European Union

The comments by French Health Minister Olivier Véran came the day after Rome invoked European Union powers to block the export of 250,000 COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Australia, in a dramatic escalation of a dispute between the bloc and the drug giant.

Iran will soon present a “constructive” plan of action, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Friday, after European sources said Tehran gave positive signs about opening informal talks about its nuclear programme.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has appealed to the international community not to block adequate financing for gas projects in Nigeria and other developing countries.

Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said late on Tuesday that new sanctions imposed by the United States were evidence of a “hostile anti-Russian lunge” and said it would retaliate to what it described as another blow to U.S.-Russia ties.

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Russian individuals and entities over Russia’s attempt to kill opposition figure Alexei Navalny with a nerve agent, senior Biden administration officials said.

The European Commission will propose this month an EU-wide digital certificate providing proof of a COVID-19 vaccination that could allow Europeans to travel more freely over the summer.

Iran on Sunday ruled out holding an informal meeting with the United States and European powers to discuss ways to revive its 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, insisting that Washington must lift all its unilateral sanctions.

An International humanitarian organisation, Mercy Corps, in collaboration with European Union (EU), has handed over 325 two-bedroom houses for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Bama, the headquarters of Bama LGA, to the Borno government.

Zimbabwe is set to receive a further 800,000 doses of the Covid-19 jab from China, indicating the “excellent relationship” between the two nations and the Asian giant’s willingness to give the southern African state “preferential treatment” amidst a global “stampede” for vaccines, Zimbabwe’s presidential spokesman George Charamba is quoted by the state-owned Herald newspaper as saying.

Two men suspected of supplying the bomb that killed Maltese anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia faced formal charges in a late-night court appearance under heavy security by armed police.

Portugal will send 5% of its COVID-19 vaccine shots to a group of Portuguese-speaking African countries and to the tiny nation of East Timor in the second half of the year, Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva said on Wednesday.

Myanmar’s military-appointed foreign minister travelled to Thailand on Wednesday, a Thai government source said, as Myanmar’s neighbours intensified efforts to resolve a crisis that began when its army seized power in a Feb. 1 coup.

An Iranian government newspaper warned on Tuesday that overly radical actions in the nuclear wrangling with the West may lead to the country’s isolation after Tehran ended snap inspections by United Nations inspectors.

Applications have just opened for a new round of a Google-funded scheme to help media organisations in the African region improve their revenues – as tech giants fight it out with Australia about funding news.

The leader of Myanmar’s junta has called for energetic efforts to revive an ailing economy, state media reported on Tuesday, as Western countries considered more sanctions to press the generals to shun a violent crackdown on democracy protests

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas urged on Monday his EU counterparts to give the green light for the preparation of additional sanctions on Russia at a meeting in Brussels.

The federal government has said Nigeria would establish a Jute industry to meet international best practices for the export of cocoa and sundry agricultural produce.

Sudan on Saturday accused Ethiopia of an “unforgivable insult” in its sharpest statement since a decades-old border dispute flared late last year.

Private security contractor Erik Prince, a close ally of former US President Donald Trump, violated a United Nations arms embargo on Libya, UN investigators have found in a report detailed by US media.

The European Union is set to impose travel bans and asset freezes on allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin in March, possibly in the run-up to an EU summit, after a meeting of envoys gave approval for punitive measures, diplomats said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday Russia needed to ensure that its parliamentary vote scheduled for September is free of foreign meddling following mass protests calling for the release of one of his fiercest critics.

Google is teaming up with the European Investment Fund (EIF) and two other organisations in Latin America and Asia to provide $75 million in funding to small- and medium-sized companies suffering from the impact of COVID-19.