US officials planning for possible Biden-Xi phone call: Official

US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping WASHINGTON, June 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Senior US officials are having discussions about a possible phone call between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping this summer, an administration official said. The disclosure came just days after Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan,…

Hunger crisis could swell already record global displacement: UN

GENEVA, June 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia’s war in Ukraine has pushed global displacement numbers above 100 million for the first time, and the UN warns the resulting hunger crisis could force many more to flee their homes. Efforts to address the global food insecurity crisis, which has been dramatically aggravated…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Pres Xi assures Putin of China’s support for Russian ‘sovereignty, security’

  BEIJING, June 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Chinese President Xi Jinping assured his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of Beijing’s support for Moscow on “sovereignty and security” during a call Wednesday, according to state media.   China is “willing to continue to offer mutual support (to Russia) on issues concerning core interests and…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Macron, Scholz, Draghi in Kyiv for first visit since Russian invasion

KYIV, June 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi arrived in Kyiv on Thursday for their first visit to Ukraine since the Russian invasion. The leaders arrived on a special train from Poland. It is their first trip to Ukraine since the Russian…

Two Hezbollah members sentenced to life for Hariri murder: UN court

Rafik Hariri, left, leave the Parliament in Beirut, Lebanon in 2005. Minutes later, Hariri and several of his bodyguards were killed in a massive bomb explosion     LEIDSCHENDAM (Netherlands), June 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A UN-backed court sentenced two Hezbollah members in their absence to life imprisonment on Thursday after they…

Record early heatwave sweeps France as fires flare in Spain

PARIS, June 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — French officials urged caution as a record pre-summer heatwave spread across the country from Spain, where authorities were fighting forest fires on a sixth day of sweltering temperatures.   The Meteo France weather service said it was the earliest hot spell ever to hit the country, worsening a drought…

Europe ‘epicentre’ of monkeypox outbreak: WHO

COPENHAGEN, June 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday Europe remained the epicentre of the global monkeypox outbreak, which posed a “real risk” with more than 1,500 cases reported in the region. The UN health body already announced on Tuesday that it would hold an emergency meeting next week to determine…

US shooting violence: Two policemen and a suspect dead after California shooting

The two officers who were shot were taken to the LAC-USC Medical Center where they died from their injuries, authorities said LOS ANGELES, June 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A shooting in the southern California city of El Monte left two police officers and a suspect dead, authorities said late on Tuesday,…

China surpasses US in eyes of young Africans, survey shows

JOHANNESBURG, June 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — China has overtaken the US as the foreign power seen as having the biggest positive influence in Africa by young people, according to a survey released here. The survey conducted by the Ichikowitz Family Foundation found that 76% of 4,507 young Africans across 15 countries…

Monkeypox to get a new name, says WHO

GENEVA, June 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization says it is working with experts to come up with a new name for monkeypox. It comes after more than 30 scientists wrote last week about the “urgent need for a non-discriminatory and non-stigmatising” name for the virus and the disease it causes.…