WORLD

Beijing, China | Xinhua | China on Friday expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition concerning content in Japan’s 2022 defense white paper, urging the country to stop arbitrarily hyping up security threats in the neighborhood to justify its military build-up. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily press briefing …

Instanbul, Turkey | Xinhua | Russia and Ukraine separately signed a deal in Istanbul Friday with Türkiye and the United Nations to resume grain shipments from Ukrainian ports to international markets via the Black Sea. The deal was first signed by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi …

Beijing, China | Xinhua | African people have fair judgement on who can deliver high-quality infrastructure in Africa and is earnestly committed to improving their well-being, a Chinese spokesperson said Friday. Wang Wenbin, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, made the remarks in response to a poll of more than 1,000 policymakers from …

Moscow, Russia | Xinhua | Russia’s oil production increased by 3.4 percent year on year in the first six months of 2022, Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov said on Thursday. At a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Shulginov said the country’s oil production in the first half of 2022 rose …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday to protect access to contraception nationwide. The legislation, titled the Right to Contraception Act, cleared the Democratic-led chamber in a 228-195 vote. The measure, which seeks to codify access to contraceptives on the federal level, would …

Brussels, Belgium | Xinhua | The European Union on Thursday imposed more sanctions on Russia over its conflict with Ukraine, including a ban on gold imports and the tightening of export controls on high-technology goods. The “reinforced, prolonged EU sanctions against the Kremlin send a strong signal to Moscow: we will …

Tehran, Iran | Xinhua | Iran’s chief banker said the U.S. dollar will be gradually eliminated from Iranian-Russian economic transactions, the official news agency IRNA reported on Thursday. The trade volume between Iran and Russia stood at 4 billion U.S. dollars, which can be conducted through the Iranian currency rial and …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | U.S. President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. Biden, who was fully vaccinated and twice boosted, is experiencing very mild symptoms, according to a statement from the White House. He has begun taking Paxlovid and will isolate at the White House and continue to …

Madrid, Spain | Xinhua | The Spanish government rejects the plan announced Wednesday by the European Commission to cut gas consumption by 15 percent in the coming months in view of the possibility that Russia will cut gas supplies to Europe, Teresa Ribera, minister for ecological transition, has said. “Whatever happens, …

Rome, Italy | Xinhua | Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Thursday officially resigned, remitting his mandate to the hands of the president, and putting an end to his national unity government after 17 months in office. “President Sergio Mattarella has received Mario Draghi, who … has reiterated the resignation of …