Russian forces stepped up heavy artillery bombardments and air strikes on the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, while President Vladimir Putin has met his commanders in two regions of Ukraine that Moscow claims to have annexed.

The Group of Seven industrial powers drew together yesterday to criticise China’s coercion of Taiwan and Russia’s threat to station nuclear weapons in Belarus, promising to intensify sanctions on Moscow for its war on neighbouring Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu in Moscow on Sunday and both men hailed military cooperation between the two nations, which have declared a “no limits” partnership.

The oldest known work printed on a mechanical press -- a Korean book that predates the first European example by several decades -- went on display in Paris for the first time in 50 years on Wednesday.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under investigation by the parliamentary watchdog over a possible failure to declare shares his wife holds in an agency benefiting from a recent budget, an official said yesterday.

US ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said she found journalist Evan Gershkovich “in good health” when meeting him in prison yesterday for the first time after his arrest on spying charges.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has cancelled the building of new “smart motorways” amid concerns about safety and cost, the Department for Transport said.

The G7 yesterday pledged to quit fossil fuels faster and urged other countries to follow suit, but failed to agree to any new deadlines on ending polluting power sources like coal.

French President Emmanuel Macron signed his controversial pension reform into law yesterday, prompting accusations from unions and the left he was showing “contempt” towards those behind a three-month protest movement.

Germany was scheduled to switch off its last three nuclear reactors yesterday, exiting atomic power even as it seeks to wean itself off fossil fuels and manage an energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.

Moscow said yesterday that Russian forces were “blocking” Ukrainian forces from getting in or out of the frontline hotspot of Bakhmut.

Closing the gender gap in the agriculture and food system, where women still earn less than men, would add $1 trillion to the global economy, a UN report said yesterday.

US President Joe Biden urged political compromise in Northern Ireland yesterday, using a brief visit to promote benefits of enduring peace and investment, but faced criticism from pro-UK hardliners. “I hope the (Northern Ireland) Executive and Assembly

Estonia, a small country in Northern Europe with a population of just 1.3 million, has emerged as a global leader in building a digital society. The country's success in creating a high-tech infrastructure has earned it the nickname "e-Estonia."

At least two migrants have died and around 20 others are missing after their vessel sank in the Mediterranean between Tunisia and Italy, German aid group ResQship told AFP.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview published yesterday that Europe must not be a “follower” of either the US or China on Taiwan, saying that the bloc risks entanglement in “crises that aren’t ours”.

Police and fire officials in the German city of Hamburg warned locals of possible toxins in the air after fires broke out early yesterday at multiple storage facilities.

In the first official visit from Ukraine since the Russian invasion of that country more than a year ago, Ukrainian first Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova will undertake a four-day visit to India from tomorrow to exchange views on the current situation in Ukraine and bilateral relations.

The World Health Organization warned Wednesday that dengue and other diseases caused by mosquito-borne arboviruses were spreading far faster and further amid climate change, warning global outbreaks could be looming. Experts with the United

The sarcophagus of ancient Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II was unveiled to reporters in Paris yesterday following its rare journey outside of Egypt.