ACCRA, May 18 (NNN-GNA) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board, yesterday approved a three-billion-U.S. dollar Extended Credit Facility for Ghana, to help the country address its current economic crisis.

In a statement, the IMF said, the decision would enable an immediate disbursement of about 600 million dollars to Ghana, adding that, the facility would support “a comprehensive reform programme” by the Ghanaian government, to tackle the deep economic crisis brought on by a combination of large external shocks and preexisting fiscal and debt weaknesses.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand police said Thursday they had arrested a man and charged him with two counts of arson in connection with the fire at a Wellington hostel that killed at least six people.

Police said the investigation is ongoing and they could file more serious charges in relation to the deaths at the scene. Earlier, police said they had launched a homicide investigation.

Police Inspector Dion Bennett said Thursday they are confident they’re not seeking anybody else in connection with the fire.

May 18 (Reuters) - Ukraine's military and Russia's Wagner private army both reported fresh Russian retreats on the outskirts of Bakhmut, as Kyiv pressed on with its biggest advance for six months ahead of a planned major counteroffensive.

FIGHTING

* Ukraine's military said its troops had advanced in places by more than a mile. Some of its soldiers on the front line said Russian troops were pounding supply lines to try to halt the gains.

HANOI, May 18 (Reuters) - Vietnam on Thursday criticised recent conduct by a Chinese research ship and the Philippine coast guard in the South China Sea, accusing its neighbours of separate actions that were violating its sovereign rights.

Tensions are high in contested parts of the South China Sea, one of the world's most important trade routes and a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce.

MOSCOW, May 18. /TASS/: Russia will not let the unfriendly actions of other countries go unanswered, adhering to the principles of reciprocity and responding appropriately, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main challenger in Turkey’s presidential race shifted gear and adopted a more nationalist and hard-line stance on Thursday, vowing to send back millions of refugees if he is elected and rejecting any possibility of negotiating for peace with Kurdish militants.

Voters in Turkey will head back to the polls on May 28 for a runoff election after neither Erdogan nor his rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, won more than 50% of the votes in Sunday’s first round.

KABUL, May 18 (NNN-ANA) – The Afghan caretaker government’s supreme leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, appointed Deputy Prime Minister, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, as the Acting Prime Minister, chief government spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said.

“Since esteemed acting Prime Minister, Mullah Hassan Akhund is sick and needs treatment and rest in Kandahar for some time, esteemed Mawlawi Abdul Kabir has been appointed to take charge of the Premier Office affairs,” Mujahid said, on his Twitter account, yesterday.

CASTEL BOLOGNESE, Italy, May 18 (Reuters) - Floods that killed nine people in Italy's northern Emilia-Romagna region caused billions of euros' worth of damage and hit agriculture particularly hard, the regional governor said on Thursday.

Torrential rains this week devastated the eastern side of the region, known as Romagna, with up to 300 landslides, 23 overflowing rivers, some 400 roads damaged or destroyed, and 42 flooded municipalities.

NEAR BAKHMUT, Ukraine, May 18 (Reuters) - The Ukrainian military and Russia's Wagner private army both reported further Russian retreats around the city of Bakhmut on Thursday, as Kyiv pressed on with its biggest advance for six months ahead of a planned counteroffensive.

Ukrainian troops near the front line said Russia was bombarding access roads to slow the Ukrainian assault, which has shifted momentum after months of slow Russian gains in Europe's deadliest ground combat since World War Two.

MINSK, May 18. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday that a new document is needed as the basis for talks on the Ukrainian settlement, the BelTA news agency reported.

"[Russia and Ukraine should] take not that document (which was worked out during the Russia-Ukraine talks in Belarus in 2022 - TASS). A new one. In order to stop the war," the Belarusian president said.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Months before an election, New Zealand’s government on Thursday offered some modest financial relief to many people by making most prescription medicines free and increasing subsidies for child care and public transportation.

But the government’s annual budget plan was notable for its lack of big new initiatives. Since taking office earlier this year, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has promised a back-to-basics approach and axed many of the more ambitious — and contentious — plans of his predecessor, Jacinda Ardern.

ISLAMABAD, May 18 (NNN-APP) – Four children were killed and three others injured, in a wind storm, in Pakistan’s east Punjab province last night, police said.

The kids were sitting beside the wall of a mosque, in Mianwali District, when it collapsed on them, the police told the media.

The injured kids were shifted to a nearby hospital, where one of them is in a critical condition.