WORLD

Washington, US | Xinhua | U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu spoke over the phone on Friday, marking the first call between the two since Russia launched the special military operation in Ukraine. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said in a brief statement following the …

Nairobi, Kenya | Xinhua | Kenya’s Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) said on Friday that it has reviewed the country’s avocado maturity indices and post-harvest handling process to safeguard the export market as global demand for the fruit surges. Kenya will now only export fruits that have a minimum of 24 …

Istanbul, Turkey | Xinhua | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that Turkey does not have a positive opinion on the idea of Finland and Sweden joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). “We are currently following the developments regarding Sweden and Finland, but we do not have a positive …

New York, U.S. | Xinhua | Oil prices advanced on Friday as concerns over tighter supplies remain on the market. The West Texas Intermediate for June delivery added 4.36 U.S. dollars, or 4.1 percent, to settle at 110.49 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for July …

Dubai, UAE | Xinhua | The President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan passed away on Friday, the Ministry of Presidential Affairs announced. The ministry also confirmed there will be 40 days of official mourning with flags across the UAE drawn at half-mast, and the …

Beijing, China | Xinhua | Chinese researchers have identified a glucose-like metabolite associated with diabetes in human blood with effective antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2. The findings, led by researchers from Tsinghua University, were published in the journal Nature Metabolism on Tuesday. Previous studies show that the severity and mortality of COVID-19 …

London, UK | Xinhua | More than one year after Britain and the European Union (EU) finalized their divorce with a hard-fought trade deal, Brexit still bites today. As the two sides were not on the same page with part of the deal, spats continued, sometimes with fresh confrontations. In …

Helsinki, Finland | Xinhua | Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Thursday publicly supported the idea of Finland applying to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). “Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay. We hope that the national steps still needed to make this …

Moscow, Russia | Xinhua | The Russian military said that it had obtained new information revealing details of “the Pentagon’s inhuman experiments on Ukrainian citizens” in a psychiatric hospital in Ukraine’s Kharkov region. “The main category of the experimental subjects was a group of male patients aged 40-60 with a …

Colombo, Sri Lanka | Xinhua |  Sri Lanka’s Defence Ministry on Tuesday ordered the country’s armed forces to open fire on anyone looting public property or causing harm to others following a day of violent clashes. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa also urged people on Tuesday to remain calm, and refrain from …