UNITED NATIONS, June 2 (NNN-XINHUA) — The United Nations on Thursday voiced concern about the slowdown of grain shipments under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allows the export of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products from Black Sea ports.

“We are concerned about the continuous slowdown of the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative observed particularly in the months of April and May,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Clashes between police and supporters of Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko left nine people dead, the government said Friday, with authorities issuing a blanket ban on the use of several social media platforms in the aftermath of the violence.

The deaths occurred mainly in the capital, Dakar, and Ziguinchor in the south, where Sonko is mayor, Interior Minister Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome said in a statement.

UNITED NATIONS, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations has released 3 million U.S. dollars for emergency relief following tropical cyclone Mocha's pounding of southeastern Bangladesh, a UN spokesman said on Thursday.

UN Undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths, who is also the emergency relief coordinator, authorized the allocation from the Central Emergency Response Fund following the storm's devastation last month in the camps for 40,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and their host communities, said Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

LACONIA, New Hampshire, June 2 (Reuters) - When Casey DeSantis took to a New Hampshire stage on Thursday to talk about her advocacy work and share anecdotes about the travails of raising small children, Lisa Teeman was among the women in attendance whose face lit up with a smile.

"She is a very strong woman," said Teeman, a 62-year-old retired IT professional who had come to hear Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' presidential pitch. "I think she can gain votes for him."

Kanpur: The Uttar Pradesh government in its administrative reshuffle has transferred as many as eight IAS officers, including two divisional commissioners.

Reportedly, Kanpur divisional commissioner has also been transferred. He has been given charge of secretary, agriculture department.

In his place, Saharanpur DC Lokesh M has been sent to take charge here in the same capacity.

TOKYO (AP) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stressed the importance of communication during a stopover Thursday in Tokyo, calling it unfortunate that his Chinese counterpart is refusing to meet him at an upcoming annual security conference in Singapore, which both men are attending.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Department prosecutors have obtained an audio recording of former President Donald Trump from after he left office in which he talks about holding onto a classified Pentagon document related to a potential attack on Iran, according to media reports.

CNN, which first reported on the tape, said Trump suggested on the recording that he wanted to share information from the document with others but that he knew there were limitations about his ability to declassify records after he left office.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Veering away from a default crisis, the House overwhelmingly approved a debt ceiling and budget cuts package, sending the deal that President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy negotiated to the Senate for swift passage in a matter of days, before a fast-approaching deadline.

31 May 2023; MEMO: The UN nuclear watchdog has re-installed only some monitoring equipment originally put in place under the 2015 nuclear deal with major powers that Iran then ordered removed last year, the watchdog said in two reports on Wednesday seen by Reuters.

31 May 2023; MEMO: The UN has proposed that Kyiv, Moscow and Ankara start preparatory work for the transit of Russian ammonia through Ukraine as it tries to salvage a deal allowing safe Black Sea grain exports, a source close to the talks said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

31 May 2023; MEMO: The United States has armed its forces stationed near oil fields in eastern Syria with HIMARS rocket launchers, Anadolu quoted local sources as saying yesterday.

The HIMARS missile system was sent to US forces in Deir Ez-Zor province over the past few days, the sources told Anadolu.

Deir Ez-Zor province, east of the Euphrates River, is currently controlled by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

01 June 2023; MEMO: Algeria has again raised the issue of compensation for the victims of landmines planted by French colonisation in Algeria, resulting in over 7,000 casualties, including those who suffered permanent disabilities. The situation is the aftermath of one of the most significant colonial crimes, whose impacts have persisted long after Algeria gained independence.