Reuters

Venediktov, who is deputy to Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, a powerful Putin ally, said he felt Ukraine's application was propaganda as the West understood the consequences of Ukrainian membership of NATO.

Recruitment events were held in the Philippines, India and other countries at the end of September, the spokesperson said.

Rolling COVID-19 lockdowns have been blamed for dramatically slowing China's economic growth, shutting it off from the rest of the world and denting investors' appetite to buy into Chinese assets.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) flagged on Thursday challenges from rising inflationary costs next year and cut its capital expenditure for 2022 to around $36 billion.

North Korea has finished all technical preparations for a new test in the underground tunnels at the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test site, which has been shuttered since 2018.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made the remarks affirming America's commitment to NATO's collective defense following repeated nuclear threats by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Israel's Redefine Meat has struck a partnership with importer Giraudi Meats to drive European distribution of its "New Meat" steak cuts produced on 3D printers, it said on Thursday.

Indonesian state companies, including Wijaya Karya and PT KAI, control 60% of KCIC, while China Railway Engineering Corporation and other Chinese companies control the rest. The project is funded by a loan from China Development Bank.

Japan is ready to take "decisive" action against rapid yen declines and is focusing on volatility rather than levels in deciding whether to intervene again, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said.

Shares in Toshiba Corp on Thursday surged on a report that a domestic investor-led group was looking at a $19 billion bid - a potential deal that would likely lead to foreign activist shareholders being bought out after years of tension.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday appealed to international donors to increase their financial support, saying more money was needed to rebuild schools and homes destroyed by months of Russian bombardment.

Europe will more rapidly reduce its reliance on natural gas as a result of the war in Ukraine, replacing Russian energy and boosting the continent's security of supply, Norway-based consultancy DNV predicted on Wednesday.

Israelis are as fed-up with soaring prices as they are with the country's seemingly never ending elections.

The Biden administration is weighing restricting imports of Russian aluminum as it charts possible responses to Moscow's military escalation in Ukraine, a person briefed on the conversations told Reuters.

Australia wants to strike an "ambitious" security treaty with neighbour Papua New Guinea that will see navy, airforce and army personnel from each nation working alongside each other more often, Defence Minister Richard Marles said in Port Moresby on Thursday.

For companies playing with virtual reality as disparate as plane-maker Boeing Co and online-gaming platform Roblox Corp, forays into the so-called "metaverse" have come with equal parts promise and peril.

Iranians kept up anti-government protests on Wednesday despite an increasingly deadly state crackdown, social media reports showed, as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed the demonstrations as "scattered riots" planned by Iran's enemies.

The head of European planemaker Airbus on Wednesday reaffirmed a target of delivering a total of 700 aircraft in 2022 - a task he said was necessary to reach a separate monthly production target of 65 narrowbody jets in early 2024.

France will deliver radar and air defence systems to Ukraine in the coming weeks, in particular to help Ukraine protest itself from drone and missile attacks, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday.

Ukraine urged civilians on Tuesday not to use domestic appliances like ovens and washing machines to save electricity as millions faced blackouts after the biggest Russian attack on its energy network since war broke out.

Taiwan began welcoming back visitors on Thursday after finally ending mandatory quarantines to control the spread of COVID-19, with gifts of cuddly toy black bears for the first tour group that stepped off the plane shortly after midnight.

Global investors and banks have been voicing confusion about their efforts to convert depositary receipts of Russian companies into ordinary shares in compliance with a new Russian law, according to advisors and client communications from the banks.

Qantas Airways Ltd surprised the market with a stronger-than-expected profit forecast on Thursday that underscored how Asian airlines are recovering from the pandemic at vastly different paces as demand rebounds.

European Central Bank policymakers are closing in on a deal to change rules governing trillions of euros worth of loans to banks in a move that will shave tens of billions of euros off in potential banking profits, sources close to the discussion said.

Finance leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies said on Wednesday they will closely monitor "recent volatility" in markets, and reaffirmed their commitment that excessive exchange-rate moves were undesirable.

The United States on Wednesday said it will boost support for the Haitian police as they battle armed gangs and will speed up delivery of aid to a country suffering from crippling shortages of basic goods due to a gang blockade of a key fuel terminal.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday said the global economy was facing "significant headwinds" and the United States was working to shore up its supply chains and guard against "geopolitical coercion" by Russia, China and others.

U.S. and Mexican officials have agreed to a plan to curb rising numbers of Venezuelans crossing their shared border that will enable the United States to expel Venezuelans to Mexico while also granting humanitarian access to thousands of them by air.

The U.S. is scrambling to tackle unintended consequences of its new export curbs on China's chip industry that could inadvertently harm the semiconductor supply chain, people familiar with the matter said.