The United States said Wednesday it has made a “substantial proposal” to Russia, which people familiar with the matter described as a prisoner swap that would send convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout back to Moscow to secure the release of American professional basketball star Brittney Griner and accused spy Paul Whelan. The proposal was […]
Russia’s foreign minister is heading to Ethiopia Tuesday, his last stop on a four-nation tour of Africa aimed at countering Western criticism of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Western nations blame the invasion for worsening food shortages in record drought-stricken East Africa, including Ethiopia. But Ethiopia has also been under Western pressure over its war with […]
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Boris Johnson is a “big friend” of his country and should not “disappear” after he stands down. Speaking to TalkTV, he said he would like the UK prime minister to remain “somewhere in politics in a position to be someone”. Mr Johnson presented Mr Zelensky with the Sir Winston […]
French President Emmanuel Macron is on a first trip to Cameroon and will meet Tuesday with long-ruling President Paul Biya to discuss security, economic, and food challenges. Like much of Africa, Cameroon is struggling with rising prices for fuel and grain caused in part by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron says Russia’s […]
The United Nations said that three of its peacekeepers were killed in ongoing anti-U.N. protests that turned violent in eastern Congo on Tuesday, while several civilians were also killed in the violence. “At the MONUSCO Butembo base today, violent attackers snatched weapons from Congolese police and fired upon our uniformed personnel,” U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq […]
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is visiting Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda and the Republic of Congo this week, trying to counteract Western blame of Russia for a growing global food crisis. Experts say Russia will push its own narrative as to why it’s attacking Ukraine and use the visit to show it has friends. Lavrov was […]
French President Emmanuel Macron has begun a three-nation tour of African states in the first trip to the continent since winning re-election as he seeks to reboot France’s post-colonial relationship with the continent. Macron’s July 25-28 tour will start with a visit to Cameroon, before moving on to Benin and then Guinea-Bissau. The tour “will […]
Zimbabwe has launched gold coins to be sold to the public, in a bid to curb an inflation spike that has eroded the country’s unstable currency. The move was announced on Monday by the country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, which disbursed 2,000 coins to commercial banks. Called Mosi-oa-Tunya, which in the local Tonga language […]
Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss tore into each other over their rival visions for the future of the UK economy, in their first head-to-head TV debate. The two contenders to be the next PM did not hold back from “blue-on-blue” attacks in the hour-long BBC special. Mr Sunak told Ms Truss her tax cut plan […]
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the monkeypox outbreak in more than 70 countries an “emergency of international concern”. The WHO label – a “public health emergency of international concern” – is designed to sound an alarm that a coordinated international response is needed and could unlock funding and global efforts to collaborate on […]
