KABUL, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan will soon reach self-sufficiency in agriculture as efforts are underway to help the country get rid of import reliance, Acting Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock Ataullah Omari said Friday.

In an interview with the local TOLO News TV channel, Omari said that his country should change from an "import-reliant country" to an "export country".

MOSCOW, July 15. /TASS/: Moscow’s Basmanny District Court has ruled to arrest seven members of nationalist organizations suspected of an assassination attempt on journalists Margarita Simonyan and Ksenia Sobchak, the court’s press service told TASS on Saturday.

"The court has granted a request and selected custody as a restriction measure for the suspects who were earlier detained for the assassination attempt on Sobchak and Simonyan," the court said.

14 July 2023; MEMO: Former Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, was "fully aware" of Israeli-Russian Elizabeth Tsurkov's frequent visits to Iraq and had warned both Washington and Moscow that her Israeli citizenship and "work" is "a danger to her", Israeli media reported.

According to the Israeli media, Tsurkov visited Iraq on numerous occasions from 2020 until she disappeared in March.

(AP) --- A large convoy carrying fighters from the Wagner private army was spotted entering Belarus from Russia early Saturday, a monitoring group reported after the country’s Defense Ministry said it planned for the mercenaries and Minsk’s own armed forces to conduct joint military drills.

The independent monitoring group Belaruski Hajun, which tracks the movements of armed forces in Belarus, said that at least 60 trucks, buses and other large vehicles crossed into the Eastern European country accompanied by Belarusian police.

GENEVA, July  15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Some 289 children are known to have died in the first half of 2023 while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, the United Nations said.

 The figure is double that recorded in the first six months of 2022, the UN children’s agency UNICEF said, as it called for expanded safe, legal and accessible pathways for children to seek protection in Europe.

RIYADH, July 15 (Xinhua) -- A report released by the official Saudi Press Agency on Saturday said Saudi Arabia had made "creative" efforts to promote its civilization and heritage in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 since the kingdom's Culture Ministry became an independent entity in 2018.

MOSCOW, July 15. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a phone talk with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that obstacles still persisted for Russian exports under the gain deal, the Kremlin press office reported on Saturday.

The phone talk was held on July 15 at the initiative of the South African side, the Kremlin press office specified.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Days of heavy rain in South Korea have left at least 26 people dead and 10 others missing in landslides, floods and other incidents, the government said Saturday.

The 26 fatalities were reported on Friday and Saturday, all in the central and southeastern regions, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said in a report.

BAGHDAD, Jul 15 (NNN-NINA) – Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, held a phone conversation with Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, yesterday, on bilateral ties and road construction, linking the two countries.

A statement issued by his office said in the phone talk, al-Sudani stressed “Iraq’s keenness to build regional and international partnerships, that contribute to the national economic development of the brotherly and friendly countries.”

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday declared that he feels “very good” after he was rushed to the hospital for what doctors said likely was dehydration.

But doctors ordered him to remain in the hospital overnight for further observation, and his weekly Cabinet meeting was delayed by a day and rescheduled for Monday, his office said.

ADDIS ABABA, July 15 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it has faced a "critical" funding shortfall to address the humanitarian needs of refugees in Ethiopia.

The UN refugee agency said in its latest situation update issued late Friday that its operation in Ethiopia has received 64 million U.S. dollars as of the end of May, representing only 15 percent of the requirements.

MOSCOW, July 15. /TASS/: The African leaders on a Ukraine peace mission will have an opportunity to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the upcoming Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg in late July, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS on Saturday.