WORLD

Moscow, Russia | Xinhua | Russian President Vladimir Putin signed federal laws Wednesday formalizing the accession of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Putin also signed federal constitutional laws on forming new regions within Russia. The relevant documents have been published on the country’s official legal information portal. Russia’s upper house of …

Kiev, Ukraine | Xinhua | Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree to put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), which rules out holding any negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelensky’s press service reported Tuesday. The document, published on Zelensky’s website, said that Ukraine’s …

Los Angeles, US | Xinhua | Almost 14.8 million children in the United States have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, according to the latest report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children’s Hospital Association. Nearly 238,000 of these cases have been added …

Stockholm, Sweden | Xinhua | Swedish Prosecution Authority said on Monday that an area around the Nord Stream leaks in the Swedish exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Baltic Sea has been cordoned off in order to conduct a criminal investigation. According to a press release from the Swedish Prosecution …

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Xinhua |  Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud announced on Monday the launch of the Saudi Downtown Company for urban development across the kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Affiliated with the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the company will build and develop downtown …

Moscow, Russia | Xinhua | — Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, ratified agreements on the accession of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson to Russia, it said on Monday in a statement. Members of the State Duma unanimously voted in favor of the legislation. The accession to Russia …

Jakarta, Indonesia | Xinhua | As of Sunday, 125 people were confirmed dead from a stampede after a football match in Indonesia’s East Java province, with more than 320 others injured, Indonesia’s National Police Chief, General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, said Sunday. Previously, the police said the death toll was 129 …

Vienna, Austria | Xinhua | The OPEC+ oil cartel will meet in Vienna at the ministerial level on Oct. 5 to discuss future output strategy, according to a statement issued by the organization on Saturday. It’s the first in-person meeting at the ministerial level for OPEC+ since March 2020 when COVID-19 …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday approved a stopgap funding bill to fund the government through mid-December, following a Senate passage on Thursday. The House cleared the bill on a 230-201 vote, sending it to President Joe Biden for his signature. The Senate voted 72-25. …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden slapped new sanctions on Russia on Friday, following Moscow’s formal recognition earlier in the day of four Ukrainian regions under Russian control since the early stage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict as Russian territory. Among the punitive measures announced by …