WASHINGTON  – The World Bank’s private investment arm on Thursday said it had launched a $2 billion support package for Ukraine to help build the resilience of the Ukrainian private sector devastated by Russia’s war and to prepare for reconstruction.

SEOUL  – International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said on Thursday the IAEA would make an all-out effort to stop North Korea’s nuclear programme and preserve international non-proliferation, according to South Korea’s presidential office.

WASHINGTON – U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday announced billions of dollars in additional humanitarian assistance to address acute food insecurity in Africa, which is facing a bigger and more complex food crisis than ever before.

Conflict, climate change and economic turmoil are accelerating crisis conditions in these countries, according to the International Rescue Committee.

TEGUCIGALPA – Honduras will sign an agreement Thursday to install a United Nations-backed anti-corruption mission in the country, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday, making good on a key campaign pledge of President Xiomara Castro to root out graft.

The U.S. military has formally launched a space force unit in South Korea, its first such facility on foreign territory that will likely enable Washington to better monitor its rivals North Korea, China and Russia

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Vietnam has conducted a major expansion of dredging and landfill work at several of its South China Sea outposts in the second half of this year, signaling an intent to significantly fortify its claims in the disputed waterway, a U.S. think tank reported on Wednesday.

SYDNEY – Future generations of New Zealanders will be banned from purchasing tobacco as part of a package of new anti-smoking laws that passed parliament on Tuesday and are among the most strict in the world.

BOGOTA – The Colombian government’s plans to buy parcels of land and deliver them to rural communities as part of a promised agricultural reform will develop gradually, Agriculture Minister Cecilia Lopez said on Tuesday, citing availability of funds and a complex process.

BRUSSELS – After all-night negotiations, the European Union struck a political deal on Tuesday to impose a carbon dioxide emissions tariff on imports of polluting goods such as steel and cement, a world-first scheme aiming to support European industries as they decarbonise.