IBT Staff Reporter

Lebanon's top Christian cleric urged fractious politicians on Sunday to speed up the formation of a government to allow authorities to prepare for presidential elections due before the end of October.

Israel's cabinet approved issuing 3,500 additional permits for Palestinian workers in Israel's manufacturing and services sectors, increasing the number to 12,000 to help relieve a shortage of skilled staff, the Economy Ministry said on Sunday.

Norway pays tribute to victims of Oslo shooting

Carrying the hammer and sickle flags of the former Soviet Union, thousands protested in Madrid on Sunday against a NATO summit which will take place in the Spanish capital next week.

The deadly rampage by a gunman at a gay bar and another venue in central Oslo on Saturday will not put an end to the fight for the rights of all individuals to live a free and safe life, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said on Sunday.

Mud, sweat and cheers: Traditional Thai water buffalo race enthralls crowds

Russia defaulted on its international bonds for the first time in more than a century, the White House said, as sweeping sanctions have effectively cut the country off from the global financial system, rendering its assets untouchable.

Russia defaulted on its foreign sovereign bonds for the first time since the Bolshevik revolution, as sweeping sanctions effectively cut the country off from the global financial system and rendered its assets untouchable to many investors.

Russia looked set for its first sovereign default in decades as some bondholders said they had not received overdue interest on Monday following the expiry of a key payment deadline a day earlier.

Russia edged closer to default on Sunday amid little sign that investors holding its international bonds had received payment, heralding what would be the nation's first default in decades.

A growing number of large U.S. companies have said they will cover travel costs for employees who must leave their home states to get abortions, but these new policies could expose businesses to lawsuits and even potential criminal liability, legal experts said.

The largest U.S. law firms did not take a public stance following the U.S.

Sri Lanka is struggling to secure fresh fuel supplies, a top government minister said on Sunday, as the crisis-hit country of 22 million people is down to just 15,000 tons of petrol and diesel to keep essential services running in the coming days.

The people living in the ruins of Sirte's 600 Block district have waited years for help removing rubble and rebuilding homes damaged by warfare, but despite a new Libyan government making the city its headquarters, they have little hope of change.

U.S. President Joe Biden thanked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his leadership on the Ukraine crisis when they met at a Bavarian Alpine retreat on Sunday ahead of a summit of the Group of Seven rich democracies that aims to send a message of unity.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will meet leaders of the United States and Japan on Wednesday during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Madrid, an official at the presidential office said on Sunday.

Far from home, Russian exiles help Ukrainian refugees

Abortion pills to become next battleground in US reproductive fight

NATO summit host Spain seeks focus on southern security

Bankrupt Sri Lanka seeks discounted Russian oil

Russian missiles struck a residential building and the compound of a kindergarten in central Kyiv on Sunday, killing one person and wounding six more, officials said, as Moscow stepped up its air strikes on Ukraine for a second day.

Russian missiles struck a residential building and a kindergarten in central Kyiv early on Sunday, wounding five people, officials said, the first such attack on the Ukrainian capital in weeks.

Several explosions shook Kyiv's central Shevchenkivskiy district early on Sunday, causing a widespread damage and a fire at a residential building, officials said, in the first assault on Ukraine's capital since early June.

Rich heritage buried under impoverished Gaza Strip

Chilean state-owned copper miner Codelco, the world's top producer of the red metal, sees a firm copper price ahead despite a recent sharp fall, chairman of the board M?ximo Pacheco told Reuters in an interview in Santiago.

Russian missiles struck an apartment block and close to a kindergarten in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Sunday, in strikes U.S.

Russian missiles hit an apartment block and kindergarten in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Sunday, in strikes U.S.

Russian missiles struck the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Sunday, a day after a key eastern city fell to pro-Russian forces in a major set-back for Ukraine and as world leaders gathered in Europe to discuss further sanctions against Moscow.

Russia missiles struck the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Sunday, a day after a key eastern city fell to pro-Russian forces in a major set-back for Ukraine and as world leaders gathered in Europe to discuss further sanctions against Moscow.