Reuters: World

Zelenskiy joins Japan G7 as democracies take aim at Russia and China Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy brought his call for support against Russia's invasion to a Group of Seven (G7) summit on Saturday to Japan, where leaders agreed to tighten sanctions against Moscow and pare back exposure to China. The Ukrainian president's attendance at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, the first city to suffer a nuclear attack, put in sharp relief western concerns over the nuclear threat posed by Russia. Leaders of the G7 - the U.S., Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada - are grappling with the challenges posed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and tensions with China, notably over economic security and Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its own. read more

India to withdraw 2,000-rupee notes from circulation India will start withdrawing its highest value currency notes from circulation, the central bank said on Friday, in a move that economists said could boost bank deposits at a time of high credit growth. The withdrawal of 2,000-rupee ($24.5) notes - which the finance ministry's top official, T.V Somanathan, said would not cause disruption "either in normal life or in the economy" - also comes ahead of elections in four large states at the end of the year and a national ballot in spring 2024. Most of India's political parties are believed to hoard cash in high denomination bills to fund election campaign expenses to get around tough spending limits imposed by the Election Commission. read more

G7 steps up Russia sanctions, seeks to reduce China trade dependency Leaders of the world's richest democracies agreed on Friday to stiffen sanctions against Russia, while a draft communique to be issued after their talks in the Japanese city of Hiroshima stressed the need to reduce reliance on trade with China. The Group of Seven (G7) leaders, who will be joined this weekend by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, vowed to restrict any exports to Russia that could help it in its 15-month war against Ukraine. "This includes exports of industrial machinery, tools, and other technology that Russia uses to rebuild its war machine," they said in a joint statement released on Friday, adding they would pursue moves to restrict Russian revenues from trade in metals and diamonds. read more

China's Xi unveils grand development plan with Central Asia allies China's President Xi Jinping on Friday unveiled an ambitious plan to help elevate Central Asia to the next level of its development - from building infrastructure networks to boosting trade - while shunning "external interference" at the same time. China stands ready to synergise development strategies with the five Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and make joint efforts to promote the modernisation of all six countries, said Xi in an address at the China-Central Asia Summit in northwest China. "The world needs a Central Asia that is stable, prosperous, harmonious, and well-connected," Xi said. At the same time, the six countries should oppose "external interference" in the internal affairs of regional countries and attempts to instigate "colour revolutions", and maintain a zero-tolerance stance against terrorism, separatism and extremism, Xi warned. read more

Exclusive: Pentagon accounting error overvalued Ukraine weapons aid by $3 billion The Pentagon overestimated the value of the ammunition, missiles and other equipment it sent to Ukraine by around $3 billion, a Senate aide and a defense official said on Thursday, an error that may lead the way for more weapons being sent to Kyiv for its defense against Russian forces. The error was the result of assigning a higher than warranted value on weaponry that was taken from U.S. stocks and then shipped to Ukraine, two senior defense officials said on Thursday. "We've discovered inconsistencies in how we value the equipment that we've given" to Ukraine one of the senior defense officials told Reuters. The officials and the Senate aide spoke on the condition of anonymity. Congress is being notified of the accounting adjustment on Thursday, the sources said. read more

Russia says hypersonic missile scientists face 'very serious' treason accusations Three Russian academics who have worked on hypersonic missile technology face "very serious accusations", the Kremlin said on Wednesday, in a treason investigation that has spread alarm through Russia's scientific community. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was aware of an open letter from Siberian scientists in defence of the men, but that the case was a matter for the security services. In the letter, published on Monday, colleagues of Anatoly Maslov, Alexander Shiplyuk and Valery Zvegintsev protested their innocence and said the prosecutions threatened to inflict grave damage on Russian science. read more

Eight dead and thousands evacuated as floods batter northern Italy At least eight people died and thousands were evacuated from their homes as torrential rain battered Italy's northern Emilia-Romagna region, triggering widespread floods, officials said on Wednesday. Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci said some areas had received half their average annual rainfall in just 36 hours, causing rivers to burst their banks, sending water cascading through towns and submerging thousands of acres of farmland. Eight bodies had been retrieved from various locations, the vice president of Emilia-Romagna, Irene Priolo, told reporters, adding that the rains were easing but that river levels were still rising. This weekend's Formula One race in Imola, which is close to many of the worst-hit areas, was called off after the government said the emergency services had to concentrate on the rescue operation. read more

Patriot missile defense system in Ukraine likely damaged - US sources A U.S.-made Patriot missile defense system being used by Ukraine likely suffered some damage from a Russian strike, two U.S. officials said on Tuesday, adding that it did not appear to have been destroyed. The Patriot system is one of an array of sophisticated air defense units supplied by the West to help Ukraine repel a Russian campaign of air strikes that has targeted critical infrastructure, power facilities and other sites. One U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity and citing initial information, said Washington and Kyiv were already talking about the best way to repair the system and at this point it did not appear the system would have to be removed from Ukraine. read more

Biden, McCarthy hopeful on debt ceiling deal, US president cuts Asia trip short Democratic President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy edged closer to a deal to avoid a looming U.S. debt default Tuesday, as the threat of an economic nightmare prompted Biden to cut short an Asia trip this week. After an hour of talks, McCarthy, the speaker of the House of Representatives, told reporters the two sides remained far apart on an agreement to lift the debt ceiling. But he said, "It is possible to get a deal by the end of the week. It's not that difficult to get to an agreement." Democrats were not as positive about a quick time frame, but the White House called the meetings "productive and direct." read more

US special counsel faults FBI's handling of 2016 Trump-Russia probe The FBI lacked "actual evidence" to investigate Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and relied too heavily on tips provided by Trump's political opponents to fuel the probe, U.S. Special Counsel John Durham concluded in a report released on Monday. The report marks the end of a four-year probe launched in May 2019 when then-Attorney General William Barr appointed Durham, a veteran prosecutor, to probe potential missteps by the FBI when it launched its early stage "Crossfire Hurricane" inquiry into potential contacts between Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. That Crossfire Hurricane investigation would later be handed over to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who in March 2019 concluded there was no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. read more

Russia denounces Macron over China comments Russian officials on Monday denounced comments by French President Emmanuel Macron that Moscow was becoming subservient to China, saying Western countries must get used to a world underpinned by the Kremlin's close ties with Beijing. The Russian criticism focused on an interview Macron gave to the Paris daily l'Opinion in which he decried the Kremlin's isolation brought on by its invasion of Ukraine more than 14 months ago. "(Russia) has de facto started a form of vasallisation with China and has lost access to the Baltic that was critical to it as it has precipitated the decision by Sweden and Finland to join Nato," Macron was quoted as saying in the daily. "This was unthinkable two years ago." read more

Belarus PM replaces Lukashenko at ceremony, sparks speculation Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has not been seen in public since Tuesday, did not appear on Sunday at a ceremony in the capital, Minsk, triggering speculation that the veteran leader is seriously ill. The BelTA state news agency reported that Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko read a message from Lukashenko during an annual ceremony at which young people swear allegiance to the ex-Soviet state's flag. The agency gave no reason for Lukashenko's absence five days after he appeared unwell and skipped parts of commemorations in Moscow marking the Soviet Union's World War Two victory over Germany. read more