The Radev government has signaled a clear intention to deepen economic cooperation with China and encourage greater Chinese investment in Bulgaria, Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Alexander Pulev said during a China-Bulgaria roundtable on trade and investment held in Sofia. Speaking at t»»»

MPONDWE BORDER,: Leah Masika was on the verge of tears as she thought of her valuable consignment of plantain stuck in a long convoy of trucks on both sides of the Uganda-Congo border. Her cargo, destined for Uganda, was starting to leak water, and would go bad within hours if there was no movement»»»

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on a network allegedly exporting Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) from Iran to South and Eastern Asia, the Treasury said. The network used front companies in the United Arab Emirates and China and a "shadow fleet" of vessels, according to a Treasury statem»»»

The ​US issued new Iran-related sanctions on ​Friday, ‌targeting ⁠several entities, individuals and liquefied petroleum gas ‌(LPG) tankers, according to the US Treasury Department's website. Among the 12 entities ​designated are ‌five based in ‌the Marshall Islands, four ​in the UAE and one in ​Chi»»»

The Central Asian country of Turkmenistan is immensely proud of its horses. The ancient and endangered Akhal-Teke species has become a symbol of great national pride in a deeply isolated state where power is firmly concentrated, and are considered so beautiful that beauty pageants are held for»»»

For several months, Japan has been moving in a more nationalist and conservative direction. The shift has been fuelled by economic challenges at home and growing regional tensions with China. The country's new ultra-conservative prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, is expected to accelerate this agenda,»»»

Global oil benchmarks tumbled early on Saturday, with US WTI crude dropping more than 2.6% to $90.54/barrel as traders assessed a limited US-Iran military exchange near the Strait of Hormuz and saw reduced immediate risks to oil flows. According to data from OilPrice.com as of approximately 10:26 a»»»

President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, pictured in 2025 at the G20 summit, on Friday announced that the HIV prevention drug Lenacapavir will is now available at medical facilities across the country. File Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI | License Photo June 5 (UPI) -- South African officials on Fri»»»

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday rejected a proposal by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a face-to-face meeting on the 4-year-old conflict, saying he sees "no point" in it. Thursday's letter, the first public message Zelenskyy has written directly to Putin since Russia sent tro»»»

The president’s address at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum has garnered the attention of economists, financial and geopolitics analysts the world over. Sputnik queried four of them regarding some of its main points. "The central thesis was the irreversible shi»»»

The United States has imposed new sanctions on a network of individuals, companies and vessels accused of facilitating the shipment of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian-origin liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to South and East Asia by disguising its origin as Omani fuel. The US Departm»»»

Speaking to reporters at the plenary session of Russia's premier economic and business forum on Friday, the president answered all the burning questions. Russia's "International Isolation"?This is a "fairy tale," Putin said, pointing out that the US was the initiator of attempts to isolate Russia, »»»

At least 58 violations of migration laws were identified in issyk-Kul region during the Illegal-2026 operation. The Department of Internal Affairs of the region reported. During the raids, it was discovered that individual citizens of Bangladesh, Pakistan, China, and Uzbekistan were working in Kyrg»»»

VIENNA: Last month’s drone attack on the UAE’s Barakah nuclear plant was a “serious compromise of nuclear safety, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Friday, adding any such attack “is unacceptable, a no-go, taboo.” The UAE blamed pro-Iran militants in Iraq for the incide»»»

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (C) and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda (L) open the EU-Western Balkans summit on Friday in Tivat, Montenegro. Photo by Boris Pejovic June 5 (UPI) -- French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission Pr»»»

New Delhi: India’s expanding partnership with Oman offers Delhi an alternative route for crucial imports amid supply disruptions caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, experts said on Friday, as a free trade pact between the two countries went into effect earlier this week. Under the India-»»»

Nigeria's Dangote Petroleum Refinery has increased crude processing capacity to 700,000 barrels per day (bpd), exceeding its official nameplate capacity of 650,000 bpd, according to company executives. The refinery, Africa’s largest, said on Thursday (June 4) the achievement was confirmed during a »»»

Oil prices edged lower after Oman said operations at Mina al Fahal port were proceeding normally, following a Reuters report that oil loadings had been suspended after an explosion. Brent crude futures fell by 50 cents, or 0.53%, to $94.53 a barrel by 0915 GMT after settling down 2.84% in the previ»»»

New York: Artificial intelligence company Anthropic suggested Thursday a global pause on building the most powerful AI systems as the latest models are beginning to show signs they could escape human control. The San Francisco-based company, which makes the Claude family of AI models, said in a rep»»»

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) will visit North Korea next week, state media from both countries reported Friday. This photo shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Xi shaking hands during a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in September 2025. File Photo by KNCA/EPA SEOUL, June»»»

The Taiwanese and ‌Chinese Coast Guards were engaged in another tense standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands at the top of the South China Sea on Friday, Taiwan said, the second time in a fortnight that this has happened. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territ»»»

Russia's Vladimir Putin will address a flagship investment forum in Saint Petersburg on Friday, as the war in Ukraine drags the economy into stagnation and days after brazen Ukrainian drone strikes rocked his home city. Russia's offensive has led to rising prices, tax hikes, two-decade-high borrowi»»»

TIVAT: Leaders from across the European Union and the Balkans are gathering in Montenegro on Friday to discuss expanding the bloc to include countries in the region, seen as a key area in countering security and economic threats posed by Russia and China. The EU-Western Balkans summit, being held i»»»

China said on Friday President Xi Jinping would visit North Korea on a two-day trip from June 8, his first in nearly seven years as Beijing looks to reassert ties with Pyongyang, its only formal treaty ally. Beijing has worked to draw Pyongyang back into its fold after the COVID-19 pandemic froze e»»»

Iran's crude oil exports fell to their lowest level in at least six years in May, according to industry tracking firms. This comes amid tighter US sanctions enforcement and blockade — shipping restrictions sharply reduced the flow of Iranian barrels to international markets. 'Dual blockade'The US C»»»

BEIJING: Chinese leader Xi Jinping will travel to North Korea next week, both countries announced Friday, in what will be his first visit in nearly seven years. His trip will the latest in a series of steps by China to reinforce its close ties with its nuclear-armed neighbor, whose leader Kim Jong »»»

Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to North Korea next week at the invitation of the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, Chinese and North Korean state media reported on Friday. Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, will visit the Democrati»»»

During a working visit to Jalal-Abad region, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan Erlist Akunbekov held a meeting on the construction of China — Kyrgyzstan — Uzbekistan international railway. The press service of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic reported. The pro»»»

WASHINGTON: An American journalist who has lived in China since 2010 and worked for several state media organizations there pleaded guilty in a U.S. court Thursday to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government, the Justice Department said. Thomas Pauken II is set to be sentenced Septembe»»»

US President Donald Trump has ramped up pressure on the island in recent months and has discussed taking the country over. The United States announced fresh economic sanctions Thursday on Cuba's president and some of his immediate family, alongside members of the Castro family, in Washington's late»»»

In a bold move for sustainable development, Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mahmoud Esmat, announced a new energy strategy aiming to boost renewable energy’s share to 60% of the national energy mix by 2040. This initiative is part of Egypt’s broader sustainable development pla»»»

ISTANBUL (Sputnik) - Europe is trying to prolong the Ukraine conflict in order to gain a foothold in Ukraine to threaten Russia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on June 4. "Europe, it seems, is trying to prolong the Ukrainian conflict to gain a foothold in Ukraine to threaten Russia," L»»»

ZURICH — Though Hong Kong has overtaken Switzerland as the number one in cross-border wealth management, rather than entre panic mode, Swiss banks seem unruffled — feeling it bolsters the case against looming tighter banking regulations.Hong Kong is now the world's largest cross-border booking cent»»»

Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses a banquet to welcome U.S. President Donald Trump at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in China, in May. Four New Zealand members of parliament have been banned from visiting China after their recent visit to Taiwan. Photo by Chinese Foreign Ministry/UPI »»»

A meeting was held at the headquarters of the Renewable Energy Authority of Libya (REAoL) last Tuesday (2 June) between REAoL and a delegation from China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). REAoL said the meeting comes within the framework of discussing opportunities for cooperation and investm»»»

Uneasy neighbours: Can three World Cup hosts put differences aside for a month? 7 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleAnthony Zurcher, Jessica Murphy and Will GrantWashington DC, Toronto and Mexico City Watch: World Cup hosts Trump, Sheinbaum and Carney take stage together Think of it as be»»»

Canada formally requests 16-year renewal of North American free trade pact 2 days agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleNadine YousifSenior Canada reporter Getty ImagesDominic LeBlanc, the minister for Canada-US trade, is in Washington on Tuesday for trade talks Canada has formally requested a rene»»»

NASA said on Wednesday it will end its mission studying Mars' atmosphere and evolution after losing contact with its MAVEN spacecraft for six months. MAVEN, which entered Martian orbit in 2014, was designed for a one- to two-year mission but operated for more than a decade before falling silent in »»»

  Europe is in a historic decline that threatens its economic model, political autonomy and global influence, and lacks the intellectual framework needed to reverse the trend, according to the head of France's elite Sciences Po university. In a sweeping critique of Europe's strategic complacen»»»

Faisal Niaz Tirmizi, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the Russian Federation, gave an exclusive interview to Sputnik on the sidelines of SPIEF. Your Excellency, what are Pakistan's key objectives at this year's SPIEF, and what message is Pakistan bringing to the Russian business co»»»

TOKYO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty highlighted the strong strategic partnership between Egypt and Japan, describing the relationship as boundless and emphasizing the importance of increased Japanese investment in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents’ Clu»»»

NEW DELHI: Riyadh Air and Air India on Thursday announced a new partnership agreement to meet growing demand for Saudi-India travel and better connect both countries to global destinations. Saudi Arabia is the second-most visited destination for Indians, with about 3.4 million Indian tourists visit»»»

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) - Building a multipolar world requires an urgent reform of the United Nations and the restoration of its authority, Wang (Henry) Huiyao, president of the Center for China and Globalization, said on Thursday. "First, I think, we are getting the multipolar world and then we n»»»

With US-Israeli strikes against Iran earlier this year aimed in part at curtailing Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the subject of atomic weapons has once again risen to the fore in global policy discussions, not least because North Korea is now a nuclear-armed state. In Europe, states that once counted A»»»

A year after the brief but ferocious four-day conflict between Pakistan and India pushed South Asia to the edge of a nuclear precipice, the silence along the Line of Control feels less like peace and more like a pause—tense, brittle, and deeply uncertain. But beneath the quiet, the subcontinent’s t»»»

On 19 May, Russia began a large-scale military exercise that lasted three days, during which nuclear weapons were transferred to field storage facilities in Belarus, capping a series of joint drills. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin used the opportunity to stress that the country’s nuclear triad (»»»

A country's success amid growing geopolitical tensions is determined by five key factors, Chairman of the Institute for Policy, Advocacy and Governance in Bangladesh Syed Munir Khasru said. "I propose five simple criteria. Can your people feed themselves? Do they have enough clean water? Is your na»»»

Germany has failed to win a temporary seat on the UN Security Council for the first time, losing a General Assembly vote to Austria and Portugal. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called the outcome “a real disappointment,” after Berlin had won all six of its previous bids. Portugal won 134 votes an»»»

The European Commission’s drive to cut corporate red tape partly rests on a competitiveness narrative that is not supported by its own evidence, according to experts and data from the European Investment Bank. They show that in fact US companies report greater regulatory obstacles to investment tha»»»

The economic fallout from the conflict in the Middle East is expected to slow growth across emerging Europe, Central Asia and parts of Africa and the Mediterranean, as higher energy costs reignite inflation, weaken industrial competitiveness and strain already fragile public finances, the European »»»