WORLD

Berlin, Germany | Xinhua | Germany’s Ministry of the Interior published draft legislation on Friday aimed at modernizing the country’s citizenship law. It proposes a multiple-nationality option and makes it easier for people to apply for citizenship. The required residency years before naturalization would be reduced from eight to five years, …

Moscow, Russia | Xinhua | An additional 500 American citizens, including former U.S. President Barack Obama, have been indefinitely barred from entering Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Friday. Among the newly blacklisted are significant figures, officials, lawmakers, experts and heads of military-industrial companies, the ministry said in a statement. …

Hiroshima, Japan | Xinhua | Amid waves of protests, the Group of Seven (G7) leaders’ annual summit got underway on Friday in Japan’s western city of Hiroshima. Hundreds of protesters from all over the country, even abroad, gathered in Hiroshima’s Funairi Daiichi Park, not far from the summit’s venue, to decry …

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | Xinhua | Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on Thursday to attend the Arab League’s 32nd Summit on Friday. Upon his arrival, Assad was greeted by Prince Badr bin Sultan, deputy governor of Mecca, along with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed …

New York, US | Xinhua |  The U.S. dollar firmed up in late trading on Wednesday as U.S. leaders expressed optimism over debt limit negotiations. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, increased 0.31 percent at 102.8819 in late trading. In late New York trading, the …

New York, US | Xinhua | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday welcomed Russia’s decision that would allow the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allows the export of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products from Black Sea ports. “We have some positive and significant developments: confirmation by …

Beijing, China | Xinhua |  Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday held talks with President Isaias Afwerki of the State of Eritrea in Beijing. Hailing China and Eritrea’s profound traditional friendship, Xi said the two countries will mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations on May 24 and that over …

Quito, Ecuador | Xinhua |  Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso will face an impeachment trial on Tuesday for alleged embezzlement, Virgilio Saquicela, president of the National Assembly, said Sunday. According to Saquicela, the trial will begin at 10:00 a.m. local time (1500 GMT) in keeping with legislative regulations after a motion …

Ankara, Turkey | Xinhua |  Türkiye is poised for a runoff presidential election on May 28 as no candidate managed to surpass the 50-percent threshold in Sunday’s initial round of voting. Unofficial results delivered by the semi-official Anadolu Agency on Monday reveal that incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan led the …

Moscow, Russia | Xinhua | Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed global food security and the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis during a telephone conversation on Friday with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. The Russian side confirmed its readiness to supply needy African countries with substantial amounts of grain and fertiliser, including …