Author: Prima News

 North Korea ​has made “very serious” advances in its abilities to turn out nuclear weapons, with the probable addition of a ‌new uranium enrichment facility, as it stepped up activity at a key complex, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday. Enriching uranium can provide an alternative, and experts say, a more effective, path to acquiring weapons-grade material in addition to reprocessing spent plutonium extracted from a nuclear reactor. Speaking in Seoul, the head ​of the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed a rapid rise in activity at the five-megawatt reactor, the reprocessing unit, ​a light water reactor and other facilities…

 China and Russia must trust and support each other, deepen ​cooperation and defend each other’s interests, President Xi Jinping said ‌on Wednesday, assuring Moscow of friendship even as the world’s No.2 economy expands ties with other neighbours and nations. In a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at ​the Great Hall of the People, Xi said the “stability” and “certainty” of China-Russia ​relations were particularly valuable as he told the Russian envoy to convey ⁠his sincere regards to President Vladimir Putin, according to the official ​Xinhua news agency. A handful of Western leaders have paid visits to Beijing ​this year,…

A Rohingya survivor has recounted a harrowing journey at sea after an overcrowded boat carrying refugees and Bangladeshi nationals capsized in the Andaman Sea, leaving around 250 people missing. The boat, ​which departed from Teknaf in southern Bangladesh and was bound for Malaysia, sank in the ‌second week of April amid rough seas, strong winds and severe overcrowding, the United Nations’ refugee and migration agencies said. Bangladesh hosts around 1.2 million Rohingya refugees in camps in the south, most of whom fled violence in Myanmar in 2017. Many continue ​to attempt dangerous sea journeys in search of safety and livelihoods abroad. Survivors said…

 Chinese President Xi Jinping called for ​China and Vietnam to ‌maintain a high degree of strategic clarity and ​prioritise safeguarding political security ​during a meeting with ⁠his Vietnamese counterpart on ​Wednesday. Vietnam’s top leader, To ​Lam, is in China until Friday in his first overseas ​trip since being ​elected state president last week, a ‌sign ⁠of warming ties between the two Communist neighbours. The countries have grown closer ​in ​recent ⁠years, cooperating in railways, technology and ​other sectors, even ​as ⁠they remain at odds over maritime boundaries in ⁠the ​South China Sea.

 When anti-government protests began in Georgia in late 2024, Luka Mishveladze started sleeping on the floor at his university building to be closer to student rallies. Some 18 months later, the 20-year-old student is now a protest ​organiser, demonstrating outside the same building in the capital Tbilisi against government reforms of higher education that look set to force his university’s closure. “It was hard ‌for me to realise that this was happening in reality, that I am losing my university, the place I am used to calling home,” Mishveladze told Reuters. Opponents of the government see the overhaul adopted in…

Portugal is against the creation of a separate European army and instead backs strengthening and modernising its armed forces within the ​U.S.-led NATO alliance, the country’s defence minister said, contrasting with neighbouring ‌Spain’s position. Nuno Melo said late on Tuesday that Portugal was a founding NATO member which valued the United States, describing Washington as a fundamental transatlantic partner. “We’re not in favour ​of a single European army,” he told a parliamentary committee, adding that ​Portugal needed to invest in its armed forces to ensure that ⁠they were able to fulfil their assigned missions within NATO. Amid doubts over ​U.S.…

 Hungary’s election-winner Peter Magyar said on Wednesday he would need to hold talks with the leadership of oil company MOL (MOLB.BU), opens new tab, adding that ensuring ​fuel security would be the top priority in the coming weeks. Magyar’s centre-right TISZA (Respect and ‌Freedom) party won a landslide victory in Sunday’s election, ending nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s 16-year rule. In early March, Orban imposed a cap on fuel prices as soaring oil prices, fuelled by the war in Iran, ​drove global diesel and petrol prices higher. His government also banned the export of crude ​oil, diesel and 95-octane petrol and…

Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano has resigned due to health ​reasons, a Palace official said on Wednesday, ‌and will be replaced by former military chief Eduardo Oban. “The President has accepted the resignation of National ​Security Adviser Eduardo Ano. Secretary Ano ​has decided to retire from public service ⁠after decades of continuous service in government ​and the military,” communications undersecretary Claire Castro told ​a briefing. The resignation comes during a sustained period of tension between Manila and Beijing, with each accusing the ​other of provoking maritime run-ins in the South ​China Sea. Ano said he needed to prioritize his health.…

Germany will provide a further 20 million euros ($23.6 million) to Sudan this year, the development ministry said on Wednesday, ahead of an international ​aid conference hosted in Berlin that is aiming to gather more than $1 ​billion in funding commitments. Sudan’s war between the Sudanese army and the ⁠paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which enters its third year on Wednesday, has caused widespread ​hunger and displaced millions of people amid one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. The conference ​was aimed at keeping attention on Sudan amid wars raging in Ukraine and Iran, whose effects are felt more acutely by European governments,…

Hungary’s election ​winnerPeter Magyar said on Wednesday he will suspend state media ‌news broadcasts, which critics at home and abroad say became a government mouthpiece under Viktor Orban, and restore media freedoms after his cabinet takes power. Magyar’s TISZA (Respect and Freedom) ​party won a landslide victory in Sunday’s election, ending Orban’s 16-year ​rule that became a prototype for “illiberal” conservative rulers across the ⁠western world. “Every Hungarian deserves a public service media that broadcasts the ​truth,” Magyar said on Kossuth state radio, where Orban had been a weekly guest ​while opposition politicians rarely got invited. “We will need a little time to pass…