Reuters: World

Russia says it won't accept oil price cap and is preparing response Russia "will not accept" a price cap on its oil and is analysing how to respond, the Kremlin said in comments reported on Saturday, in response to a deal by Western powers aimed at limiting a key source of funding for its war in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had made preparations for Friday's price cap announcement by the Group of Seven nations, the European Union and Australia, the Russian state news agency TASS reported. "We will not accept this cap," RIA news agency quoted him as saying. He added that Russia would conduct a rapid analysis of the agreement and respond after that, RIA reported. read more

G7 coalition agrees $60 per barrel price cap for Russian oil The Group of Seven (G7) nations and Australia on Friday said they had agreed a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil after European Union members overcame resistance from Poland and hammered out a political agreement earlier in the day. The EU agreed the price after holdout Poland gave its support, paving the way for formal approval over the weekend. The G7 and Australia said in a statement the price cap would take effect on Dec. 5 or very soon thereafter. The nations said they anticipated that any revision of the price would include a form of grandfathering to allow compliant transactions concluded before the change. read more

Ukraine war shows Europe too reliant on U.S., Finland PM says Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shown that Europe is too reliant on the United States for its own security, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Friday. Speaking at a think tank in Sydney, Australia, Marin advocated boosting Europe's defence capabilities, including arms production. "I must be brutally honest with you, Europe isn't strong enough right now. We would be in trouble without the United States," Marin told an audience at the Lowy Institute. She added she had spoken with many U.S. politicians who had said they think Europe should be stronger. read more

Northrop Grumman unveils B-21 nuclear bomber for U.S. Air Force Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) on Friday rolled out its new B-21 "Raider" jet, the first of a new fleet of long-range stealth nuclear bombers for the United States Air Force. The B-21 was unveiled during a dramatic ceremony at Northrop's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, offering members of the public the first look at the new bomber. The B-21, which carries a similar "flying wing" shape to its predecessor, the B-2, will be able to deliver both conventional and nuclear weapons around the world using long-range and mid-air refueling capabilities. read more

Russia 'open' to talks on Ukraine but presses demands after Biden comment Russian President Vladimir Putin is "open to negotiations" on Ukraine but the West must accept Moscow's demands, the Kremlin said on Friday, a day after U.S. President Joe Biden said he was willing to talk if Putin were looking for a way to end the war. Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron said after talks at the White House on Thursday that they would hold Russia to account for its actions in Ukraine but the U.S. president also appeared to hold out an olive branch to Moscow while stressing he saw no sign of any change in Putin's stance. Biden has not spoken directly with Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. In March, Biden branded Putin a "butcher" who "cannot stay in power". read more

Japan, Britain and Italy to announce joint fighter project as early as next week - sources Japan, Britain and Italy will announce a groundbreaking agreement as early as next week to jointly develop a new advanced jet fighter, two sources with knowledge of the plan told Reuters. For Tokyo and London it represents the culmination of ever closer defence ties, which in turn give Britain a bigger security role in Asia and provide Japan with new security partners that can help it counter neighbouring China's growing military power. The push to merge the British led Tempest jet fighter project with Japan's F-X fighter programme was first reported by Reuters in July. It will be the first time that Japan has collaborated with countries beyond the United States on a major defence equipment project. read more

Israel's Netanyahu reaches coalition deal with far-right Religious Zionism party Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu reached a coalition deal with the far-right Religious Zionism party, bringing him closer to securing a new government after an election last month, Netanyahu's Likud party said on Thursday. Religious Zionism will be given control of the Finance Ministry as part of a rotation, Likud said, though it did not lay out how the rotation would work. It will also have strong influence over policies in the occupied West Bank and the country's justice system. The deal nets Netanyahu control of 46 of the Knesset's 120 seats so far. Israel's Army Radio reported that Bezalel Smotrich, 42, who heads Religious Zionism, would serve as finance minister at the outset and will then be replaced. read more

Ukraine says Russia pulls back forces from river towns opposite Kherson Ukraine's military on Thursday said Russia had pulled some troops from towns on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River from Kherson city, the first official Ukrainian report of a Russian withdrawal on what is now the main front line in the south. The statement gave only limited details and made no mention of any Ukrainian forces having crossed the Dnipro. Since Russia abandoned Kherson, nine months into its invasion of Ukraine, the river now forms the entire southern stretch of the front. Russia has already told civilians to leave towns within 15 km of the river and withdrawn its civilian administration from the city of Nova Kakhovka on the bank. read more

U.S. appeals court rejects Biden's bid to revive student debt plan A federal appeals court on Wednesday declined to put on hold a Texas judge's ruling that said President Joe Biden's plan to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt was unlawful. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Biden administration's request to pause a judge's Nov. 10 order vacating the $400 billion student debt relief program in a lawsuit pursued by a conservative advocacy group. The decision by Fort Worth, Texas-based U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman was one of two nationally that has prevented the U.S. Department of Education under the Democratic president from moving forward with granting debt relief to millions of borrowers. read more

Elon Musk expects Neuralink to begin human trials in six months Elon Musk said on Wednesday a wireless device developed by his brain chip company Neuralink is expected to begin human clinical trials in six months, and one of its first targeted applications is restoring vision. The company is developing brain chip interfaces that it says could enable disabled patients to move and communicate again. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area and Austin, Texas, Neuralink has in recent years been conducting tests on animals as it seeks U.S. regulatory approval to begin clinical trials in people. "We want to be extremely careful and certain that it will work well before putting a device into a human but we've submitted I think most of our paperwork to the FDA and we think probably in about six months we should be able to have our first Neuralink in a human," Musk said during a much-awaited public update on the device. read more

South Korea scrambles jets as China, Russia warplanes enter air defence zone South Korea's military said it scrambled fighter jets as two Chinese and six Russian warplanes entered its air defence zone on Wednesday. The two Chinese H-6 bombers repeatedly entered and left the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ) off South Korea's southern and northeast coasts starting at around 5:50 a.m. (2050 GMT Tuesday), Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. They re-entered the zone hours later from the Sea of Japan, known in South Korea as the East Sea, together with the Russian warplanes, including TU-95 bombers and SU-35 fighter jets, and left after 18 minutes in the KADIZ, the JCS said. China and Russia have previously said their warplanes were conducting regular joint exercises. read more

Trump 'unlikely' to be president after hosting Fuentes, top Republican McConnell suggests The top two Republicans in the U.S. Congress broke their silence on Tuesday about former President Donald Trump's dinner last week with white supremacist Nick Fuentes, saying the Republican Party has no place for antisemitism or white supremacy. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Representative Kevin McCarthy, who may become speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives when Republicans take control in January, had not commented previously on the Nov. 22 meeting. Trump began his 2024 bid for the White House on Nov. 15, and is Republican voters' top choice, according to opinion polls. read more