FRANKFURT -- The president of the European Central Bank (ECB) has vowed to bring down soaring inflation in the eurozone to its 2 percent target level "in a timely manner."

This is an "immediate and over-riding priority" for the Bank, Christine Lagarde said at an event held in Frankfurt on Wednesday to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ECB. (Germany-ECB)

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JAKARTA -- A 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia's eastern province of Maluku on Wednesday evening, but did not trigger a tsunami, the country's meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency said.

The weather agency reported the earthquake happened at 22:49 p.m. Jakarta time (1549 GMT) with its epicenter being at 203 km northwest of Kepulauan Tanimbar (Maluku Tenggara Barat) district and a depth of 221 km under the seabed, the agency said. (Indonesia-Earthquake)

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MOSCOW -- A shift towards a decentralized international financial system will be beneficial for the global economy, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the plenary session of the second Eurasian Economic Forum in Moscow, Putin said that many rapidly developing economies are currently shifting towards the use of national currencies in international settlements. (Russia-Eurasia-Economy)

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MOSCOW -- Russia will respond quickly and extremely harshly to future incursions, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a meeting with senior defense officials on Wednesday.

The minister mentioned that "a Ukrainian nationalist formation" that broke into Russia's Belgorod region on Monday was defeated. (Russia-Ukraine)

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RIYADH -- Saudi Arabia and Canada have agreed to restore diplomatic relations and appoint ambassadors, the Saudi Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday.

The ministry said in a statement that the decision was made based on the two sides' wishes to restore ties on the basis of mutual respect and common interests. (Saudi Arabia-Canada-Restoration) Enditem

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