Russian President Vladimir Putin says that he and his Belarusian counterpart, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, have agreed on a new unified gas market, and he praised Belarus, saying the situation there was ‘stabilized” after months of turmoil. Putin spoke at a joint news conference, alongside Lukashenka, on September 9, after more than three hours of talks in […]

TAIPEI, Taiwan: Taiwan received 2.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from the United States on Sunday, more than doubling the nation’s stock of Covid vaccinations, as it deals with a cluster of domestic infections. The United States had earlier pledged to send 750,000 doses to Taiwan, but increased that number as the Biden administration developed plans […]

SAO PAULO, Brazil: Over half a million Brazilians have now died after contracting COVID-19, it was reported on Saturday. Brazil has, to date, suffered the world’s second-deadliest outbreak of Covid, and it may worsen, warns experts. As Covid spread in Brazil, the government delayed vaccinations and refused to order social distancing measures. As of Saturday, […]

Negotiators have adjourned talks on reviving the Iran nuclear deal for consultations in their capitals, the European Union’s envoy to the negotiations said. Enrique Mora gave no indication when the talks would resume but said progress had been made on June 20 and that the participants would have a clearer idea of how to close […]

HONG KONG: The pro-Democracy Apple Daily newspaper saw its top executives arrested, along with a raid on the newsroom by 500 Hong Kong officers on Thursday. The Hong Kong police confiscated reporters’ phones, computers and notebooks at pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily after authorities said stories published in the newspaper had violated Hong Kong’s new national […]

NAIROBI, Kenya: COVID-19 cases jumped over 20 percent in the past week in nearly two dozen African countries, according to a World Health Organization official. Also, it has been reported that only 0.79% of Africans have been fully vaccinated. “Africa is in the midst of a full blown third wave…We’ve seen in India and elsewhere […]

MOSCOW, Russia: In a further tightening of its control over foreign social media platforms, the Russian parliament has passed legislation that would oblige U.S. tech giants to open offices in Russia by January 2022 or face punishments. The law is part of what Russia calls the enforcement of its “Internet sovereignty”. Russia has fined U.S. […]

Russia says it has notified its partners under the Open Skies arms control treaty that it will leave the group in December, following the departure from the accord by the United States late last year. ‘Russia has notified all the member states about its decision to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty six months after […]

TAIPEI, Taiwan: Responding to criticism during the G7 summit of Chinese aggression, 28 Chinese air force aircraft, including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers, entered Taiwan’s air space on Tuesday, the island’s government said. This was the largest Chinese incursion to date. The Chinese incursion follows the Group of Seven leaders issuing a joint statement on Sunday […]

WASHINGTON D.C.: In defiance of China, a U.S. aircraft carrier group is sailing through the South China Sea, which China claims as its own. Led by the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, the U.S. Navy described the operation as a routine mission.In the recent past, China has objected to the presence of the U.S. Navy […]