China state refiners shun new Russian oil trades

China’s state refiners are honouring existing Russian oil contracts but avoiding new ones despite steep discounts, heeding Beijing’s call for caution as western sanctions mount against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, six people told Reuters.

Pakistan court to hear Khan’s defence of blocking ouster

Pakistan’s top court will on Wednesday hear Prime Minister Imran Khan’s legal team defend his bid to block an opposition bid to oust him, a move his critics say was unconstitutional and which has ushered in a new phase of political turmoil.

Russia faces growing outrage amid accusations of Bucha ‘atrocities’

Ukraine on Sunday accused Russian forces of carrying out a “massacre” in the town of Bucha, while nations reacted to images of dead bodies there with calls for new sanctions against Moscow.

Nuclear missiles, bombs market to surge 73% by 2030 - report

The global market for nuclear missiles and bombs should surpass $126 billion within ten years, up nearly 73% from 2020 levels,

Ukraine accuses Russia of mass killing of civilians

Ukrainian and European officials expressed outrage on Sunday at what they said were atrocities committed by Russian forces near Kyiv before they withdrew from the region to focus their attacks elsewhere.

Shanghai asks entire city to self-test for COVID as frustration grows

Shanghai on Sunday ordered its 26 million residents to undergo two more rounds of tests for COVID-19 as public anger grows over how authorities in China’s most populous city are tackling a record coronavirus surge.

China to go ‘its own way’

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told EU leaders on Friday that Beijing would push for peace in “its own way” in Ukraine after Brussels pressed for assurances that China would not supply Russia with arms or help it circumvent Western sanctions.

Impossible to replace Russian gas with ‘expensive’ US alternative :Hungary

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban said, Friday there are countries which will not be able to substitute Russian gas with the more expensive American alternative.

Russia hoping to bypass sanctions in trade with ‘friend’ India

Russia will increase its use of non-Western currencies for trade with countries such as India, its Foreign Minister said on Friday, as he hailed New Delhi as a friend that was not taking a “one-sided view” on the Ukraine war.

Pentagon contradicts Biden Ukraine claim

The head of US forces in Europe has said he is not aware of a program to train Ukrainian soldiers in Poland, after President Joe Biden appeared to suggest such a mission was underway while clarifying a previous gaffe made last week.

Russia, China condemn Western sanctions on Moscow

Foreign Ministers from Russia and China on Wednesday condemned what they called illegal and counter productive Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its action in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

All Russia’s big exports could soon be in roubles: Kremlin

The Kremlin indicated on Wednesday that all of Russia’s energy and commodity exports could be priced in roubles, toughening President Vladimir Putin’s attempt to make the West feel the pain of the sanctions it imposed for the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia to ‘radically’ reduce military activity around Kyiv

Russia promised on Tuesday to scale down military operations around Kyiv and northern Ukraine as a confidence-building step, in the most tangible sign yet of progress towards negotiating an end to the war.

Omicron ‘stealth’ COVID variant now dominant globally

A sub-variant of the highly transmissible Omicron version of coronavirus known as BA.2 is now dominant worldwide, prompting surges in many countries in Europe and Asia and raising concern over the potential for a new wave in the United States.

Ukraine insists on ‘territorial integrity’ before Russia talks

Ukraine and Russia were preparing on Monday for the first face-to-face peace talks in more than two weeks, with Kyiv insisting it would make no concessions on ceding territory despite Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier suggesting Ukraine was prepared to discuss adopting a neutral status as part of a peace deal with Russia.

China to host meeting of Foreign Ministers in Afghanistan, flunks India

China will host the 3rd meeting of the foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries on March 30-31, the Chinese foreign ministry announced on Monday as Beijing and “all-weather ally” Pakistan firm up their influence in the Taliban-ruled country.

Oscars 2022: Deaf family drama ‘CODA’ wins prize for best picture

CODA,” a heartwarming movie about a deaf family with a hearing daughter, won a landmark best picture prize at the Oscars on Sunday.

Russia aims to split Ukraine: Intelligence Chief

Russia wants to split Ukraine into two, as happened with North and South Korea, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief said on Sunday, vowing “total” guerrilla warfare to prevent a carve-up of the country.

Pakistan opposition starts anti-gov’t march

Thousands of people started marching to the Pakistani capital Islamabad, Monday in a show of opposition to Prime Minister Imran Khan who is expected to face a vote of no confidence next week.

Israel and US to work together to prevent nuclear Iran

Israel and the United States will cooperate in preventing a nuclear-armed Iran despite disagreements they have over an emerging nuclear deal, Israel’s foreign minister Yair Lapid said on Sunday.

Russia signals scaled-back war aims as Ukrainians advance near Kyiv

Moscow signaled on Friday it was scaling back its ambitions in Ukraine to focus on territory claimed by Russian-backed separatists as Ukrainian forces went on the offensive, recapturing territory on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv.

N.Korea has ‘likely more in store’ after missile test: White House

North Korea likely has “more in store” after successfully test-firing its largest-ever intercontinental ballistic missile this week, a top White House official said Friday.

Biden warns China against siding with Russia

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday said that China knows its economic future is tied to the West, after warning Chinese leader Xi Jinping that Beijing could regret siding with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine claims it destroyed Russian ships in occupied port

Ukraine said its armed forces had destroyed the Russian landing ship “Orsk” near the Russian-occupied Ukrainian port of Berdyansk on the Azov Sea. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said the ship was capable of carrying 45 armoured personnel carriers and 400 people. Reuters was unable to verify the report.

US attempts to freeze Russia’s gold reserves – media

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet this week with a bipartisan group of senators to discuss the opportunity of freezing Russia’s $132 billion in gold reserves, an American news website Axios reported.

Russia gets Chinese backing to stay in G20

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to attend the next G20 summit in Indonesia later this year and received valuable backing from Beijing on Wednesday in a pushback to suggestions by some members that Russia could be barred from the group.

One of two black boxes of crashed China Airliner found

Chinese searchers found one of two black boxes from a China Eastern Airlines (600115.SS) flight carrying 132 people. The plane crashed in forest-clad mountains on Wednesday the aviation regulator said.

Ukraine on brink of surving war:Zelenskiy

Ukraine is on the brink of surviving its war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address to the Italian parliament on Tuesday warning Russian forces want to break in to Europe.

Russia receiving weather data from ‘western’ countries

Russian agencies are continuing to receive nearly instantaneous meteorological data from Western and other governments, which some weapons experts say could be used to plan a chemical or biological attack in Ukraine, Reuters reported Tuesday.

Kremlin critic Navalny sentenced to further 9 years in jail

Jailed Kremlin critic and Russian opposition activist Alexey Navalny was sentenced to a further 9 years in a maximum security prison by a Russian court, Tuesday.