Russian, US defence ministers speak by phone

Russian officials say Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and US counterpart Lloyd Austin have spoken over the phone.

Biden US President Joe Biden says the managers of two banks will be fired and investors will lose money.
Biden says US banking system ‘safe’ after SVB collapse

US President Joe Biden says the government’s swift actions to help depositors in two banks should give the public confidence the US banking system is safe.

Russia intercepts and stikes US drone

A Russian fighter jet struck the propeller of a US military spy drone, causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to crash into the Black Sea, US officials say.

Xi could visit Putin, speak to Zelenskiy ‘next week’

Media reports suggest Chinese President Xi Jinping may visit Russia and speak with the Ukrainian president.

Trump cannot exclude ‘Access Hollywood’ tape from rape accuser’s trial

A U.S. judge on Friday rejected Donald Trump’s effort to exclude an “Access Hollywood” tape of him making vulgar comments about women from a defamation lawsuit by the writer E. Jean Carroll, who says the former president raped her in the mid-1990s.

China’s Xi secures record third term as president

Xi Jinping has tightened his grip as China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong after being elected president for a third term.

France, Britain strike migration deal paving way for new entente

Britain will pay France around 480 million pounds ($577 million) over three years to try to stop migrants travelling in small boats across the Channel as the two allies on Friday took a major step to end years of bickering in the post-Brexit era.