Danes begin voting on joining EU’s common defence policy

Copenhagen, June 1 (AFP/APP): Traditionally eurosceptic Denmark began voting Wednesday in a referendum on whether to overturn its opt-out on the EU’s common defence policy after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The vote comes on the heels of neighbouring Finland’s and Sweden’s historic applications for NATO […]

Biden, Fed chair discuss US inflation at White House

Washington, May 31 (AFP/APP): President Joe Biden held a rare White House meeting with the head of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, on Tuesday to discuss soaring inflation and White House attempts to tame the politically damaging price surge ahead of midterm elections. “I am […]

K-pop super band BTS says ‘devastated’ by US hate crimes

Washington, May 31 (AFP/APP):South Korean K-pop supergroup BTS used a White House visit Tuesday to call out a growth in anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States. The singer Park Ji-min, better known as Jimin, said through a translator ahead of a meeting with President […]

Around 100 dead in clashes between Chad gold miners

N’Djamena, May 30 (AFP/APP): Around 100 people have died in clashes between gold miners in northern Chad, Defence Minister General Daoud Yaya Brahim said on Monday. Violence broke out on May 23 at Kouri Bougoudi near the Libyan border, sparked by a “mundane dispute between […]

Nigeria’s opposition names former VP as 2023 election candidate

Abuja, May 29 (AFP/APP): Nigeria’s main opposition party on Saturday named former vice president Atiku Abubakar as its candidate for the 2023 election to replace President Muhammadu Buhari. Abubakar, 75, a northern Muslim and stalwart of the People’s Democratic Party or PDP, has made numerous […]

Nepal flight missing with 22 on board

Kathmandu, May 29 (AFP/APP):A passenger plane with 22 people on board went missing in Nepal on Sunday, the operating airline and officials said, as poor weather hampered a search operation. Nepal’s air industry has boomed in recent years, carrying goods and people between hard-to-reach areas […]

WHO assembly slams Russian attacks on Ukraine health facilities

GENEVA 27 May (Online): World Health Organization (WHO) member states have strongly condemned Russian army’s alleged attacks on healthcare facilities in Ukraine through a resolution. The resolution, according to radio Paskitan, was carried by 88 votes to 12 at the World Health Organization’s annual assembly […]

China, Russia veto US push for more UN sanctions on North Korea

UNITED NATION 27 May (Online): China and Russia have vetoed a US-led move to impose more United Nations sanctions on North Korea over its renewed ballistic missile launches. The remaining 13 council members, according to radio Pakistan, all voted in favor of the US-drafted resolution […]

Attempts to blame Russia for grain shipping trouble ‘groundless’: Putin

Moscow, May 27 (AFP/APP):Russian President Vladimir Putin told Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer Friday that attempts to blame Russia for difficulties in shipping grain worldwide were unfounded and pointed to Western sanctions instead, the Kremlin said. “Vladimir Putin stressed that attempts to make Russia responsible for […]

Tunisian president decrees July 25 referendum on ‘new republic’

Tunis, May 26 (AFP/APP): Tunisia will hold a constitutional referendum for a “new republic” on July 25, President Kais Saied has announced, in defiance of critics who warn he wants to establish an autocracy. The vote will come exactly a year after Saied sacked the […]