Putin, Trump might meet in Budapest in two weeks: Kremlin
The Kremlin said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin might meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Budapest, Hungary, within two weeks or a little later.
Commenting on a possible Russia-U.S. summit, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there is a "shared understanding that nothing should be put off." He said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will start working on the issue, and the summit will be organized in stages.
Trump said Thursday that he will meet with Putin in Budapest for talks, following a phone conversation between the two leaders.
UN chief proposes 18.8 pct UN staff reduction for 2026
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday proposed reducing the staffing table of the world body by 18.8 percent for 2026, a reduction of 2,681 posts to 11,594, compared with the approved staffing table for 2025.
Introducing the proposed program budget for 2026 to the Fifth Committee of the UN General Assembly, Guterres also proposed to bring the resource requirements for 2026 down to 3.238 billion U.S. dollars, a reduction of 15.1 percent compared with the 2025 appropriation.
The proposed program budget for 2026 comprised three parts: the plan outline, the program plan for 2026 and program performance information for 2024, and the resource requirements for the programs and subprograms.
Hezbollah member killed in Israeli airstrikes in S. Lebanon
A member of the Lebanese Hezbollah was killed Friday in an Israeli airstrike targeting a car in southern Lebanon.
The official Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported that an Israeli drone targeted, on Friday afternoon, a car with a guided missile in the area of Al-Tabbaleh in the town of Khirbet Selm, resulting in injuries.
A Lebanese army intelligence source said on condition of anonymity that the person killed in the Israeli strike on Khirbet Selm was a Hezbollah member named Hassan Marouf Rahhal.
Randrianirina sworn in as Madagascar's president
Michael Randrianirina, a Malagasy military officer, was sworn in on Friday as the president of Madagascar in the capital here.
He took the oath of office at the African island nation's High Constitutional Court.
Randrianirina, born in 1974, was governor of Madagascar's southern Androy region between 2016 and 2018.
UN Security Council renews Haiti sanctions regime
The Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution to renew the sanctions regime on Haiti for another year.
Resolution 2794, which won the unanimous support of the 15-member council, extends the sanctions regime, which includes an arms embargo, travel ban and assets freeze measures, for one year from the date of the adoption of this resolution.
It also extends the mandate of the Panel of Experts that assists the Sanctions Committee for a period of 13 months from the date of the adoption of this resolution.■
