Israel, Colombia announce mutual visa exemption from September
Israel and Colombia will waive advance visa requirements for travellers from 1 September as the two countries move to restore diplomatic and econom...
A mutual visa exemption agreement between Azerbaijan and China took effect on Wednesday (16 July), allowing ordinary passport holders to travel without a visa for short stays. The move marks a milestone in bilateral relations, strengthening tourism, business, and cultural ties.
The agreement, signed during President Ilham Aliyev’s state visit to China in April 2025, permits citizens of both countries to visit for up to 30 days per entry, not exceeding 90 days within a 180-day period.
The visa waiver applies to holders of valid ordinary passports and aims to deepen strategic cooperation between Baku and Beijing.
Officials and analysts expect the agreement to significantly boost tourism flows, enhance business connectivity, and foster greater people-to-people exchanges.
It also reflects the growing partnership between the two countries across diplomatic, economic, and infrastructure sectors.
The collective-defence agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signals that regional powers no longer want to rely solely on external security guarantees. Whether it becomes a stabilising deterrent or another axis of rivalry remains unresolved.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to resolve the conflict remained stalled. Nine commodity vessels transited the key waterway on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day, according to Kpler data.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed, according to the latest data, as uncertainty over the waterway’s reopening kept most shipowners away. Six commodity vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday, down from nine the day before and below the 10-day daily average of 11.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 20th of August, covering the latest developments.
Russian ballistic missile strikes on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv has killed at least sixteen people and injured more than forty others, Ukrainian officials said, with fires reported across the city and Poland activating defensive air operations.
Pakistan is deepening engagement with Syria’s new leadership as Israeli strikes add fresh pressure on the country’s fragile political transition, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani concluding a landmark visit to Islamabad.
Afghanistan and Belarus have agreed to advance joint industrial projects, investment and technical cooperation following talks in Minsk, as Kabul seeks Belarusian machinery and support to develop domestic manufacturing.
Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan are drawing up a new programme aimed at boosting bilateral trade to $1 billion by 2030, as the two countries move to deepen economic and industrial ties.
Syria says it assured Israel that Türkiye had no plans to establish a military presence at the Abu al-Duhur airbase before Israeli forces struck the site on Tuesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued his strongest warning yet over Türkiye's growing military role in Syria, saying Israel will not accept Turkish forces expanding their presence further south.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment