World

Gold, cocoa, mineral fuels power Ghana's trade surplus in 2025: report

ACCRA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Gold, cocoa products, and mineral fuels drove Ghana's export performance in 2025, helping the West African country post a sharply higher trade surplus, according to the latest data released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) on Thursday.

World

Informal poll shows Costa Rica's Grynspan ahead in race to be next UN chief

July 30 (Reuters) - ⁠A first informal U.N. ⁠Security Council poll on ‌Thursday showed former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan as the ​early front runner ⁠in the ⁠race to become the next secretary-general ⁠of ‌the world body, followed by ⁠former Guyanese Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, ​two ‌diplomats told Reuters.

World

China-aided project raises schistosomiasis awareness among Tanzania's Zanzibar students

DAR ES SALAAM, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The expert team of the China-aided Zanzibar schistosomiasis prevention and control project on Wednesday held an awards ceremony for a secondary school poster competition and a health school plaque presentation at Hemed Secondary School on Pemba Island.

World

Russia extends full gasoline export ban until Jan. 31

MOSCOW, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The Russian government has extended its full ban on fuel exports through Jan. 31, 2027, the Russian cabinet announced Thursday.

World

Ukraine strikes two more warehouses of Russian online retailer Wildberries

MOSCOW, July 30 (Reuters) - Ukrainian drones struck ⁠two more warehouses belonging to Russian online retailer Wildberries overnight, sparking fires at ⁠both sites, the company and a regional official said.

World

Ukraine receives 3.98 bln USD from EU for defense needs

KIEV, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine received a new 3.47-billion-euro (about 3.98-billion-U.S.-dollar) tranche from the European Union (EU) to finance priority defense needs, the country's Finance Ministry reported Thursday.

World

Zimbabwe confident of achieving 2026 growth target: finance minister

HARARE, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe is confident of achieving its 5 percent growth target for 2026 on the back of macroeconomic stability and increased local value addition of minerals, Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Mthuli Ncube said Thursday.

World

Rhine reaches lowest water level ever recorded in the Netherlands

THE HAGUE, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The water level of the Rhine reached its lowest level ever recorded in the Netherlands on Thursday as prolonged drought across parts of Europe continued to reduce river flows, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management reported.

World

6 dead, 6 injured after commuter omnibus plunges into gully in Zimbabwean capital

HARARE, July 30 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were killed and six others injured Wednesday night when a commuter omnibus plunged into a water-filled gully in Harare, the Zimbabwean capital, local police confirmed Thursday.

World

Across China: Courts and clouds: A new playbook for growth in China's Hubei

WUHAN, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Aleksandra Otasevic could never have imagined that she would be able to find tennis courts within walking distance almost everywhere she went in a county-level city in central China.

World

UNICEF hands over supplies to Zambia to strengthen preparedness against Ebola

LUSAKA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday handed over essential medical supplies to Zambia to strengthen the country's preparedness and readiness against the Ebola virus and other hemorrhagic fevers.

World

UNECE says over 434,000 hectares burned in Europe this year

GENEVA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- More than 434,000 hectares have already burned across Europe this year, according to the latest available data, said the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on Thursday.

World

Russia likely used N.Korean missile in deadly Ukraine strike for first time this year, sources say

LONDON, July 30 (Reuters) - A ⁠Russian overnight attack that killed a family near ⁠the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih likely used a ‌North Korean missile, two sources said, in what would be the first time such a weapon had been fired in the war in ​nearly a year.

World

After surviving earthquakes, a family in Venezuela seeks a new beginning far from ground zero

MARACAIBO, Venezuela, July ⁠29 (Reuters) - Weeks after the twin earthquakes that devastated Venezuela's central coast, ⁠Adriana Aponte and her family joined a growing exodus of survivors ‌fleeing to poorer regions to escape the trauma of the disaster.

World

Trump’s DOJ charged hundreds with assaulting officers. Many cases were dropped, but the damage was done

July 30 - Christian Garcia admits that he threw a water bottle toward ⁠officers guarding a federal building near Los Angeles during an immigration protest last summer.

Pakistan

Mediator Pakistan says US-Iran talks ongoing as foes trade attacks

TEHRAN: Mediator Pakistan insisted on Thursday (July 30) that negotiations between Iran and the United States were ongoing, even as Washington carried out a "heavy wave of strikes" on its foe in retaliation for fresh attacks targeting Jordan.

World

Shelter gaps leave Ukrainians desperate, angry as Russian attacks mount

KYIV, July 29 (Reuters) - Tetiana Lishchynska was overcome with emotion when dozens ⁠of residents in one of Kyiv's districts hardest-hit by Russian strikes gathered this month to press authorities to open a bomb shelter under preparation since 2023. 

World

Philippines' Marcos approves release of VP Duterte's tax records to impeachment trial

MANILA, July 30 (Reuters) - Philippine ⁠President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved the release of Vice ⁠President Sara Duterte's tax records to the Senate in her ‌impeachment trial, where one of the charges she is facing is that she has amassed unexplained wealth while in office.

World

France and Spain win some respite, as wildfire battles rage across Europe

BORDEAUX, France/ATHENS/MADRID, July 30 (Reuters) - France, Spain and ⁠Greece battled major wildfires on Thursday, with Spain bringing one blaze under control but facing new threats as intense heat, dry vegetation and powerful winds kept much of southern Europe on alert.

World

Islamist militants kill 10 police officers in northwest Pakistan, say police

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, ⁠Pakistan, July 30 (Reuters) - A drone attack and ambush by Islamist militants ⁠at a police post in northwest Pakistan killed at least 10 officers, ‌police said, the second such assault within a week.