AU: Africa on course to have single currency

In this file photo, AU Trade and Industry Commissioner Albert Muchanga speaks during the opening ceremony of the 18th African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) forum in Abidjan on Aug 5, 2019. Muchanga said on June 8, 2023 that the continental body was on course with its plans to introduce a single African currency. (PHOTO […]

Kiev: No foreign troops in Ukraine before end of conflict

Ukrainian servicemen take part in a military training exercise not far from front line in Donetsk region on June 8, 2023. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that foreign countries will not send their troops to Ukraine before the end of the conflict, the government-run Ukrinform news agency reported on the same day. (PHOTO / […]

Washington quiets as Canadian smoke blankets US capital

The US Capitol is blanketed by a thick layer of smoke on June 8, 2023, in Washington. (PHOTO / AP) WASHINGTON – The shroud of polluted air emanating from Canadian wildfires pushed further down the Atlantic Seaboard on Thursday, blanketing Washington, DC, in an unhealthy haze and prompting many residents of the nation's capital to […]

Survey: Europe seeks neutral role in China-US rift

The European flag (left) flies on April 18, 2023 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France. (PHOTO / AP) Most Europeans want their countries to remain neutral in a conflict between the United States and China over China's Taiwan region while they also want to reduce the continent's military dependence on the US, according […]

German minister: Proposed EU migration deal needs improving

German minister of the interior Nancy Faeser attends a meeting with the representatives of six European countries to fight against cocaine trafficking, in Antwerp on June 5, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) BRUSSELS – EU countries could reach an agreement on a migration deal on Thursday, but the proposed compromise needs to be improved, Germany's Interior […]

Finland’s Foreign Minister Haavisto to run for president

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto speaks during a press conference in Helsinki, June 8, 2023. (PHOTO / AP) HELSINKI – Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said on Thursday he will run for president in next year's election, hoping to succeed Sauli Niinisto who is stepping down after two terms. Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto is expected to step […]

Russia accuses Ukraine of blowing up key ammonia pipeline

A Ukrainian tank fires in Chasiv Yar, Ukraine, on June 7, 2023. (PHOTO / AP) MOSCOW/UNITED NATIONS – A "Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group" blew up the Togliatti-Odessa pipeline in Kharkov region on Monday night, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. The ministry in a statement called the explosion of the ammonia pipeline "a […]

ECDC, EMA recommend COVID-19 vaccine update

A girl gets a shot of the CoronaVac vaccine at a vaccination center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 15, 2022, on the first day of a COVID-19 vaccination campaign for children ages 3 and 4. (PHOTO / AP) STOCKHOLM – The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Medicines Agency […]

BRICS ministers eye enhanced ties for sustainable urbanization

This undated photo shows the national flags of the BRICS countries member – (from left) Brazil, India, Russia, China and South Africa. (PHOTO / AFP) NAIROBI – Ministers and senior officials from BRICS member states on Tuesday pledged enhanced partnership aimed at promoting sustainable urban development in the face of multiple challenges including pollution and […]

PM: Russia to invest $24b to develop Northern Sea Route

A journalist captures images of the Christophe de Margerie icebreaking liquefied natural gas carrier at the Port of Sabetta in the Autonomous Okrug of Yamlo-Nenets, March 30, 2017. (PHOTO / XINHUA) VLADIVOSTOK – Russia has unveiled plans to invest 2 trillion rubles (about $24.58 billion) in the development of its Northern Sea Route (NSR) over […]