International News

Ukraine president confident Dutch voters won’t reject EU pact

  • WASHINGTON, (APP/AFP) – Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko expressed confidence Friday that Dutch voters next week will not reject his country’s cooperation deal with the European Union. The Netherlands is to hold a referendum on Wednesday on the accord, which puts Ukraine on the path towards eventual EU membership, after a grassroots eurosceptic campaign. Poroshenko met […]

  • IMF welcomes Pakistan’s commitment to lower fiscal deficit to 4.3% in 2015-16

    WASHINGTON, (APP): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has welcomed Pakistan’s commitment to lower the fiscal deficit to 4.3 percent in the year ending June 30, and said the country’s growth is expected to reach 4.5 percent this year, while remaining well-anchored by prudent monetary and fiscal policies. In a detailed statement on the 10th review […]

  • Former German foreign minister Genscher dead: office

    BERLIN, (APP/AFP) – Germany’s Cold War-era veteran foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher has died at age 89, his office said Friday. “Hans-Dietrich Genscher died on Thursday night at the age of 89 in the presence of his family at his home in Wachtberg-Pech, of cardiovascular failure,” said a statement by his office.

  • S. Korea says North fired missile, jammed GPS systems

    SEOUL, (APP/AFP) – North Korea fired another short-range missile off its east coast on Friday, South Korean officials said, as regional leaders met in Washington to discuss the threat of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme. It was the latest in a series of North Korean missile launches during what has been an extended period of elevated […]

  • Myanmar army MPs slam bill to create Suu Kyi ‘advisor’ role

    YANGON, (APP/AFP) – Myanmar military MPs on Friday said a plan to bolster Aung San Suu Kyi’s power with a special advisory role was unconstitutional, as the new civilian government tussled with the army just days after taking office. The Southeast Asian nation was dominated by the military for more than half a century until […]

  • Israel to extend Gaza fishing rights: trade union

    GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories, (APP/AFP) – Israel is to extend the distance off the coast of Gaza that some of the Palestinian territory’s fishermen are allowed to operate from Sunday, their trade union said. Fishing boats working out of ports in the southern part of the Gaza Strip will be allowed up to nine nautical […]