WORLD

Istanbul, Turkey | Xinhua | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with leaders of Sweden and Finland on Saturday, urging the two NATO applicant states to address Turkey’s security concerns. Erdogan told Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson in a phone talk that the Nordic country should end political, financial and weaponry …

Moscow, Russia | Xinhua |  Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Friday that Russia would create 12 new military units in its Western Military District in response to increased military activity of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the potential accession of Finland and Sweden. “The United States and …

Copenhagen, Denmark | Xinhua | Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), on Thursday pledged to address Turkey’s concerns on Finland’s and Sweden’s applications to join the military alliance. “We are addressing the concerns that Turkey has expressed,” he said at a press conference held jointly with …

  Berlin, Germany | Xinhua | German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday that there would be no shortcuts to Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union (EU). The European Commission is expected to complete its initial assessment of Ukraine’s EU membership application by the end of June, Scholz said in …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | The International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief said on Wednesday that the Russia-Ukraine war has led to food shortages and sharply higher prices, urging the international community to take fast, well-coordinated actions to tackle food crisis. The war has created “a crisis on top of a crisis” …

United Nations | Xinhua | The global economy is predicted to expand by only 3.1 percent this year, down from the 4.0 percent projected in January, largely due to Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, according to UN’s latest World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) report, launched on Wednesday. As the …

Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to boost production of baby formula Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday invoked the Defense Production Act to boost production of baby formula and approved flights to bring in overseas infant formula amid a nationwide shortage. “The president is requiring …

London, UK | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) issued an alert Wednesday night warning that more cases of the monkeypox virus could be reported in Britain. An investigation is underway by British health officials to detect the cause of the outbreak which has hit mainly London, now affecting nine …

Kiev, Ukraine | Xinhua | Kiev doesn’t support any compromise formula of granting Ukraine European Union (EU) candidate status, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Thursday. “We do not need surrogates for EU candidate status that show second-class treatment of Ukraine and hurt the feelings of Ukrainians,” Kuleba tweeted. He urged …

Ankara, Turkey | Xinhua | Turkey will not approve Sweden’s NATO membership if the country does not extradite “terrorists” upon Turkish request, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday. “Supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Syria’s Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) terrorist organizations and asking us for support for NATO …