[ad_1] LONDON — The World Bank says Ukraine’s economy will shrink by 45.1% this year because of Russia’s invasion, which has shut down half of the country’s businesses, choked off imports and exports, and damaged a vast amount of critical infrastructure. Unprecedented financial and export sanctions imposed by Western allies in response to the war, … Read more
[ad_1] ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani lawmakers convened Monday to choose a new prime minister, capping a tumultuous week of political drama that saw the ouster of Imran Khan as premier and a constitutional crisis narrowly averted after the country’s top court stepped in. But lawmakers from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or Pakistan Justice Party, resigned collectively … Read more
[ad_1] SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged South Korea on Monday to provide his country with arms to help it fight Russia‘s military. Zelenskyy made the request in a video address to South Korean lawmakers that came hours after Seoul’s Defense Ministry confirmed it had rejected a Ukrainian request for anti-aircraft … Read more
[ad_1] PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron declared Monday that he wants to “convince” a broad range of French voters to back his centrist vision, kicking off a two-week battle against far-right challenger Marine Le Pen ahead of the country’s presidential runoff vote. Le Pen, meanwhile, is ready for the fight, planning to highlight … Read more
[ad_1] ANALYSIS: Russia may have proven itself to be less of a great power and more of a loose cannon. Six weeks into Moscow‘s invasion of Ukraine and on the heels of a stunning loss in the battle for Kyiv, the overall competency of Russia‘s military is suddenly in doubt. And its perceived spot near … Read more
[ad_1] Saudi Arabia this year will allow 1 million participants to undertake the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca that is one of the five pillars of Islam. But the kingdom says only pilgrims younger than 65 years old and who “have received the main COVID-19 vaccinations approved by the Saudi Ministry of Health” will be … Read more