- Japan PM slated to announce plans for 'happiness index'
- Turkish inflation falls less than expected in September at 49.4%
- Easing inflation lifts profit at UK supermarket Tesco
- Skiing calls on UN climate science to combat melting future
- China wine industry looks to breed climate resilience
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong drops after surge
- Dutch airline KLM unveils 'firm' cost-cutting measures
- Carpe diem: the Costa Rican women turning fish into fashion
- Senegal looks to aquaculture as fish stocks dwindle
- Will AI one day win a Nobel Prize?
- Climate change, economics muddy West's drive to curb Chinese EVs
- Argentina's Milei vetoes university budget after huge protests
- TotalEnergies plans to grow oil and gas production until 2030
- 2024 Nobels offer glimmer of hope as global crises mount
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong reverses after surge
- Tunisia readies for vote as incumbent Saied eyes victory
- High childcare costs in US weigh on women's employment
- US voters seek help with crushing childcare costs
- Taiwan shuts down for second day as Typhoon Krathon to land
- Supercharged storms: how climate change amplifies cyclones
- Biden official urges talks as US port strike enters second day
- Huge protests in Argentina over public university cuts
- Rally in oil prices loses steam on mixed day for global stocks
- South America treated to rare 'ring of fire' eclipse
- Biden official says port strike deal not as far as parties think
- Mexico's new president offers apology for 1968 student massacre
- Historic funding round values OpenAI at $157 billion
- Mixed US car sales in Q3 as industry hopes for post-election bounce
- Thunderstorms are a 'boiling pot' of gamma rays, scientists find
- Scientists unlock secret of 'Girl With Pearl Earring'
- Dolphins flash friendly grins when they're ready to play
- Facing backlash, EU moves to delay deforestation rules
- US private sector adds more jobs than expected in September: ADP
- Boys out of critical condition after Zurich stabbings
- Spain logs record summer tourism as inflow draws protests
- Hedi Slimane quits as Celine's artistic director
- Oil prices extend rally on Iran attack
- Spain welcomed record number of tourists this summer
- France says coming tax hikes on the wealthy to be 'temporary'
- Why are Thailand's roads so deadly?
- Oracle to invest $6.5 bn in Malaysian cloud services region
- Parkrun marks 20 years of a free weekly jog, run... or walk
- Oil extends rally after Iran attack, Hong Kong soars again
- Prostitutes, prospectors drive spread in DR Congo mpox capital
- Oil extends rally after Iran attack, Hong Kong resumes surge
- Extreme heat another form of death sentence in Texas jails
- Can music help plants grow? Study suggests sound boosts fungus
- Nike earnings drop, says turnaround will take time
- US dockworkers launch mass strike a month before election
- Iron Dome: Israel's key anti-missile shield
RYCEF | 0.14% | 6.91 | $ | |
RBGPF | 100% | 59.99 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.04% | 24.78 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.04% | 24.93 | $ | |
NGG | -1.85% | 68.78 | $ | |
GSK | -2.15% | 39.45 | $ | |
VOD | -2.16% | 9.74 | $ | |
SCS | -2.56% | 12.87 | $ | |
RIO | -0.48% | 70.82 | $ | |
RELX | -0.11% | 47.29 | $ | |
BCC | -1.33% | 139.53 | $ | |
JRI | -1.12% | 13.38 | $ | |
AZN | 1.14% | 79.58 | $ | |
BTI | -1.33% | 35.97 | $ | |
BCE | -1.13% | 34.44 | $ | |
BP | 0.86% | 32.37 | $ |
Zelensky urges G7 to help end Ukraine war by winter
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday urged world powers to do their utmost to help end Russia's invasion by the end of the year, as G7 leaders planned new sanctions and vowed to support Ukraine "as long as it takes".
US President Joe Biden and his counterparts from the Group of Seven rich nations, meeting for three days in the Bavarian Alps, promised to tighten the economic screws on Moscow over its February 24 invasion.
They also put on a show of unity over Ukraine, even as the fallout from the war intensifies with soaring energy and food prices driving up global inflation.
"We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support and stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes," the G7 said in a statement on the summit's second day.
Addressing the gathering via video-link, Zelensky urged leaders to help end the war before winter sets in and conditions for his troops become tougher.
He urged allies to keep up the pressure and "intensify sanctions" on Moscow, including by imposing an oil price cap to limit Russia's energy revenues.
German Chancellor and summit host Olaf Scholz signalled the G7's readiness to do more, saying "we will continue to increase pressure on (Vladimir) Putin. This war has to come to an end".
Among the new steps being discussed by G7 leaders is the price cap on Russian oil imports sought by Zelensky and sanctions targeting Russia's defence industry.
Washington meanwhile is planning to send Ukraine sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles, a source familiar with the process told AFP.
Zelensky has long asked allies for more powerful defences against Russian attacks.
An announcement is "likely this week" on the purchase of an "advanced medium to long-range surface-to-air missile defence system", the source said.
The summit of the G7 -- which comprises the US, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Japan and Canada -- ends on Tuesday.
It will immediately be followed by a meeting of NATO countries in Spain, where Ukraine is again expected to dominate the agenda.
- 'Toughest days' -
Since failing to capture Kyiv early in the war, Russian troops have focused on the eastern Donbas region where they have been gaining ground.
Two women were killed by Russian bombardments on the north-eastern Kharkiv region over the past 24 hours, a local official said on Monday.
Russian shelling also continued in and around the eastern city of Lysychansk, after Russian forces at the weekend took full control of its twin city and industrial hub Severodonetsk following weeks of fierce fighting.
"Lysychansk and nearby villages are living their toughest days. Russians destroy everything on their way," said Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday.
Taking Lysychansk would give Russia control of the entire Lugansk region in the Donbas.
- 'Safe return' -
With concerns growing over the fate of Ukrainians in occupied areas, G7 leaders told Moscow it must "immediately allow the safe return" of citizens taken to Russia against their will.
The grouping also voiced "serious concern" over Putin's weekend announcement that Russia will deliver missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads to Belarus in the coming months.
"We urge Russia to behave responsibly and exercise restraint," it said.
Kyiv meanwhile was reeling from the first Russian strikes on the capital in three weeks. A missile attack struck a residential building early on Sunday, Ukraine said, leaving one person dead.
Russia denied it had hit a civilian target, however, saying its forces had struck the Artyom weapons factory in the neighbourhood.
Moldova's President Maia Sandu visited neighbouring Ukraine on Monday.
Her country, one of Europe's poorest, has taken in tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.
Both nations received candidate status from the European Union last week, although the path to bloc membership is set to take years.
- Gold, oil, tariffs -
G7 members kicked off their gathering on Sunday by announcing a plan to ban imports of Russian gold, the latest in a series of sanctions aimed at punishing Putin.
A senior US official on Monday said the G7 had also made progress on talks for a price cap on Russian oil.
The move would have the twin goals of starving the Kremlin of a key revenue stream for its war machine, while forcing down the price of Russian oil in the hope of reining in inflation, the official said.
European Council President Charles Michel however said on Sunday that all 27 member states would have to agree to such a price cap, which would require tweaking existing sanctions.
Biden and his G7 counterparts will also unveil new sanctions designed to hamper Russia's ability to resupply its weaponry, a senior US official said.
The leaders likewise share the view that money collected from higher trade tariffs imposed on Russian exports should be funnelled as aid to Ukraine "to ensure that Russia pays for the cost of its war", the official added.
- Food crisis -
One of the most worrying spillover effects of the war has been the threat of food shortages in vulnerable countries, as Russia's blockade of key ports holds up vital Ukrainian cereal exports.
With millions of tonnes of grain trapped in silos, concerns are growing that African nations highly reliant on Ukrainian deliveries could face famine.
"We urgently call on Russia to cease... enable free passage of agricultural shipping from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea," G7 leaders said.
Russia denies being responsible for the delivery disruptions and says Western sanctions are to blame.
Non-G7 countries Argentina, India, Indonesia, Senegal and South Africa have also joined the summit.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who will host a G20 summit in November, said he would also visit Ukraine and Russia in the coming days to ask Putin and Zelensky to open a dialogue for peace.
Indonesia, like most major emerging economies, has tried to maintain a neutral position, and Widodo has not bowed to Western pressure to exclude Putin from the November meeting.
M.Mendoza--CPN