In the new year, Croatia will become the latest country to join the Eurozone and the Schengen area, a move that European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen says makes the European Union stronger. As of Sunday, the country will “join a community of 347 million Europeans who use the …
Read More »Monthly Archives: December 2022
China appoints ‘wolf warrior’ as new foreign minister
China appointed US ambassador Qin Gang as its new foreign minister on Friday, state media reported, installing a top diplomat known for tough talk against the West. The 56-year-old replaces Wang Yi, who has been the face of Chinese diplomacy since 2013. Qin had been Beijing’s top representative in Washington …
Read More »2022 in review: a hinge of history?
Future historians may come to regard 2022 as a hinge in history, marking the end of one era and the beginning of another. Major war returned to Europe, with the attendant threats of nuclear strikes, the door closed firmly shut on the U.S. policy of strategic engagement with China, and …
Read More »Al-Ameri: there is a plan to control Iraq’s economy
The head of the Al-Fatah coalition, Hadi al-Ameri, said that the rise in the dollar exchange rate in Iraq is a plan to control the country’s economy. Al-Ameri said in a speech he made on the occasion of the first anniversary of the assassination of the deputy head of the …
Read More »European stocks end worst year since 2018
Leading indices have sold off on high inflation, geopolitical tensions, and tightening monetary policy Major European stock indices struggled in 2022, with most showing their worst performance since before the Covid-19 pandemic, CNBC reported on Friday. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index began the last trading day of the year down …
Read More »Indonesia lifts all coronavirus-related restrictions
Almost three years after officials announced the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Indonesia, the country’s leader said Friday they are lifting all coronavirus-related restrictions nationwide. President Joko Widodo said Indonesia’s COVID-19 situation is under control after observing improvements over the past 10 months, allowing the country to abandon the …
Read More »NATO chief calls for more arms for Ukraine to help it ‘prevail’ against Russia
NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg had called on members of the military alliance to supply more weapons to Ukraine, saying it is in their “security interests” to make sure Kiev prevails in the protracted war against Russia. In an interview with the German news agency DPA on Friday, Stoltenberg renewed …
Read More »Netanyahu cabinet facing opposition even from hawkish Zionists: Analyst
Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, the most right-wing in the Israeli regime’s history, is facing opposition even from regime officials in the occupied Palestinian territories who hold fascist views, according to a political commentator. Sa’d Nimr, professor of political science at Birzeit University, made these remarks in an interview aired on Thursday. …
Read More »Putin speaks to Xi, calls for deepening military cooperation with China
Russian President Vladimir Putin has told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that Moscow is keen to ramp up its military cooperation with Beijing as part of joint efforts to counter Western interventions in the region. “We aim to strengthen cooperation between the armed forces of Russia and China,” Putin told …
Read More »Iraq’s PM calls CBI to take firm steps regarding the exchange rate
The Iraqi Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia’a al-Sudani, meets on Tuesday with the Central Bank of Iraq Governor, Mustafa Ghaleb Mukheef, to discuss the financial situation. The PM media office stated that Mukheef discussed with Al-Sudani the devaluation of the Iraqi dinar against foreign currencies and the measures the bank took …
Read More »US-led NATO, Ukraine hell-bent on destroying Russia, says Lavrov
The United States and its allies in the NATO military alliance together with Ukraine are bent on defeating Russia “on the battlefield” in order to destroy it, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov says. In remarks published by the state-run TASS agency, the top Russian diplomat described it as a “strategic …
Read More »Iraq | borders guards start deploying at the borders with Turkiye and Iran
On Tuesday, the spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Maj. Gen. Yahya Rasool revealed that the border guards continued deploying at the borders with Turkiye and Iran in the Kurdistan Region within the fault line. Rasool said in a press conference that the security forces have begun to …
Read More »‘Once-in-a-lifetime’ blizzard kills at least 27 in western New York (Photos)
A blizzard that paralyzed western New York over the Christmas weekend has killed more than two dozen people, local officials said on Monday, as crews struggled to dig out the snow-bound region around Buffalo from its fiercest winter storm in decades. With snow continuing to fall on top of more …
Read More »Taiwan to extend compulsory military service as China shows power
“The current four-month military service is not enough to meet the fast and ever-changing situation,” says President Tsai Ing-wen. Taiwan has announced an extension in mandatory military service from four months to one year, citing the threat from China, which considers self-ruled Taiwan a part of its territory. China’s “intimidation …
Read More »First-ever case of deadly brain-eating amoeba reported by South Korea
The parasite has killed a man who recently came back from Thailand, the health authorities say The first ever case of Naegleria fowleri, often referred to as a ‘brain-eating amoeba’, has been recorded in South Korea, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Monday. The single-celled organism …
Read More »Serbia puts troops on ‘highest alert’ amid rising tensions with Kosovo
Serbian armed forces have been put on the “highest level of combat readiness” on the border with Kosovo amid increasingly strained relations between the two neighboring countries over recent shootings and blockades. “Serbia’s president (Aleksandar Vucic)… ordered this evening the Serbian army to be on the highest level of combat …
Read More »US announces $1.85 bln weapons package for Ukraine, including Patriot missile
This will bring total US military assistance for Ukraine to an unprecedented $21.9 billion by 2021. US President Joe Biden approved on Wednesday the drawdown of up to $1 billion in weapons for Ukraine from the Pentagon’s stockpile. The Pentagon also approved another $850 million in security assistance for Ukraine …
Read More »Five ISIS fighters killed in aerial bombardment in Nineveh
Iraqi warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes on ISIS sites in Nineveh’s district of Tal Afar, spokesperson to the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi armed forces, Major-General Yehya Rasool, said on Wednesday. Rasoul said that the airstrikes struck sites on Mount Sheikh Ebrahim, killing five members of the Islamic State …
Read More »Syria’s President Assad issues general amnesty for terror-related crimes
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a general amnesty on Wednesday that pardons those charged with terror-related crimes that didn’t result in fatalities, as well as draft dodgers if they report to duty within three to four months. Syria’s official news agency SANA, citing a copy of the presidential decree, reported …
Read More »Uganda | Injectable HIV treatment offers hope to patients
Ever since Gerald Muwonge tested positive for HIV eight years ago, keeping his viral load in check has meant carrying around vials of pills for his daily treatment regimen while dodging the stigma this could mean for a man in Uganda. But he hopes that could soon change thanks to …
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