World

DERGACHI, Ukraine,  (Reuters) – Ukrainian forces destroyed parts of a Russian armoured column as it tried to cross a river in the Donbas region, video from Ukraine’s military showed yesterday, as the Ukrainian defence minister predicted many weeks of grinding fighting ahead.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden said yesterday a first summit in Washington with leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) marked the launch of a “new era” in the relationship between the United States and the 10-nation bloc.

SEOUL, (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said yesterday that the spread of COVID-19 had put the country in “great turmoil” and called for an all-out battle to overcome the epidemic, while 21 new deaths were reported for a day earlier among people with fevers.

(Reuters) – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tested positive for COVID-19 with moderate symptoms, her office said in a statement yesterday.

(Reuters) – The Supreme Court of Canada yesterday ruled that defendants accused of violent crimes such as homicide and sexual assault can use self induced extreme intoxication as a defense, striking down a federal law supported by women’s advocacy groups.

STOCKHOLM,  (Reuters) – Swedish membership of NATO would boost national security and help stabilise the Nordic and Baltic regions, Foreign Minister Ann Linde said yesterday, a day after neighbour Finland said it would seek to join the U.S.-led

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Robert McFarlane, a White House adviser who tapped Saudi royals to fund a covert war in Nicaragua and flew on a secret mission to sell arms to Iran in the scandal that shook Ronald Reagan’s presidency, has died.

(Reuters) – Elon Musk tweeted yesterday that his $44-billion cash deal for Twitter Inc TWTR.N

JERUSALEM, (Reuters) – Israeli police officers charged at Palestinian mourners carrying the coffin of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh yesterday, before thousands led her casket through Jerusalem’s Old City in an outpouring of grief and anger over her killing.

(Reuters) – India has prohibited wheat exports with immediate effect, the government said in a notification late yesterday, as the world’s second-biggest wheat producer tries to calm local prices.

(Reuters) – Elon Musk tweeted that his $44-billion deal for Twitter Inc TWTR.N

HELSINKI/KHARKIV, Ukraine,  (Reuters) – Moscow warned Finland yesterday it would face consequences as it seeks to apply for NATO membership “without delay” and Ukraine said it had damaged a Russian navy logistics ship in the Black Sea, where there has been renewed fighting in recent days.

COLOMBO,  (Reuters) – Sri Lanka appointed a new prime minister yesterday, as its embattled president seeks a way out of the country’s worst economic crisis since independence that has sparked widespread protests.

(Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered ministers to slash 91,000 civil service jobs to free up billions for tax cuts, the Daily Mail reported yesterday.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden opened a gathering of Southeast Asian leaders with a promise to spend $150 million on their infrastructure, security, pandemic preparedness and other efforts aimed at countering the influence of rival China.

(Reuters) – Naomi Judd, matriarch of the country music duo the Judds, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound a day before being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, her family said yesterday.

HELSINKI/KHARKIV, Ukraine,  (Reuters) – Finland said today it would apply to join NATO “without delay”, with Sweden expected to follow, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine looked set to bring about the very expansion of the Western military alliance that Vladimir Putin aimed to prevent.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – The United States has now recorded more than 1 million COVID-19 deaths, according to a Reuters tally, crossing a once-unthinkable milestone about two years after the first cases upended everyday life and quickly transformed it.

CARACAS, (Reuters) – Some Venezuelan public companies will offer a small portion of their shares on the local stock market, President Nicolas Maduro said yesterday, as a way of boosting resources and maintaining operations.

JENIN, West Bank, (Reuters) – A prominent Palestinian American Al Jazeera reporter was shot dead during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank yesterday, and Israel said it was launching an investigation to try to determine who killed her.