IBT Staff Reporter

Indonesia's plan to create new provinces in its impoverished eastern region of Papua has not been adequately discussed with the local population and is unviable, its governor said.

Indonesia's plan to create new provinces in its impoverished eastern region of Papua has not been adequately discussed with the local population and is not viable, its governor said.

Talks between Turkish officials and delegations from Sweden and Finland this week in Turkey made little headway overcoming Ankara's objections to the Nordic countries joining NATO, and it is not yet clear when further discussions will take place, according to two sources.

EU countries scrambled on Friday to reach a deal that would embargo seaborne deliveries of Russian oil but still allow deliveries by pipeline, a compromise to win over Hungary and unblock new sanctions against Moscow, officials said.

Colombians will choose among a leftist promising change, a center-right candidate seen as the natural successor to the incumbent leader, and an eccentric business magnate in a presidential vote on Sunday.

U.S. stocks were set to open higher on Friday as data showed strength in consumer spending and signs of peaking inflation, providing relief for investors worried about a sharp slowdown in economic growth.

U.S. stocks rallied on Friday, boosted by upbeat earnings, strength in consumer spending and signs that inflation was peaking, easing worries about a sharp slowdown in economic growth.

The S&P 500 index on Friday was set for its best weekly gain since mid-March as upbeat earnings, strength in consumer spending and signs of inflation peaking eased worries about a sharp slowdown in economic growth.

Japanese buyout firms Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) and Polaris Capital Group are each considering participating in bids for Toshiba Corp, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

National Bank of Canada closed out a mostly strong quarter for Canadian lenders on Friday, reporting second-quarter profit that beat estimates on lower-than-expected provisions for credit losses (PCL), with continued growth in lending and fee income helping offset higher expenses and still subdued margins.

Canadian banks wrapped up second-quarter earnings season last week, with most reporting better-than-expected profits, in large part by reducing the amounts of funds they set aside for future loan losses, raising questions among investors and analysts about whether they are too sanguine about looming risks.

Russia is on the cusp of a unique kind of debt crisis which investors say would be a first time a major emerging market economy is pushed into a bond default by geopolitics, rather than empty coffers.

Countries should take quick steps to contain the spread of monkeypox and share data about their vaccine stockpiles, a senior World Health Organization official said on Friday.

Talks between Turkish officials and delegations from Sweden and Finland have made little headway overcoming Ankara's objections to their NATO membership bids, and it is not clear when further discussions will take place, according to two sources.

Beijing says Blinken speech 'smears China'

The European Union is working on a common purchasing agreement for vaccines and antivirals against monkeypox, as cases of the viral disease usually endemic to Africa gather steam in Europe and beyond.

UN rights chief falls under wheels of China's propaganda machine

Strawberry farms threaten Spanish wetlands

Vomit, fighter planes and donkeys: Cannes highs and lows

Former Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone denied on Friday he had been arrested in Brazil and said an illegal gun found in his luggage before boarding a flight was never used and had no ammunition.

Former Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone denied on Friday he had been arrested in Brazil and said an illegal gun found in his luggage before boarding a flight was never used and had no ammunition.

In the months before it acknowledged its first official COVID-19 outbreak, North Korea suddenly imported millions of face masks, 1,000 ventilators, and possibly vaccines from China, trade data released by Beijing showed.

Once a poor "skinny kid" from Malaysia, Hock Tan was going head-to-head with a legendary U.S. technology mogul for a transformative acquisition.

Anti-abuse activists on Friday demonstrated near the Vatican embassy to Italy to demand action into sexual abuse in the Italian Catholic Church, amid ongoing discussion on how such an investigation should be organised.

Three days before a vote to choose their region's next governor, a handful of residents in Kashiwazaki, a sleepy coastal town in northern Japan, stood by a road to hear the race's long-shot contender warning of the dangers of nuclear power.

Russia moves on key city amid Ukraine church schism

Japan aims to "drastically strengthen" its military capabilities, according to an economic policy draft seen by Reuters, as officials worry that Russia's invasion of Ukraine could prompt instability in East Asia.

'Finding food': Russia severs link to Ukraine's besieged east

Military redeployment turns Chile's Mapuche areas into powder keg