WORLD

Women globally still have only three quarters of the legal rights afforded to men Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | Around 2.4 billion women of working age globally are not afforded equal economic opportunity, the World Bank said in a report Tuesday. In 86 countries, women face some form of job restriction …

United Nations | Xinhua | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is against discrimination against some foreign nationals attempting to flee the fighting in Ukraine, his spokesman said on Tuesday. “The secretary-general strongly repudiates, in any shape or form, all discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity, in the context of this conflict, as …

A massive Russian airstrike hit the center of Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv on Tuesday Moscow, Russia | Xinhua | Fighting continues as Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine has entered the seventh day, while a new round of peace talks is reportedly to take place. A massive Russian airstrike hit …

Moscow, Russia | Xinhua | Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree introducing temporary economic measures to ensure the country’s financial stability, the Kremlin announced on Tuesday. These measures will be taken in response to anti-Russian sanctions by the United States, other countries and international organizations, according to the decree. Among …

Tehran, Iran | Xinhua | Tehran will not wait “forever” for a possible nuclear deal if the United States fails to make decisions, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Tuesday. The United States has already “walked away” from the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan …

Brussels, Belgium | Xinhua | The European Union (EU) should be ready to face the cost of its sanctions against Russia as Moscow is now widely expected to retaliate, EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell warned on Monday. “Sanctions will backlash, sanctions have a cost … …

New York, U.S. | Xinhua | Oil prices surged on Monday with Brent benchmark ending above 100 U.S. dollars a barrel, as investors assessed the impact of the latest sanctions against Russia. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery added 4.13 U.S. dollars, or 4.5 percent, to settle at 95.72 …

Moscow, Russia | Xinhua | All Moscow’s security concerns must be taken into account for settlement in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday during a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron. Putin reiterated that a settlement would only be possible if Russia’s security concerns were taken into account, including …

Moscow, Russia | Xinhua | Russia and Ukraine concluded on Monday their first round of negotiations in Belarus with no clear breakthrough. The talks are certainly a positive signal, observed analysts, but the negotiation process would be rather complicated. NO BREAKTHROUGH The long-awaited negotiations between delegations from Russia and Ukraine was …

Moscow, Russia | Xinhua |  The websites of major Russian news outlets including TASS, Izvestia and Kommersant have been hacked on Monday. The websites could not be opened earlier, with many displaying error pages. The press service of the Izvestia newspaper confirmed the hack, adding that everything is currently being …