Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov (right) points to his hankerchief as European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell (left) looks on as they arrive for a meeting of the NATO alliance's defense ministers at the NATO Headquarter in Brussels on Feb 14, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) KIEV — Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that he would retain his current position despite the reports of …
One killed, three wounded in Texas mall shooting
A Department of Homeland Security patrol car is pictured outside the federal building in El Paso, Texas, Feb 8, 2023. (PHOTO / AP) One person was killed and three others wounded in a shooting at an El Paso, Texas, shopping mall on Wednesday, police said. One suspect was in custody and police were looking for another possible suspect, police spokesman Robert Gomez told reporters. The …
‘Warm water melts weak spots on Antarctica’s Doomsday Glacier’
This undated photo courtesy of NASA shows Thwaites Glacier in Western Antarctica. (PHOTO / AFP) MEXICO CITY — Scientists studying Antarctica's vast Thwaites Glacier – nicknamed the Doomsday Glacier – say warm water is seeping into its weak spots, worsening melting caused by rising temperatures, two papers published in Nature journal showed on Wednesday. Thwaites, which is roughly the size of Florida, represents more than …
‘Republicans cool on Trump, Democrats cooler on Biden’
In this file photo dated Jan 20, 2021, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden exit the east steps of the US Capitol following the inauguration in Washington. (PHOTO / AP) Democratic US voters express less support for President Joe Biden running for a second term 2024 than Republicans do for former President Donald Trump's latest White House bid, a Reuters/Ipsos poll shows, a …
Moscow denies claim that it poses security threat to Moldova
This photo shows a view of the Russian Foreign Ministry headquarters in Moscow on April 29, 2021. (PHOTO / AFP) MOSCOW – Russia does not pose a threat to Moldova's national security, and has no intention of destabilizing the situation in the country, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. "We resolutely reject insinuations regarding Russia's alleged desire to 'undermine' the situation in Moldova," the …
South Africa bus crash kills 20, dozens taken to hospital
JOHANNESBURG – A head-on collision between a bus and a cash-in-transit van left 20 people dead on Monday on a major road in South Africa's northern Limpopo province, with dozens taken to hospital, transport officials and an emergency medical company said. Emergency medical care company ER24 said police were investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash and that heavy rains had fallen in the area where …
Toronto mayor resigns after admitting to affair with staffer
In this Feb 12, 2016 photo, Toronto Mayor John Tory walks the red carpet at the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario. (PHOTO / AP) Toronto Mayor John Tory resigned abruptly on Friday, shortly after the Toronto Star newspaper reported that he had an affair with a much younger staff member. Tory, 68, acknowledged the relationship in a statement announcing his …
Biden, Lula project unity on democratic values, climate change
US President Joe Biden crosses his fingers as he meets with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the Oval Office of the White House, Feb 10, 2023, in Washington. (PHOTO / AP) WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden met on Friday with Brazilian leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a reboot of relations between the hemisphere's two largest democracies after the …
South Africa invokes disaster law to tackle energy crisis
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers his speech during the 2023 State of the Nation Address at the Cape Town City Hall in Cape Town on Feb 9, 2023. (PHOTO / POOL / AFP) CAPE TOWN – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday declared a national "state of disaster" over his country's crippling power shortages, saying they posed an existential threat to the economy …
Kremlin says those behind Nord Stream blasts must be punished
This handout picture released on Sept 27, 2022 by the Danish Defence Command shows the gas leak at the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline as it is seen from the Danish Defence's F-16 rejection response off the Danish Baltic island of Bornholm, south of Dueodde. (PHOTO / DANISH DEFENCE COMMAND/ AFP) MOSCOW – The Kremlin said on Thursday the world should know the truth about …
Brazil minister: Bolsonaro destroyed cultural policies
A reveller takes part in the "Desliga da Justiça" street carnival group parade, which has superheroes as a theme, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Feb 4, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) BRASILIA — Brazil's former far-right president dismantled all government cultural programs and blocked funding for institutions and artists, the country's new Culture Minister Margareth Menezes said on Wednesday. Menezes, a popular singer from Bahia, …
France, Germany protest green subsidies on Washington trip
Robert Habeck (right), German Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, and Bruno Le Maire, French Minister of Finance, Economy, and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, hold a joint press conference at Gallup in Washington, DC, on Feb 7, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) WASHINGTON – France and Germany's economy ministers found a willingness in Washington to engage with Europe's concerns over subsidies for …
WHO: Risk to humans from bird flu is low but we must prepare
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus looks on during a press conference at the World Health Organization's headquarters in Geneva, on Dec 14, 2022. (PHOTO / AFP) LONDON – The recent spread to mammals of H5N1 influenza – commonly known as bird flu – needs to be monitored, but the risk to humans remains low, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. H5N1 has spread among …
Putin proposes revising Russia’s tech development strategy
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting of the Council for Science and Education via a video conference at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Feb 8, 2023. (PHOTO / POOL / AP) MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that it is necessary to revise the country's current strategy for scientific and technological development. We must focus on achieving our national development goals, taking …
At least 24 killed in second day of fighting in Somaliland
In this photo taken on May 18, 2016, a soldier of the army of Somalia's breakaway territory of Somaliland stands guard during an Independence day celebration parade in Hargeisa. (PHOTO / AFP) BOSASO, Somalia – At least 24 people were killed and another 53 injured in a second day of heavy fighting in Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland, two doctors said, after local leaders declared …
State of the Union: Biden pledges to work with Republicans
US Vice-President Kamala Harris (back left) and US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy listen as US President Joe Biden (front) delivers the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Feb 7, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden called US democracy "unbowed" and pledged to work with the opposition party on Tuesday …
Venezuela govt, opp making progress on humanitarian fund
Opposers of the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro hold a demonstration demanding a leveling of salaries in line with the raising inflation and the high cost of the basic family basket in Caracas on Jan 23, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) CARACAS – Venezuela's governing and opposition parties are making progress toward the creation of a $3.2 billion UN-administrated fund that would aim to use …
Pope Francis: Laws criminalizing LGBT are sin and injustice
Pope Francis arrives to address the media while aboard the plane from Juba to Rome on Feb 5, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — Pope Francis said on Sunday that laws criminalising LGBT people are a sin and an injustice because God loves and accompanies people with same-sex attraction. Francis, who made his remarks in response to a reporter's question aboard the …
Cyprus heads to polls in presidential elections
(Lelft to right) Cypriot Parliament Speaker Annita Demetriou, President Nikos Anastasiades, and head of the ruling Democratic Rally (DISY) and presidential candidate Averof Neofytou, attend a campaign rally in the southern coastal city of Larnaca on Jan 27, 2023, ahead of the country's presidential vote. (PHOTO / AFP) NICOSIA – Cyprus votes on Sunday for a new president in an election unlikely to produce a …
Nearly 200 soldiers freed in Russia-Ukraine prisoner swap
Ukrainian servicemen pose on the road as they walk toward their base near the frontline in the Donetsk region on Feb 4, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) KIEV/MOSCOW/WASHINGTON – Dozens of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have been freed following a latest prisoner swap, officials from both sides confirmed on Saturday. Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian President's Office, said in a Telegram post that 116 Ukrainians …