World

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Russia said today that it was counting on China to help it withstand the blow to its economy from Western sanctions, which it said had frozen nearly half of its gold and foreign currency reserves.

LVIV, Ukraine, (Reuters) – Ukraine accused Russian forces yesterday of killing seven civilians in an attack on women and children trying to flee fighting near Kyiv, and France said Russian President Vladimir Putin had shown he was not ready to make peace.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The United States yesterday said it would rush up to $200 million in additional small arms, anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons to Ukraine, as Ukrainian officials pleaded for more equipment to defend against heavy shelling by Russian forces.

BERLIN, (Reuters) – Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder met Russian President Vladimir Putin for several hours on Thursday evening in a bid to end the war in Ukraine, Germany’s Bild am Sonntag (BamS) reported, although it was unclear what was achieved.

(Reuters) – A Belgian animal shelter has taken in two young lions evacuated from Ukraine, who it says Russian troops had threatened to shoot when they encountered them outside Kyiv.

RIYADH, (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia executed 81 men including seven Yemenis and one Syrian yesterday, the interior ministry said, in the kingdom’s biggest mass execution in decades.

(University of Copenhagen) – We can now decode pigs’ emotions. Using thousands of acoustic recordings gathered throughout the lives of pigs, from their births to deaths, an international team of researchers is the first in the world to translate pig grunts into actual emotions across an extended number of conditions and life stages.

(newatlas.com) – A fascinating new proof-of-concept study from a team of researchers in France suggests trained ants could be effective at detecting cancer in humans.

(Grist.Org) – The Amazon rainforest, one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems and a major absorber of carbon dioxide, is losing its ability to recover from disturbances such as deforestation, fire, and drought, according to new research published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

(Reuters) – Scientists have discovered that a type of giant tortoise present on one of Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands is not from the species it was previously thought to be, Galapagos National Park said.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – The United States today said it would rush up to $200 million in additional small arms, anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons to Ukraine, as Ukrainian officials pleaded for more equipment to defend against heavy shelling by Russian forces.

LVIV, Ukraine,  (Reuters) – Fighting raged near Kyiv today and heavy shelling in other areas threatened new attempts to evacuate trapped civilians as France said Russian President Vladimir Putin showed no readiness to end the war in Ukraine.

RIYADH, (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia executed 81 men today, including seven Yemenis and one Syrian, for terrorism and other offences including holding “deviant beliefs”, authorities said, in the biggest mass execution in decades.

GENEVA, (Reuters) – A Russian law giving Moscow stronger powers to crack down on independent journalism is placing Russia under a “total information blackout” on the war in Ukraine, U.N.

BERGAMO, Italy,  (Reuters) – Italian police have seized a superyacht owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko, the prime minister’s office said o, a few days after the businessman was placed on an EU sanctions list following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

LVIV, Ukraine, (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said yesterday Ukraine was at a “strategic turning point” in the war as Russian forces bombarded cities across the country and appeared to be regrouping for a possible assault on Kyiv, with satellite images showing them firing artillery as they closed in on the capital.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – The United States yesterday imposed sanctions on Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, three family members of President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson and lawmakers in the latest punishment for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

FRANKFURT,  (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE, which faced stinging criticism from some investors and politicians for its ongoing ties to Russia, said today in a surprise move that it would wind down its business in the country.

LVIV, Ukraine,  (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said today Ukraine had reached a “strategic turning point” in the conflict with Russia, but Russian forces bombarded cities across the country and appeared to be regrouping for a possible assault on the capital Kyiv.

FRANKFURT,  (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE, which faced stinging criticism from some investors and politicians for its ongoing ties to Russia, said today in a surprise move that it would wind down its business in the country.