BERLIN, June 2. /TASS/: The German Cabinet is aware of the reports about a possible Ukrainian suspect in the blowups of Nord Stream gas pipelines but will not comment on them until the end of the investigation, Cabinet spokesperson Christiane Hoffman told reporters on Friday.

"We certainly have taken note of this publication. I request patience until the actual completion of the investigation," Hoffman said. "We have no position [on this matter] at the moment," she noted.

BANGKOK (AP) — The huge trade in methamphetamine and other illegal drugs originating from a small corner of Southeast Asia shows no signs of slowing down, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime warned Friday.

“High volumes of methamphetamine continue to be produced and trafficked in and from the region while the production of ketamine and other synthetic drugs has expanded,” said the agency’s 2023 report, Synthetic Drugs in East and Southeast Asia — the first since the borders reopened post-COVID-19 pandemic.

PALMYRA, Syria (AP) — At the height of the Islamic State group’s rampage across Syria, the world watched in horror as the militants blew up an iconic arch and temple in the country’s famed Roman ruins in Palmyra.

Eight years later, IS has lost its hold but restoration work on the site has been held up by security issues, leftover IS land mines and lack of funding.

TEHRAN, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian foreign minister has said that Iran welcomes any initiative aimed at restoring its relations with Egypt in line with the two sides' interests, Iran's IRIB news agency reported on Thursday.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in an interview with the IRIB news agency, which was published on Thursday.

He revealed that Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, during his visit to Iran in late May, informed Iranian officials of his talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi about restoring the Iran-Egypt ties.

CAPE TOWN, June 2 (Reuters) - Senior officials from over a dozen countries including Saudi Arabia and Iran were in talks on closer links with the BRICS bloc of major emerging economies on Friday as it met to deepen ties and position itself as a counterweight to the West.

BRICS, which now consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is considering expanding its membership, and a growing number of countries, mostly from the global South, have expressed interest in joining.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s National Police Agency said in a report Thursday that flaws in basic security such as an absence of metal detectors and bag checks allowed an attacker to enter a campaign crowd unnoticed and throw a pipe bomb at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in April.

The bomb fell near Kishida and he was pushed away by special police before it exploded and he was unhurt.

BEIJING, June 2. /TASS/: China believes a prompt settlement of the Ukrainian crisis will benefit all interested sides and that’s the starting point in China’s position on the issues, China’s Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui said on Friday.

"A prompt resolution of the crisis would benefit all sides. It would also be the starting point for helping with the peaceful settlement" of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, he said at a news conference at the China Public Diplomacy Association after he wrapped up his international tour.

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed a bill Thursday that would have made the western swing state the first in the country to make it a crime to sign certificates falsely stating that a losing candidate has won a certain state.

The bill seeking to crack down on so-called fake electors would have established penalties of between four and 10 years in prison. Democratic state Attorney General Aaron Ford endorsed the legislation, while some public defenders opposed it, calling it too harsh.

01 June 2023; MEMO: NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Thursday he would soon travel to Turkiye to discuss Sweden's NATO membership, in a bid to close a process that has been delayed due to objections from member countries, Turkiye and Hungary, Reuters reports.

Speaking during a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Oslo, Stoltenberg said he had spoken earlier this week to Tayyip Erdogan, who was re-elected as Turkiye's President on Sunday.

PHNOM PENH, Jun 2 (NNN-AKP) – Two decades after its inclusion on the list of the least developed countries, Cambodia met the graduation criteria for the first time in 2021, with plans to graduate as early as 2027, said an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report today.

“This is a major achievement, as graduation from the least developed country status means, a country has achieved significant economic and social development goals,” the report said.

MOSCOW, June 2 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Friday that if Ukraine joined NATO then it would cause problems for many years to come, an issue he said many European Union countries understood though the United States ultimately called the tunes at the military alliance.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pressed his case on Thursday for Ukraine to be part of the NATO military alliance and urged the alliance to provide security guarantees if membership were not possible for now.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Debt-stricken Sri Lanka, which declared bankruptcy last year, is showing signs of economic improvement but its recovery still faces challenges, the International Monetary Fund said Friday.

The Indian Ocean island nation declared bankruptcy in April 2022 and said it was suspending repayment of its foreign debt. It reached an agreement with the IMF in March on a nearly $3 billion bailout program over four years.