U.S. carries out air strike on Taliban, calls for halt to ‘needless attacks’
The United States on Wednesday carried out its first air strike on Taliban fighters in Afghanistan since the two sides signed a troop withdrawal agreement on Saturday.
‘Putin’s cook’ seeks to distance himself from U.S. election meddling
A Russian businessman dubbed “Putin’s cook” for his close ties to Russia’s president sought in a court filing on Wednesday to distance himself and his company from accusations by American prosecutors of meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.
Singaporean defeats Chinese candidate to head U.N. patent office
A Singaporean beat a Chinese candidate in the race to lead the world patent office, heading off Beijing’s bid for a fifth U.N. leadership role, much to the satisfaction of the United States.
North Korea exported sand to China in violation of U.N. sanctions, group says
For several months last year, a steady stream of ships was observed dredging sand in a North Korean bay then transporting it to China, a Washington-based think-tank said on Wednesday.
Italian coronavirus death toll jumps to 107, all schools shut
Italy closed all schools and universities and prepared other emergency measures on Wednesday to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Europe’s worst-hit country as the death toll and number of cases jumped.
EU made no ‘concrete’ offer to Turkey on migrants: Erdogan spokesman
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman said on Wednesday that Charles Michel, president of the European Council, did not make a concrete offer on Wednesday in a meeting to deal with thousands of migrants trying to enter Greece and Bulgaria.
On Ukraine visit, Canada minister presses Iran for access to black boxes from plane crash
Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne on Wednesday urged Tehran to allow access to the black boxes from a Ukrainian passenger plane that was accidentally shot down over Iran in January.
Ukrainian lawmakers vote to appoint Ihor Umansky as new finance minister
Ukrainian lawmakers voted to appoint Ihor Umansky to replace Oksana Markarova as finance minister in a sweeping reshuffle on Wednesday following the resignation of Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk.
Armenia charges former defense minister with embezzlement
Armenian investigators have charged a former defense minister with the embezzlement of more than $2 million in state funds, the spokeswoman for the state investigation service said on Wednesday.
Hungary confirms first two coronavirus cases
Hungary on Wednesday confirmed its first two cases of the new coronavirus, both Iranian students in the country.
