WORLD

  Ankara, Turkey | Xinhua | Neither the United States nor other Western countries had not contributed to solving the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday. “Unfortunately, the West has not contributed to the solution of this issue until now. I can only …

Madrid, Spain | Xinhua | The Spanish government will next week revoke the mandate for wearing facemasks against the infection from COVID-19, Spanish Health Minister Carolina Darias said on Friday. A proposal for that will be approved in a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the minister told local radio station Cadena …

United Nations | Xinhua | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday expressed concern over the civilian casualties in a U.S. raid that led to the death of Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi. Asked for the secretary-general’s comment on the U.S. operation in Syria against al-Qurayshi, Farhan Haq, Guterres’ …

Brussels, Belgium | Xinhua | The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Thursday that there was “insufficient evidence” for it to recommend the administration of a second booster vaccine against COVID-19. “At the moment, there is insufficient evidence from clinical trials or real-world evidence that could support our recommendation for the …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Thursday a new set of actions aimed at reducing gun violence across the country. The Biden administration will crack down illegal flow of guns, help prosecutors bring cases against those using “ghost guns” — unserialized and untraceable firearms — to …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed Thursday that the leader of the extremist group Islamic State (IS) has been killed by a U.S. counterterrorism raid in Syria. In a statement released by the White House, Biden said U.S. military forces carried out a successful operation in northwest …

New York, USA | THE INDEPENDENT | Catherine Russell took office this week as UNICEF’s new Executive Director, becoming the fourth woman to lead the organization in its 75-year history. “It is an honor and a privilege to join UNICEF and help lead its remarkable work for children at such …

Brazzaville, Congo | Xinhua | Republic of Congo’s Minister of Hydrocarbons Bruno Jean Richard Itoua, current chairman of the ministerial conference of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), announced Wednesday that OPEC will increase oil production to 400,000 barrels per day. According to Itoua, this decision is aimed at …

  Jerusalem, Israel | Xinhua | Israeli researchers have found that smoking during pregnancy significantly increases the risk of long-term ocular morbidity in newborns, the Soroka Medical Center in southern Israel said on Tuesday. According to a comprehensive study conducted by the center and Ben Gurion University, smoking during pregnancy increases …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | The U.S. national debt has surpassed 30 trillion U.S. dollars for the first time, raising concerns about future fiscal sustainability, as the Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates to tame inflation. The total public debt outstanding exceeded 30 trillion dollars on Monday, which included 23.5 …