McCarthy lauds US debt ceiling deal, Republicans divided

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks in the Rayburn Room following the House vote on Fiscal Responsibility Act at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on May 31, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) WASHINGTON – US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Sunday lauded the debt ceiling deal he negotiated with Democratic President Joe Biden, […]

US, Saudi Arabia urge cease-fire in Sudan

People board a bus to leave Khartoum, Sudan, June 3, 2023, as fighting between the Sudanese Army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces intensified. (PHOTO /AP) KHARTOUM / CAIRO – Saudi Arabia and the United States on Sunday urged the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to reach a new cease-fire to end […]

Prince Harry set for London court appearance

Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex waves as he arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice, Britain's High Court, in central London on March 28, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) LONDON – Prince Harry is expected to appear at London's High Court on Monday as he prepares to give evidence in his lawsuit against the publisher […]

Surveillance still a concern 10 years after Snowden leaks

Revelations have deep impact on businesses, govts, tech industry Edward Snowden speaks from Russia during a Council of Europe meeting in Strasbourg, France, in March 2019. (PHOTO / AFP) Ten years ago this month, Edward Snowden disclosed to the media United States government intelligence programs that used extensive internet and phone surveillance to collect data. […]

Ugandan president: 54 peacekeepers killed in Somalia

In this photo dated June 4, 2021, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni gives a speech at the Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala. (PHOTO / AFP) KAMPALA – Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni late Saturday said 54 of the country's peacekeeping troops were killed in a deadly attack last week in southwest Somalia. The soldiers were killed after […]

Russia to keep missile launch notifications under 1988 deal

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov delivers a speech during a session of the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on March 2, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) VLADIVOSTOK – Russia will continue to provide notifications of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launches under the relevant 1988 agreement to avoid dangerous escalations, […]

AU Commission calls for end to violence in Senegal

Senegalese Gendarmerie block a road after protests burned tires and blocked roads in Dakar, on June 3, 2023. This comes two days after a court in Senegal sentenced opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, to two years in prison on charges of "corrupting youth" but acquitted him of rape and […]

Regional countries demand ceasefire in DRC, Sudan

M23 rebels guard the area during the meeting between the East African Regional Force (EACRF) officials and M23 rebels during the handover ceremony at Rumangabo camp in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Jan 6, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) LUANDA – Countries of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) on Saturday called […]

Biden signs bill to raise US debt limit

US President Joe Biden leaves the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC, June 3, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) NEW YORK – US President Joe Biden signed Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 into law Saturday afternoon so as to avoid a historic default on government debt. The bipartisan act suspends the […]

UN voices concern over Black Sea grain shipments slowdown

A vessel in the second caravan of ships transporting grain from Ukraine passes through the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, Türkiye, Aug 7, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA) UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations on Thursday voiced concern about the slowdown of grain shipments under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allows the export of Ukrainian grain […]

NATO chief to visit Türkiye to push Sweden’s accession

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks to journalists as he arrives for a Foreign Affairs Council at the EU headquarters in Brussels on May 23, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) OSLO – Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), said on Thursday that he is working hard to ensure Sweden's accession to […]