Russian and Ukrainian officials have signed deals to end a standoff over grain exports brought on by the war in Ukraine. Ukraine is one of the world's key breadbaskets but a Russian blockade of its ports has threatened food security around the world. The two countries signed separate agreements Friday with Turkey and the United Nations so that Ukraine could export 22 million tons of grain and other agricultural products stuck in Black Sea ports by the war. The secretary-general of the U.N. and Turkey's president joined the signing ceremony in Istanbul. The U.N. chief called the deal ``a beaco

President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, underscoring the persistence of the highly contagious virus as new variants challenge the nation's efforts to resume normalcy after two and a half years of pandemic disruptions. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden was experiencing “mild symptoms" and has begun taking Paxlovid, an antiviral drug designed to reduce the severity of the disease. She said Biden “will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time. He has been in contact with members of the

Britain’s Conservative Party has chosen Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss as the two finalists in an election to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The pair came first and second in a vote of Conservative lawmakers on Wednesday. Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt came third and was eliminated. The race pits Sunak, a former Treasury chief who steered Britain’s economy through the pandemic, against Truss, who has led the U.K.’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as foreign secretary. The two contenders will spend the next few weeks campaigning for the votes of about 180,000 Conservative Part

Iraqi Kurdish officials and Iraq's military say eight tourists have been killed and over 20 wounded after Turkish airstrikes struck northern Iraq. The Wednesday attack hit a resort area in the northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region. All casualties in the attack were Iraqis. Turkey regularly carries out airstrikes into northern Iraq and has sent commandos to support its offensives targeting elements of the outlawed Kurdistan Worker's Party or PKK. Wednesday's attack marked the first time that tourists had been killed in the frequent attacks by Turkey in the area, the officials said. Ankara ha

The U.K. weather office says Britain has shattered its record for highest temperature ever registered, with a provisional reading of 39.1 degree Celsius (102.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in Charlwood, England. The highest temperature previously recorded in Britain was 38.7 C (101.7 F), a record set in 2019. The high Tuesday came as the country sweltered in heat wave that also scorched mainland Europe for the past week. Travel, health care and schools were disrupted in a country not prepared for such extremes. Parts of England are under a “red” alert, a warning for extreme heat that poses a risk

France and the United Arab Emirates have signed an agreement on energy cooperation to ensure oil and gas supplies from the Gulf country. The deal announced by the French economy ministry Monday comes as Europe prepares for the possibility of a total cutoff of Russian natural gas in retaliation for sanctions over the war in Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting the UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Paris. Oil and gas supplies to France and the European Union are top of the agenda as the 27-member bloc scrambles to prepare for winter. France has been in discussions wi

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired the head of the country’s security service and its prosecutor general on Sunday, citing hundreds of criminal proceedings into treason and collaboration by people within their departments. “In particular, more than 60 employees of the prosecutor’s office and the SBU have remained in the occupied territory and work against our state,” Zelenskyy said. “Such an array of crimes against the foundations of the state’s national security, and the links recorded between Ukrainian security forces and Russian special services raise very serious que

WHO South-East Asia Regional Director Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh said that the region has been on alert for monkeypox and that nations have been taking steps to diagnose it quickly and prevent its spread. "The region has been on alert for monkeypox. Countries have been taking measures to rapidly detect and take appropriate measures to prevent the spread of monkeypox," she said. "Monkeypox requires collective attention and coordinated action to stop its further spread. In addition to using public health measures and ensuring health tools are available to at-risk populations and shared fairly, i

President Joe Biden touched down in Saudi Arabia on Friday. It is Biden's first visit to Saudi Arabia since taking office, and his first meeting with the kingdom's crown prince and presumed heir to the throne, Mohammed bin Salman. Biden has refused to speak with Mohammed bin Salman until now. Biden has declined to say whether he would raise the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S.-based journalist and critic of the kingdom. Biden was expected to sit down first with King Salman before participating in a larger meeting that would include Prince Mohammed and other senior Saudi officials, as we