World

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is visiting the Qatar Economic Forum to do business and says the political relations between Hungary and Sweden are terribly wrong and says they do not want to import conflicts into NATO, still unclear when the country will vote on Swedish membership

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says in an interview that as long as Sweden continues to allow offshoots of terrorist groups to roam freely in the country they cannot look favorably on Swedens membership in NATO, says regarding Russia that they do not plan to impose sanctions on Russia and that they are not not bound by Western sanctions

The damage to the US Patriot air defense system after the Russian robot attack near Kiev is minimal, according to three US officials to CNN and is still operational, it is not yet clear whether it was damaged by a direct hit or indirectly by falling material

The umbrella organization for Turks in the Netherlands IOT urges Turks in the country to pass by calm and keep a cool head regardless of the results in Sunday's election in Turkey, the organization has not called for voting and chairman Zeki Baran says the election is taking place 3,500 kilometers away and we live here in the Netherlands and do not interfere in the elections in Turkey

The World Health Organization announces that Covid-19 no longer constitutes a global health emergency after the organization's expert committee held a meeting, and Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says, however, this does not mean that Covid-19 no longer constitutes a global health threat, citing as example that last week the virus claimed a life every third minute

Finland returns to Namibia two fragments from sacred stones that was taken during colonial times, visiting Finnish President Sauli Niinistö says the Ondonga Power Stone is part of Ondonga kingdom's identity and heritage

Florida passes anti-hate crime law as Gov. Ron DeSantis signs law on site in Israel and delivers speech in which he shares, among other things, his oft-told story of using water from the Sea of Galilee to baptize his children, the Republican also signed measure against antisemitism on a trip to the country in 2019

Iran seizes Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker en route from Kuwait to the US, the US Navy says Iran's actions violate international law, while Iran says the vessel collided with an Iranian vessel and tried to flee the scene in violation of maritime laws

As part of agreement with the relatives of the 11 Israeli victims, Germany sets up commission to investigate the attack during the 1972 Munich Olympics, days before the memorial ceremony at which the German president apologizes for the country's failure to decide on compensation of 28 million euros to relatives to avoid boycott of the event

NATO's annual Locked Shields cyber defense exercise kicks off in Tallinn, runs for four days and 3,000 people from 38 countries are taking part and pits attacking red team against defending blue

Brazil's re-elected President Lula Da Salva is calling on the US and the EU to start talking about peace and to stop sending arms to Ukraine, which he says is the biggest obstacle to a ceasefire, according to a statement after a state visit to China

Classified documents on US and NATO plans for military aid to Ukraine ahead of potential counteroffensive leaked and posted on social media, Deputy Press Secretary at the Pentagon Sabrina Singh confirms the leak is being reviewed and officials work to have posts deleted

Russia will according to the rotating system with the 15 member states for a month assume the presidency of the UN Security Council, which is responsible for maintaining international peace and security, the role is mostly procedural but Moscow's UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzia says he wants to discuss a new world order that will replace the unipolar

Turkey ratifies Finland's NATO application by 276 votes to 0, the application will be sent to Washington for final signature after Turkish President Erdogan signs the bill within two weeks

Russian and Iranian foreign ministers Sergei Lavrov and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian meet in Moscow and agreed to increase cooperation with an emphasis on energy and economic issues, despite sanctions from the United States and its allies, trade between the countries increased compared to 2021 by 20 percent to USD 4.86 billion

Pentagon says US launches airstrikes against Iran-linked groups in eastern Syria in response to drone attack that killed one and injured five Americans, 19 pro-Iranian soldiers die, US has 900 troops stationed in the area and comes under frequent attack

Journalist Seymour Hersch says CIA spread disinformation about the explosions of the Nord Stream gas pipelines by planting stories published in The New York Times and Die Zeit to divert attention from possible involvement by the United States or its allies, the assignment was allegedly given after President Joe Biden met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a meeting that took place without the routine subsequent press briefing

US military says Russian fighter jet collided with US drone over Black Sea, US claims reckless behavior while Russia denies contact

After demonstrations and pressure, Georgia withdraws a bill that meant that organizations in the country that are more than 20 percent finance from abroad need to register as foreign agents, the government says the law is based on the American model that has been in place there since the 1930s

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov meet for the first time since the outbreak of war when, according to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they spoke for less than ten minutes on the move at the G20 meeting in India, Blinken called during the

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says reports that the US was involved in the sabotage of Nord Stream are completely false and that neither the US nor any of its proxies have anything to do with it, Russia has relied on income from energy exports to finance the war and Joe

Joe Biden visits Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev for five hours on Monday and says that one year later, Kiev, Ukraine and democracy are standing, noting that it was important that the US president was there the day the attacks began to show that there are no doubts about the support for Ukraine,

Jens Stoltenberg is not seeking an extension to his position as head of NATO and will leave later in the year, no successor has yet been appointed, he has held the office for close to nine years

Chinese state media reports authorities are preparing to shoot down unidentified flying object over Shandong province, last week US shot down Chinese balloon and unidentified objects over Alaska and Canada

The US government is warning its citizens on the ground in Sweden of retaliatory attacks by terrorists in the wake of the Quran burnings and urging them to be cautious around public gatherings, places of worship and diplomatic buildings

Chinese spy balloon is seen flying over the USA on Thursday and Foreign Minister Antony Blinken postpones trip to China, according to the Pentagon must have flown at such a high altitude that there was a military or physical danger to those on the ground, according to China it was a civilian

Jordan Peterson says in Joe Rogan's podcast that he plans to start a competitor to the World Economic Forum, will gather a consortium in London in the late fall that will discuss issues related to global philosophy and politics, such as how to get energy as quickly as possible, to the lowest

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan calls allowing Rasmus Paludan’s Quran-burning outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm an attack on 85 million Turkish citizens and a vileness that makes it clear that Sweden can no longer expect any charity from Turkey, also criticizes Sweden for

US says about 30 Islamist al-Shabab militants were killed in a US air strike assisting government troops in Somalia, the Somali army and al-Shabab militants have fought for control of the town of Galcad about 260km northeast of Mogadishu the past few days, the air strike came as the army was

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia among other Arab countries condemn Rasmus Paludan's Quran burning outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, Saudi Arabia comments that it calls for spreading the values of dialogue, tolerance and coexistence while rejecting hatred and extremism, Turkey calls it a

For the first time ever, Iran's navy will establish a presence in the Panama Canal later this year, according to the statement of Rear Admiral and Commander Shahram Irani, in recent years the country has strengthened its presence in Latin America and sought to strengthen relations with

The World Economic Forum's annual conference in Davos in Switzerland kicks off next week with a record number of 52 heads of state and government, nearly 300 ministers and 600 CEOs, the agenda is filled with discussions on ideas, innovations and public-private cooperation on issues such as

NATO rejects Serbia's request to deploy 1,000 Serbian military personell in Kosovo on the grounds that there is no need for the Serbian army to return to the territory according to President Aleksandar Vučić, in June 1999, a UN Security Council resolution was passed authorizing the

Iran shuts Tehran-based French research institute in protest against cartoons of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei published by French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo to mark the anniversary of the 2015 terror attack on its Paris office, the cartoons are published as a special edition in support of the

WHO warns that China under-represents the Covid-19 impact in general and deaths in particular, WHO emergencies director Dr Michael Ryan says they believe that the country's definition where only those who die of respiratory illnesses are counted and 22 deaths have been announced since December

Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Nishimura Yasutoshi says free trade and economic inter-dependence has bolstered authoritarian regimes and asks for a new world order based on the fundamental values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, promises to work more

Former Pope Benedict XVI dead at 95, led the Catholic Church for eight years before resigning in 2013 as the first Pope since Gregory XII in 1415

Russia bans oil sales to the countries that implemented a price cap on Russian oil from February 1, Vladimir Putin has the option to make exceptions, applies to the G7 countries, the EU and Australia

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says he wants a peace summit at the UN in February with Secretary-General António Guterres as mediator, but does not expect Russia's participation, also makes it clear that for direct talks between the countries to take place, Russia must first be

No evidence that Russia is behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines as reported by the Washington Post citing interviews conducted with 23 diplomats and intelligence officials from nine different countries, Russia has previously blamed Britain for the explosions

Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the United States, holds press conference with Joe Biden and addresses Congress on the verge of approving $45 billion in aid to Ukraine that its president said was not charity but an investment in global security and democracy, his first foreign visit since the

The Supreme Court in Sweden stops the extradition of Bülent Kenes to Turkey, was the editor-in-chief of the English-language newspaper Today's Zaman and is accused of being involved in the coup attempt in 2016 and associated with the Gülen movement, and was singled out by President Recep

Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologizes for the Netherlands' historical role in slavery, before the speech Surinam-born pensioner Waldo Koendjbiharie said that an apology is not enough as he thinks it's about money and you can't buy anything with apologies, no compensation is given to slave

Henry Kissinger: The time is approaching to start peace negotiations in Ukraine with the strategic changes already achieved as a basis, establish a ceasefire on the borders that existed before the war and let Russia keep Crimea, possibly self-determination can be explored with supervised

14-year-old Ukrainian boy found dead in Hong Kong at the room of 56-year-old man from the Bahamas, the man with a temporary visa had rented the room for a few months and claims to have known the boy who, together with a friend, visited the man in the wee hours of Saturday, for a year, no

Prisoner exchange between Russia and the USA when the arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the USA in 2012, is exchanged for the American basketball player Brittney Griner, convicted of importing cannabis oil into Russia, the Russian nicknamed the Merchant of

Whistleblower Edward Snowden becomes a Russian citizen, has sought protection in the country from US authorities since 2013 and, according to the Russian constitution, cannot now be extradited to a foreign state

Volodymyr Zelensky believes it is only a matter of time before stronger tools must be used than the $60 price cap on Russian oil agreed by the EU and G7 countries, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Russia is prepared and will not accept the price cap

EU donates five motorbikes with helmets and 50 document verification machines to Ghana's migration agency GIS worth €1 million EU envoy to Ghana Irchad Razaaly who hails from Madagascar says the EU will continue to strengthen its partnership with the country in the fight against transnational organized crime and border security

WHO to rename monkeypox as MPOX to destigmatize the virus especially among black people, the decision comes in response to growing pressure from senior Biden officials who told WHO that the US would otherwise change the name unilaterally as it hurt the vaccination campaign, less than 20 new cases in the US in the last week

World BEYOND War launches online world map showing 867 US military bases, the tool provides detailed information about each base and can for example be filtered by country, government type, opening date and number of employees, writer David Swanson claims that the country's bases in foreign countries often increase geopolitical tensions and act as recruiting tool for anti-American militant groups

Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu rejects the condolences from the United States, which he equates to murderers who are the first to arrive at the scene of the crime, Turkey blames the bombing in Istanbul on the Kurdish PKK, which both countries consider to be terrorists, but on the other hand, they do not agree on Kurdish forces in Syria from which country the arrested woman originates

The German government blocks two sales of semiconductor manufacturers to Chinese companies, one concerns Swedish Silex, a subsidiary of Chinese Sai Microelectronic, which is denied the acquisition of Elmos Semiconductor's factory in Dortmund, but the other deal, Industry Minister Robert Habeck does not comment on, citing business secrets

Russian state media reports that Zimbabwe's Defense Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri says Russia is indispensable to the world balance that stands against the global paranoia based on the domination of some and the humiliation of others, and that Zimbabwe supports the approach to what she calls the special military operation and the protection of the Slavic population

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits China together with business leaders such as the CEOs of Volkswagen, Deutsche Bank, Siemens and BASF, the first visit to the country by a G7 leader in three years, China's zero-tolerance policy against Covid-19 has become a major problem for German companies because the country is Germany's largest trading partner

Iran now admits after a period of denial that they supplied Russia with drones before the outbreak of war but denies that the deliveries have continued, the rumors about missile deliveries are however completely wrong, says Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, last month the EU decided on new sanctions against the country due to the drone deliveries

The US is sending an undisclosed number of weapons experts to Ukraine to inspect american-supplied weapons, among the first from the US military on the ground apart from security personnel at the embassy in Kyiv, Joe Biden pledges to not send troops into combat

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles is asking everyone to take a deep breath after China condemned US plans to station up to six B-52 long-range bombers in northern Australia, saying US bombers have been coming to Australia since the 1980s

The prime ministers of Finland and Sweden do not rule out nuclear weapons on the countries' territory as they do not set preconditions for joining NATO, a similar comment also comes from the Swedish Commander-in-Chief Micael Bydén, Vladimir Putin has said that he does not see the countries' joining NATO as a threat but that he would provide answers to the expansion of the alliance's infrastructure in the region

Russia suspends agreement with Ukraine on the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, refers to drone attacks on the port where Russia's Black Sea fleet is stationed, something that Ukraine denies has happened, the grain export deal has meant that more than nine million tons of grain have been exported

Poland builds its first nuclear power plants, plans to spend USD 40 million to build two power plants with three reactors each, cooperates with the US and Westinghouse in the project which is planned to start producing electricity in 2033, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm says the project which will result in more than 100,000 jobs for American workers sends a clear message to Russia that they will not be allowed to weaponize energy anymore and that the West stand together against the unprovoked aggression

Australia is sends 70 soldiers to Britain to help train Ukrainian troops but will not be sent to the war zone, Defense Minister Richard Marles says it recognizes Ukraine needs long-term support to resolve the conflict on its own terms

Three Swedish citizens in India violate their tourist visas and are deported as they are suspected of trying to convert people to Christianity, traveled on the pretext of visiting the Peace and Healing Prayer Festival but are said to have given sermons, a spokesman for the organizer Assam Christian Forum says the accusation is baseless as only Christians participated in the program

Hungary will ratify Sweden's NATO application by the end of the year, together with Turkey the only one of the member states that has not yet approved Sweden and Finland's application

Salman Rushdies will survive but is unable to use one hand and has lost the sight of one eye after the attack in New York in August, his literary agent Andrew Wylie said in an interview, as for the situation of the agent's other clients, he says he is worried that nationalism is on the rise and that half of America seems to believe that the election was stolen from Donald Trump who is completely incompetent, a liar and a crook

The government of Ukraine decides to donate 50,000 tons of grain to Ethiopia and Somalia as aid because the countries of the horn of Africa, which have received insufficient amounts of rain for the past four years, are severely affected by famine

Iran continues to deny accusations from Ukraine that it supplied Russia with Shahed-136 drones, government spokesman Nasser Kanani says it is ready to engage in dialogue and negotiation to clear up the allegations, kamikaze drones are relatively cheap and reliable, flies long distances to crash and set off built-in explosives

Russia and Ukraine exchange a total of 218 prisoners of war, 108 Ukrainian women and 110 Russians, mainly sailors, the swap confirmed by both sides

WHO warns that peoples increasing inactivity costs over $27.4 billion USD a year, 70 percent of the costs are estimated to come from depression, dementia and high blood pressure, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says more countries need to scale up implementation of policies to support people to be more active through walking, cycling, sport, and other physical activity

Britain wants to change law to stop former RAF pilots from being recruited by China to train the Chinese military, about 30 pilots are said to have accepted generous offers

Protests outside the Chinese consulate in Manchester lead to Hong Kong protester saying he was dragged in and beaten, Britain calls in senior Chinese diplomat to express deep concerns, China's foreign ministry disagrees, saying protesters entered illegally and threatened security and that the diplomatic missions of all countries have the right to take the necessary measures so that its peace and dignity must not be violated

Saudi Arabia provides $400 million in aid to Ukraine following phone calls between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, this comes after the US expressed a willingness to reassess its relationship with and calls in the US Congress to end military sales to the kingdom

After OPEC announces oil supply cuts, US comments the Joe Biden has no plans to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at G20 summit in November, evaluates further response options, Democrats in Congress propose cutting the military sale and expresses concern about the war in Yemen

The US is extending its battalion in Lithuania, as the threat from Russia remains, according to Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas it will stay at least until 2026, he also says that having a persistent presence of the US military is one of the most essential objectives put forward by the sitting government

11 dead on Russian soil in what Russian Ministry of Defense calls a terrorist attack, state media reports it was carried out by two residents of the CIS countries during a shooting exercise in Belgorod Oblast near the Ukrainian border, both suspects dead

Reviving the nuclear deal with Iran is not the US State Department's focus right now since negotiations between the countries have stalled according to spokesman Ned Price, the US has issued sanctions and supports the current protests

The world's population has doubled since 1973, while Germany has grown by 6%, Pakistan and Nigeria have quadrupled, India is expected to overtake China next year and by 2100 a quarter of the world's population will be African

WHO warns of new Covid-19 wave in Europe, its Europe director Hans Kluge and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control director Andrea Ammon say that although we are not where we were one year ago it is clear that the pandemic is still not over and urge European countries to administer both flu and Covid-19 vaccines especially for vulnerable groups

Vladimir Putin may consider meeting Turkish President Erdogan to discuss possible future talks between Russia and "the West" according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, during the week the two leaders are expected to visit Kazakhstan, saying further that they are open to discuss the idea but have not received any requests , Turkey hosted the last known meeting between Ukraine and Russia in March

President of Poland Andrzej Duda says in interview that there has been discussion about whether US considers to have the country host nuclear weapons, he emphasize that this would not be a nuclear weapon under the control of Poland

Russian Duma unanimously ratifies annexation of four Ukrainian teorritories, no votes against, Ukraine states that the four regions are not currently under control of the Russian forces

EU statement on behalf of all 27 members says the bloc is deeply concerned about the damage to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, promises to meet any deliberate disruption of European energy infrastructure with a robust and united response, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the country will remain committed to promoting European energy security

Vladimir Putin signs a decree granting Russian citizenship to Edward Snowden, the 39-year-old US whistleblower has been living in Russia since 2013 and applied for citizenship in 2020 when his wife was pregnant with their son

Global Covid-19 cases drop to the lowest level since March 2020 after 28% decrease of new cases during week 36, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the world is in a winning position where it is time to run harder and make sure to cross the line to reap the rewards of all the hard work, adds that he is incredibly proud of WHO's people and their work during the pandemic

Cary Yan and Gina Zhou extradited from the Marshall Islands to US for attempting to set up a mini-state on one of the country's atolls and in the process bribing several Marshalls officials as well as nearly toppling the president of the nation, the couple allegedly engaged in a multi-year scheme and are charged with violating the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, money laundering and conspiracy to commit those offenses in connection with a bribing scheme

Moderna sues Pfizer and BioNTech for patent infringement in the development of the first Covid-19 vaccine approved in the United States, alleges that the companies copied technology that Moderna patented between 2010 and 2016, lawsuit filed in US district court in Massachusetts and the regional court of Düsseldorf in Germany, says the lawsuit is not meant to stop people from getting vaccines, Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine has brought in USD 10.4 billion in revenue this year while Pfizer's has brought in about USD 22 billion

WHO declares monkeypox a global health emergency which is its highest alert level, Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the outbreak has spread rapidly and that they understand too little about the transmission, more than 16,000 cases of the zoonosis have been reported across 75 countries so far this year, 98% of infections among men who have sex with men and primarily those who have had multiple recent anonymous or new sexual partners

Russia and Ukraine reach deal to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, the deal also signed by UN and Turkey

Switzerland objects to a NATO request to treat Ukrainians wounded in the war on the grounds of neutrality, instead helps by channeling humanitarian aid to civilian hospitals in Ukraine

18 migrants dead and 76 injured after two-hour skirmish as 2,000 adult men stormed the border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave Melilla, 130 people breached the border and are evaluated at a local migrant center, 140 Moroccan security officers injured

Swimming's world governing body Fina votes to stop transgender athletes from competing in women's elite races if they have gone through any part of male puberty, requires that the sex change is finished by the age of 12, aims to establish an open category for swimmers who do not identify with their sex

Travel mayhem predicted for the summer, extreme airport lines and canceled flights in Ireland, the Netherlands, UK and US among other countries, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has commented that the UK should bring in the army to help ease the chaos

WHO comments that monkeypox is not a gay disease just because the cases have mainly been identified among men who have sex with men, explains that the overrepresentation can be explained by the community's tendence to contact health services regarding sexual health concerns

G7 finance ministers announce commitment of USD 19.8 billion in financial support to Ukraine, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner says they stand by Ukraine during this war and after that and are ready to do more, rules out EU Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans' idea of a borrowing scheme similar to EU's Covid-19 recovery fund Next Generation EU as that was a one-off opportunity

Finland to apply for Nato membership after the approval by the legislature during week 20, President Sauli Niinistö says the country is entering a new era

Bill Gates: The risk of a new more transmissive and fatal Covid-19 variant way above 5 %, still considers himself optimistic as the pandemic may be our last

Joe Biden asks Congress for USD 33 billion in funds for Ukraine, includes USD 20 billion in additional security and military assistance, $9 billion in economic assistance and $3 billion in humanitarian assistance, also wants to sell yachts and apartments seized from Russians and donate the money to Ukraine

Joe Biden tells US troops in Poland that they will witness Ukrainians' bravery "when you're there", White House official quickly clarifies that Biden is not changing his stance on deploying military into Ukraine, officials also clarify that US has no intention of using chemical weapons under any circumstances after Biden's remark in Belgium that the US will respond in kind to such attacks

Russia invades Ukraine after speech by Putin where he says the country will conduct a special military operation to denazify Ukraine, Russian tanks roll over the border from Belarus, Crimea and Russia, aerial attacks reported on strategic locations throughout Ukraine

Bill Gates says that omicron has sadly done a better job than vaccines in spreading immunity, urges health officials around the globe to respond more quickly to the next pandemic, hopes sufficient funding leads to a new generation of vaccines eradicating entire families of respiratory viruses including influenza and coronaviruses within a decade