World News in Brief: February 26

Leader of the Nepali Congress Ram Chandra Poudel and Vice Chair of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) Subash Chandra Nembang on Saturday registered their nomination for the presidential election to be held on March 9.
At least 30 people have died after a migrant shipwreck off the eastern coast of Italy's Calabria region, ANSA and other Italian news agencies reported on Sunday. (Representative Image)
At least 30 people have died after a migrant shipwreck off the eastern coast of Italy's Calabria region, ANSA and other Italian news agencies reported on Sunday. (Representative Image)

* The head of the United Nation's World Food Programme (WFP) said on Saturday he was confronted with "apocalyptic" scenes as he visited earthquake-stricken areas in southern Turkey.

* India and Germany on Saturday signed two government-to-government agreements on cooperation in innovation and technology and cooperation in green hydrogen and clean energy technologies.

* Chinese ambassador to the European Union Fu Cong said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel may visit China in the first half of 2023, China's state-backed Global Times reported.

* The foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey, Syria and Iran are arranging a meeting, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said, according to state media on Sunday.

* Jordan will host a meeting on Sunday between top Israeli and Palestinian security and political officials in hopes of halting a recent surge in violence that has stoked fears of wider escalation ahead of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, officials said.

* Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant spoke to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin by phone late Friday over a series of regional issues, according to a statement by the Israeli Defense Ministry on Saturday.

* The United States is "exerting unprecedented pressure" on African countries, including attempting to disrupt a planned Russia-Africa summit, Russia's deputy foreign minister was quoted as saying late on Saturday.

* British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was "giving it everything" to strike a new post-Brexit deal with the European Union on Northern Ireland's trade arrangements, calling it vital to ensuring a return to power-sharing in the province.

* The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) announced Saturday that it plans to hold various activities throughout the year to celebrate its 75th anniversary.

* Mexico said Saturday it regrets Peru's decision to permanently withdraw its ambassador to Mexico and downgrade diplomatic relations between the two countries to the level of charge d'affaires.

* A top Iranian military commander said on Saturday that the country's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) is developing hypersonic cruise missiles, official news agency IRNA reported.

* Nigerian police said on Saturday several polling stations had been attacked by gunmen in Lagos, the nation's economic hub, during the presidential and national assembly polls.

* Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has underscored the need to shore up economic growth and stabilize employment and prices, stressing efforts to consolidate the upward trend of economic recovery and promote high-quality development.

* US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Reuters on Saturday that new US data showing inflation jumped unexpectedly in January signals that the fight against inflation "is not a straight line" and more work is needed.

* The World Bank will "provide as much concessionality to the debt treatment" for distressed economies as possible, its president told a meeting with the International Monetary Fund, India, China, and other creditor nations on Saturday.

* The outlook for Mexico's economy in 2023 is better than many had forecast and "more in line" with the 3% growth that the government had expected in its September budget, a top finance ministry official told Reuters.

* For the eighth week in a row, tens of thousands of Israelis are demonstrating against the government and its judicial reforms on Saturday evening.

* Russia's Gazprom GAZP.MM said it will ship 39 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Sunday.

* A Russian spacecraft on a mission to bring back to Earth a crew stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) has docked at the station, Russian space agency Roscosmos said early on Sunday.

* There is not sufficient evidence to recommend more than one COVID-19 booster shot a year for older people and those with weakened immune systems, an expert advisory group to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday.

* An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 jolted 29 km east-northeast of Kandrian, Papua New Guinea, at 21:24:48 GMT on Saturday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. The epicenter, with a depth of 38.158 km, was initially determined to be at 6.111 degrees south latitude and 149.7927 degrees east longitude.

Xinhua/Reuters/VNA