Briefly

UNITED STATES

Negotiations on debt ceiling to resume

US President Joe Biden and Republican leaders were set to reconvene on Tuesday for talks on raising the US borrowing limit, with a possible debt default just weeks away. The Treasury has warned of "catastrophic" economic consequences if the US runs out of cash to pay its bills. Fresh data reinforces the prospect of a default "potentially as early as June 1", said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday. The two parties remain sharply divided on the issue, with Republicans insisting Biden agree to significant spending cuts in exchange for their support to raise the debt ceiling.

AFRICA

Kenya, Somalia agree on border reopening

Kenya and Somalia have agreed to reopen their common border after more than a decade, Kenya's interior minister said on Monday as ties warm between the two neighbors after years of tensions. The announcement came after a high-level joint ministerial meeting in Nairobi on cooperation, including security, trade and the movement of people. The two nations had announced plans in July to reopen the frontier at talks between then-Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta and his Somali counterpart Hassan Sheikh Mohamud but they never materialized.

ITALY

$880m of cocaine found in banana crates

Police in southern Italy said on Tuesday they had seized 2,700 kilograms of pure cocaine hidden in two refrigerated containers carrying bananas that had been shipped from Ecuador. The haul found in the Calabrian port of Gioia Tauro would have been worth more than 800 million euros ($880 million), Italy's Guardia di Finanza police said. The shipment had come from Ecuador and its final destination was Armenia. The drugs were discovered in the 12-meter containers, helped by a sniffer dog named Joel.

Agencies via Xinhua