immediately shelter in place” and steer clear of travel to Israel and Palestine. “Remain indoors in a secure location, avoid all travel and follow instructions from the local authorities,” the FCDO stated.

The department confirmed it was working tirelessly to bring home thousands of stranded Britons following the attacks. UK citizens are being encouraged to register via Register Your Presence and sign up for travel advisory emails to receive the most current updates from the Foreign Office.

Colombia’s largest criminal group paused talks after President Gustavo Petro pledged to target its leader, Chiquito Malo.

Colombia’s government has announced it will resume peace talks with the powerful Gulf Clan, also known as the Gaitanist Self-Defence Forces (ECG), after the criminal group expressed concern about a recent deal with the United States.

Tuesday’s announcement addresses a temporary suspension the Gulf Clan announced earlier this month, in the wake of a meeting between Colombian President Gustavo Petro and his US counterpart, Donald Trump.

Faced with US pressure to crack down on drug cartels, Petro agreed to prioritise three “kingpins” his government considered “high-level targets”.

One of those targets was the leader of the Gulf Clan, Jobanis de Jesus Avila Villadiego, known as Chiquito Malo.

The Gulf Clan responded by pausing talks with the Petro government until it received clarity on the scope of the government’s actions.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the two parties said they had “overcome” any hurdles to the talks.

They also explained that the ongoing talks would be mediated by the Catholic Church and the governments of Qatar, Spain, Norway and Switzerland.

The Gulf Clan is one of several armed groups that have jostled for control of territory as part of Colombia’s six-decade-long internal conflict, which has pitted criminal groups, left-wing rebels, government forces and right-wing paramilitaries against each other.

With approximately 9,000 fighters, the Gulf Clan is considered one of the country’s largest cartels. The US designated it a “foreign terrorist organisation” in December.

Trump has pushed the Petro government to take more aggressive action against drug trafficking overall. In January, he even threatened to attack Colombia, saying that Petro needed to “watch his a**”.

But relations between the two leaders have warmed in recent weeks, particularly since Petro’s visit to the White House on February 3.

Previously, Colombian governments had taken a more militarised approach to addressing the country’s internal conflict. Colombia has long been considered a top ally in the US’s worldwide “war on drugs”.

But upon taking office in 2022, Petro sought to take a different approach, bringing armed groups and criminal networks to the table for negotiations under a programme called “Total Peace”.

The peace talks, however, have faced a series of setbacks, particularly in the wake of new bursts of violence.

In January, for example, Petro granted himself emergency powers following an outbreak of violence near the border with Venezuela between various armed groups, including the National Liberation Army (ELN).

That violence resulted in the suspension of peace talks with the ELN.

Petro, the country’s first left-wing president, has also faced pressure from the right to assure justice is carried out on behalf of the victims of drug trafficking.

His government has repeatedly rejected allegations that it has not done enough to stem drug trafficking in Colombia, which has historically been the world’s largest producer of cocaine.

Petro has pointed to historic drug busts, including one in November that resulted in the seizure of 14 tonnes of cocaine, as evidence of his government’s efficacy.

Criminal networks and other groups have long jostled to gain control of drug-trafficking routes.

Those clashes saw a spike after a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a leftist rebel group that agreed to disarm in 2016.

The group’s dissolution left a power vacuum that other drug-trafficking organisations have sought to fill.

How to address Colombia’s ongoing internal conflict is set to be a major election issue in May, when the country chooses a new president. Petro is limited by law to a single consecutive term and will therefore not be on the ballot.