- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
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- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
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- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
Australia slams China 'lifeline' to Russia
Australia on Friday pilloried China's failure to denounce the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as Beijing's "unacceptable" decision to ease restrictions on a key Russian export in the face of Western sanctions.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the world must unite to condemn Russia, voicing particular concern "at the lack of a strong response from China".
Beijing announced Thursday that it would import more Russian wheat, in stark contrast to Western countries rolling out sanctions on the Kremlin and its allies.
"You don't go to throw a lifeline to Russia in the middle of a period when they are invading another country. That is simply unacceptable," Morrison said.
Russia produces around a quarter of the world's wheat, according to UN data, a trade worth billions of US dollars a year.
Ukraine produces a further 10 percent of world supply and there are concerns that war and sanctions will strangle production and fuel already high food prices globally.
China had previously only allowed wheat imports from a handful of areas in Russia, citing disease concerns.
The deal announced by China's General Administration of Customs on Thursday, which was reportedly agreed when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing in February, allows for imports from more regions.
China has urged dialogue and expressed sympathy for what it calls the Kremlin's "reasonable" security concerns around Ukraine.
Western powers on the other hand have denounced Putin's actions wholesale -- sanctioning banks, oligarchs and government officials.
India -- a major purchaser of Russian weapons -- has also so far refrained from condemning Moscow's actions, but Morrison did not mention New Delhi.
Relations between China and Australia are at their lowest ebb in a generation.
The two sides have engaged in rhetorical tit-for-tat denunciations and Beijing has placed extensive trade sanctions on Australian goods -- though Australian wheat has so far avoided the chopping block.
Morrison has put China and national security firmly at the centre of his campaign for re-election in a vote expected this May.
The conservative leader trails in the polls to the opposition centre-left Labor Party, led by Anthony Albanese.
A.Levy--CPN