Lebanon cabinet passes financial recovery plan

Lebanon’s cabinet has passed an economic recovery plan designed to pull the country out of a three-year financial meltdown, two ministerial sources told Reuters on Friday. Ministers agreed the measure in the cabinet’s final session hours before losing …

UN rights chief to visit China, including Xinjiang

The UN rights chief will begin her long-anticipated visit to China on Monday, her office said, including to the Xinjiang region where authorities stand accused of widespread violations. After years of requesting “meaningful and unfettered” access to Ch…

Monkeypox spreads in West, baffling African scientists

As more cases of monkeypox are detected in Europe and North America, some scientists who have monitored numerous outbreaks in Africa say they are baffled by the unusual disease’s spread in the West. Cases of the smallpox-related disease haven’t previou…

Jihadist chants, sermons taken off SoundCloud: Europol

Jihadist chants, sermons and propaganda targeted at attracting young recruits have been taken off SoundCloud, one of the world’s biggest music streaming services, Europol said Friday. The Berlin-based SoundCloud, which is known as the “Audio YouTube” a…

Sudan frees detained anti-coup figures: party

Sudanese authorities released on Friday two anti-coup figures from the Communist Party a day after their arrest, the party said. The military’s October takeover in Sudan has sparked nationwide demonstrations which sparked a crackdown that has killed at…

Russia claims ‘nearing’ full control of Lugansk

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday that Moscow was nearing full control of the separatist region of Lugansk in eastern Ukraine. “The liberation of the Lugansk People’s Republic is nearing completion,” Shoigu said at a meeting in rema…

Russia to cut gas to Finland Saturday: Finnish company

Russian supply of natural gas to Finland will be cut on Saturday morning, Finnish state-owned energy company Gasum said Friday, after the Nordic country refused to pay supplier Gazprom in rubles. “It is highly regrettable that natural gas supplies unde…