28 June 2023; MEMO: The Turkish Red Crescent on Wednesday began distributing meat to 3,000 families in four Yemeni provinces on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, reports Anadolu Agency.

The head of the Turkish Red Crescent branch in Yemen, Ibrahim Obaid, told Anadolu that the meat distribution is taking place in Aden, Abyan, Lahij and Dhali.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan and South Korea agreed Thursday to revive a currency swap agreement for times of crisis, in the latest sign of warming ties as the countries work to smooth over historical antagonisms.

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki announced the agreement after meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Choo Kyungho. It was the first time the two countries have held annual financial talks in seven years, though Suzuki and Choo also met in South Korea in May.

TOKYO, Jun 29 (NNN-NHK) – Toyota Motor Corp., today said, its global production of cars in May, increased to a record high for the month, amid improving availability of semiconductors.

According to the Aichi-based automaker, its global output of cars increased 33.4 percent from a year earlier to 847,000 units, helped by solid production in North America and Europe, with output in Japan jumping 72.2 percent to 248,287 units.

ROME, June 29 (Reuters) - The reluctance of Italy's right-wing coalition to ratify reform of a vital euro zone bailout fund is rooted in a deep distrust of the European Union, analysts and lawmakers said, leaving Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni no easy way out of a political mess.

Italy is the only euro zone country that has not yet given a green light to a treaty that revises the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) - a fund created in 2012 after the euro zone sovereign debt crisis to provide a financial firewall for members of the currency bloc.

COPENHAGEN, June 29 (Xinhua) -- A new "Smart Store" was launched in Denmark on Thursday, showcasing technologies running entirely on sustainable energy sources.

The Smart Store is in Nordborg in the west of the country, and uses heat capture and reuse technology which allows for a reduction of up to 90 percent in heating costs.

MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/: Two Ukrainian generals and up to 50 officers along with about 20 foreign mercenaries and military advisers were eliminated in Russia’s strike on the Kiev forces’ deployment site in Kramatorsk, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Thursday.

MOSCOW, June 28 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he persuaded Russian President Vladimir Putin not to "wipe out" mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, in response to what the Kremlin cast as a mutiny that pushed Russia towards civil war.

Putin initially vowed to crush the mutiny, comparing it to the wartime turmoil that ushered in the revolution of 1917 and then a civil war, but hours later a deal was clinched to allow Prigozhin and some of his fighters to go to Belarus.

June 27 (Reuters) - Georgia's top election official, Brad Raffensperger, is scheduled on Wednesday to answer questions from federal investigators examining former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, a spokesperson for Raffensperger's office said.

Raffensperger, Georgia's Republican secretary of state, will likely be asked about a phone call he received from Trump in January 2021, in which Trump was recorded asking Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to reverse President Joe Biden's victory in the state.

WASHINGTON, June 28 (Reuters) - Solid majorities of Americans support providing weaponry to Ukraine to defend itself against Russia and believe that such aid demonstrates to China and other U.S. rivals a will to protect U.S. interests and allies, according to a Reuters/Ipsos survey.

The two-day poll that was concluded on Tuesday charted a sharp rise in backing for arming Ukraine, with 65% of the respondents approving of the shipments compared with 46% in a May poll.

NEW YORK, June 28 (Xinhua) -- The United States' addiction to sanctions has gotten out of control and is hurting itself, reported The Washington Post earlier this month.

The Treasury Department estimated in late 2021 that it had sanctions on 9,421 organizations and individuals, a roughly 900 percent increase over the past 20 years. In 2022, the Treasury Department added 2,549 new designations while delisting only 225. That means nearly 12,000 entities were under U.S. sanctions as of the beginning of this year, said the report.

MINA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims on Wednesday braved intense heat to perform the symbolic stoning of the devil during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

With morning temperatures rising past 42 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Farenheit), huge crowds of pilgrims walked or took buses to the vast Jamarat complex just outside the holy city of Mecca, where large pedestrian bridges lead past three wide pillars representing the devil.

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. government’s climate advisers on Wednesday slammed officials for their slow pace in meeting their “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions target and backtracking on fossil fuel commitments. They say Britain has “lost its clear global leadership position on climate action.”