Russia said yesterday it had destroyed a large quantity of Western-supplied weapons in Ukraine, while halting gas supplies to EU and Nato members Poland and Bulgaria in a move Brussels branded attempted blackmail.

By February of this year, 58 percent of the US population -- more than 190 million people -- had been infected with Covid, according to an antibody survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published Tuesday.

Israeli air strikes near Damascus yesterday killed nine combatants, among them five Syrian soldiers, in the deadliest such raid since the start of 2022, a war monitor said.

Russia dramatically escalated its standoff with the West over the war in Ukraine on Wednesday, cutting natural gas off to NATO members Poland and Bulgaria and threatening to disconnect even more nations. European leaders decried the move as “blackmail.”

The United States yesterday vowed to move “heaven and earth” to help Ukraine win its battle against Russia’s unprovoked invasion, as allies from 40 nations met to bolster Kyiv’s defence against Moscow.

The 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly were to vote yesterday on a resolution that would require the five permanent members of the Security Council to justify their use of the veto in future.

Humanity is suffering from a “broken perception of risk”, spurring us into activities and behaviours that cause climate change and a surging number of disasters around the globe, the UN warned yesterday.

France’s Sister Andre, believed to have become the oldest person alive this week at the age of 118, yesterday said she would now like to beat

Indonesia is prepared to widen its ban on exports of refined palm olein if it faces domestic shortages of derivatives used in the production of cooking oil, according to details presented at a meeting between government and industry officials.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated French President Emmanuel Macron on his re-election and defeat of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, the Kremlin said Monday, as tensions remain over the Ukraine conflict.

The United States will reopen its embassy in Ukraine soon, its top diplomat said yesterday after he and the US defense secretary visited Kyiv, promising more military aid and hailing the fight against Russia’s invasion.

Iran yesterday called for a new meeting “as soon as possible” in the talks that have been held in Vienna aimed at restoring its frayed 2015 nuclear deal with major powers.

French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday sought to unite a deeply divided nation after winning re-election in a battle against rival Marine Le Pen that saw the far right come its closest yet to taking power.

A projectile was fired from Lebanon into northern Israel, prompting a retaliation, the Israel Defense Forces said early yesterday.

Global military spending rose again in 2021, setting new records as Russia continued to beef up its military prior to its invasion of Ukraine, researchers said yesterday, predicting the trend would continue in Europe in particular.

A US commission said yesterday that religious freedom has deteriorated “significantly” in India under the Hindu nationalist government as it again recommended targeted sanctions over abuses.

As military expenditure worldwide reached a record level in the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, the US, China and India were the top three spenders, according to a report by Stockholm Peace Research Institute today.

Making the first official US visit to Ukraine since Russia invaded two months ago, Washington's top diplomat and its defense secretary pledged additional military aid, including advanced weapons, and a return of US envoys to Kyiv.

Western leaders rushed to congratulate France's centrist President Emmanuel Macron on his re-election and defeat of far-right leader Marine Le Pen in elections Sunday.

Clashes between rival groups in Sudan's Darfur killed at least 160 people on Sunday, an aid group said, in the latest bout of deadly violence to hit the restive region.