MOSCOW, June 1. /TASS/: Moscow has formally denounced the Russian-Ukrainian treaty governing joint use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, based on the fact that Ukraine is no longer a littoral state as regards these bodies of water, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said at a plenary meeting of the State Duma, or lower house of Russia’s parliament, on Thursday.

MOSCOW, June 1 (Reuters) - Russia's most powerful mercenary, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said his Wagner group would fight on in Ukraine if his men got a separate section of the front without having to depend on "clowns" who ran swathes of the Russian armed forces.

Celebrating his 62nd birthday on Thursday at a training camp, Prigozhin also confirmed that his men would finally leave the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut on June 5 after handing it to the Russian army. The Wagner mercenaries captured the devastated city in late May after months of grinding warfare.

BAGHDAD, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani inaugurated Wednesday the first phase of the natural gas liquefaction plant in the al-Rumaila oilfield in Iraq's southern province of Basra.

A statement by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil said the plant liquefies 200 million cubic feet of associated gas per day in its first phase, which already started, and would entered its second phase of liquefying 400 million cubic feet per day at the end of this year.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 01 (APP): A veteran diplomat from the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago was Tuesday elected President of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, which begins in September.

Trinidad and Tobago Ambassador Dennis Francis – who has had a nearly 40-year-career – will take the helm of the UN’s main policy-making body, starting in September this year.

He was elected by acclamation during a ceremony in the iconic General Assembly Hall at UN Headquarters in New York.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. births were flat last year, as the nation saw fewer babies born than it did before the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

Births to moms 35 and older continued to rise, with the highest rates in that age group since the 1960s. But those gains were offset by record-low birth rates to moms in their teens and early 20s, the CDC found. Its report is based on a review of more than 99% of birth certificates issued last year.

MOSCOW, June 1. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has no doubt that Russia will win in Ukraine and become a guarantor of peace and security for all nations.

31 May 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has extended its 'Makkah Route Initiative' to Turkiye, making it easier for pilgrims from the country to plan and make their trips to the Islamic holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand police on Thursday filed five murder charges against the man they say lit a deadly fire at a Wellington hostel two weeks ago.

Police had earlier filed arson charges against the 48-year-old man, accusing him of setting fire to a couch and to the hostel itself. He has remained in jail since his arrest two days after the fire.

More than 100 people were staying at the four-story Loafers Lodge hostel when the fire tore through the building soon after midnight on May 16.

JERUSALEM, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Israel is not on track to reach its climate targets, said a report published by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Wednesday.

The report, presented at a joint event held by the Israeli Environmental Protection Ministry and the OECD in Jerusalem, reviewed the country's environmental performance over the past decade.

BEIJING, June 1 (APP): India is using visa restrictions as a tool to prevent media contacts between China and India, which is exacerbating bilateral tensions.

According to the Wall Street Journal, China and India have effectively kicked out a large number of each other’s journalists recently by denying visa renewals.

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said that Chinese journalists had suffered unfair and discriminatory treatment in India for a long time.

31 May 2023; MEMO: The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been found to have the highest prevalence of diabetes in the world, according to a report yesterday by the Daily Mail, citing the latest research.

01 June 2023; MEMO: Jordan's unemployment rate declined to 21.9 per cent in the first quarter of this year, compared to 22.8 per cent at the end of 2022, the Department of Statistics said.

In a statement issued yesterday, the department said the unemployment rate among males reached 19.6 per cent, compared to 30.7 per cent for females, in the first quarter of 2023.

The unemployment rate among university degree holders is about 25.8 per cent.