Chinese internet services company Baidu has received a permit to provide driverless ride-hailing services to the public in Beijing, one of just two companies to receive such approvals.

Kenyan authorities say that some Congolese armed groups participating in peace talks in Kenya have asked for more time before laying down their weapons, signaling the talks have not made a breakthrough.

Climate change will result in thousands of new viruses spread among animal species by 2070 — and it’s likely to increase the risk of emerging infectious diseases jumping from animals to humans, especially in Africa and Asia, according to a new study.

Algeria has threatened to suspend its gas exports to Spain, the latest twist in a complex triangle of diplomatic tensions between the gas supplier, the gas importer and their shared neighbor Morocco.

Zimbabwe, Africa’s biggest tobacco grower, has opened its selling season for the crop amid pledges to fight deforestation and child labor in response to pressure from rights groups, environmentalists and international buyers.

Poland’s air navigation agency says it has agreed to implement all of the demands of the country’s air traffic controllers’ union.

GENEVA – World Health Organization members agreed this week to gradually raise their mandatory fees starting from 2024, three sources following the talks told Reuters on Thursday, as part of a funding review seen as vital to the U.N. health agency’s future.

BRASILIA  – Brazil’s government is studying the creation of a social-security system for mobile app workers, especially for delivery and transportation services, Labor Minister Jose Carlos Oliveira said on Wednesday.

Officials in Poland and Bulgaria say Russia is suspending deliveries of natural gas to their countries starting Wednesday.

MANAGUA – Nicaragua said on Tuesday the state would take possession of the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Managua, two days after the Central American country exited the group and expelled some of its members.