International News

PERTH, June 20 ------ Oil prices fell on the prospect of more supply returning to the market after oil tankers began to move through the Strait of Hormuz following the signing of the US-Iran interim peace deal. Brent crude futures fell 54 cents, or 0.68 per cent, to US$78.31 a barrel as of 1.46am GMT (9.46am, Singapore time). US West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 46 cents, or 0.60 per cent, to US$76.14 a barrel. The front-month July contract expires on Monday. The more

DAKAR, Senegal, June 20 ------ The Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda has claimed more than 200 lives in its first month and is the worst known outbreak at this stage, with up to 35,000 suspected potential contacts, Africa’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said. With 894 confirmed cases so far, the current outbreak is three times worse than a previous outbreak in Uganda in 2000, which had 281 cases at the same point, said Dr. Wessam Mankoula, a medical epidemiologi

June 19 ------ While the 14-point framework, read out by U.S. officials, sets a temporary roadmap for de-escalation and opens a 60-day negotiation period to resolve key issues in a future final agreement. The MoU outlines a broad framework for ending hostilities between the United States and Iran, restoring regional stability and maritime access including the Strait of Hormuz, enabling major sanctions relief and release of frozen Iranian assets, and supporting a large-scale e

BRUSSELS, June 19 ------ European Union leaders debated new and tougher measures that could be needed to curb the bloc's growing trade deficit with China and its heavy reliance on the world's second-largest economy for rare earths and other critical supplies. EU diplomats say there is a gradual convergence of views among the 27 EU members that there is a problem with the goods trade deficit with China, which now amounts to some €1 billion ($1.15 billion) per day. The situa

BRUSSELS, Belgium, June 19 ------ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on European allies to step up help for Kyiv to down Russian ballistic missiles and speed up purchases of US weaponry. "We have the tools, and they are strong enough to put Russia on a path where diplomacy becomes the only choice," Zelensky told Kyiv's backers at a meeting in NATO's Brussels headquarters. "We all see that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is now relying on one lasting thing: co

MOSCOW, June 19 ------ Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Moscow in years, sparking fires in and around Russia’s capital, hitting a major oil refinery and forcing evacuations at the country’s largest airport, officials said. Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporters saw large columns of black smoke spreading over the capital’s southern skyline in dramatic scenes, while flames could be seen burning on part of an oil complex in the southern Kapotnya district. A strong, u

June 18 ------ US President Donald Trump and Iran's president signed a deal Wednesday meant to end the Middle East war, with Tehran agreeing to dilute its enriched uranium in return for large-scale economic relief. Trump put his signature to the memorandum of understanding during dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles following a G7 summit, a US official told AFP. "Just signed it," Trump told reporters as he emerged from the palace. Irani

NEW YORK, June 18 ------ Wall Street stocks finished decisively lower while the dollar rallied after the Federal Reserve raised its inflation forecast and projected an interest rate hike by year-end. The US central bank, as expected, kept interest rates unchanged as newly installed Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh announced plans to broadly review Fed monetary policy protocols with an eye towards updating the institution. Warsh was appointed by US President Donald Trump, who had