WORLD

Russia has been falling back in its offensive -- but in Bakhmut, unlike across most of the front line, Ukrainians are on the defensive.

The timing couldn't be worse for policymakers in Beijing, as the economy wobbles under the weight of global recession risks, surging commodity costs, rising geopolitical tension and widespread COVID-19 lockdowns at home.

Several blasts hit the district after 8 a.m. (0500 GMT), when many people rush to work or school, just over an hour after the first wave of explosions hit some residential buildings.

Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Tonga - the only Pacific Island nations with militaries - are members, as are New Zealand, France, Australia and Chile.

Portugal is one a handful of EU member states -- along with Belgium and Sweden -- to have renounced coal as an energy source.

The attacks come exactly a week after Russia unleashed a massive wave of missile strikes on the Ukrainian capital and cities across the country.

Foreign ministers from the bloc's 27 members states are expected to sign off on the decisions at a meeting in Luxembourg and diplomats say the mission should become operational next month.

Authorities said Turkish prosecutors have launched an investigation into the cause of the incident but initial indications were that the blast was caused by firedamp, a term referring to methane in coal mines.

Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, responded that it will not back down on its sovereignty or compromise on freedom and democracy.

Although China has 1.4 billion people, the most in the world, its births are set to fall to record lows this year.

The city of Shire in northwest Tigray has been bombarded for several days in a joint offensive by Ethiopian and Eritrean troops, with civilian casualties reported in the push against rebels from the war-torn region.

A day after OPEC+ oil producers last week announced output cuts over U.S. objections, Biden vowed to impose "consequences" on Saudi Arabia for siding with Russia in supporting the cuts.

President Emmanuel Macron's government is facing mounting social unrest due to high inflation, with thousands protesting on Sunday against soaring prices and several trade unions calling for a general strike.

Bakhmut has been a target of Russia's armed forces in their slow move through the region since taking the key industrial towns of Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk in June and July.

Already bitter, divisive and full of mud-slinging, the campaign has if anything veered further into negative territory since the first-round vote.

The drills, due to end on Saturday, are the latest in a series of military exercises by South Korea in recent weeks, including joint activities with the United States and Japan.

Queen Consort Camilla will award the coveted prize at the televised ceremony, in one of her highest-profile appearances since her husband King Charles III ascended the throne last month.

It was not clear why authorities had dropped the case - a decision that one of the sources said was taken late on Thursday.

The leaders are set to meet on Oct. 20-21, days after the European Commission intends to propose measures to tackle an energy crisis that is driving inflation and damaging economies across the bloc.

The presidency, traditionally occupied by a Kurd, is a largely ceremonial position, but the vote for Rashid was a key step toward forming a new government, which politicians have failed to do since the election.

Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said the two nations worked together to seize 32,000 weapons this year and credited the effort with a 9.2 percent drop in homicides inside his country.

Commissioner Stefano De Santis, a financial crimes specialist, testified for the second consecutive day as a prosecution witness against Cardinal Angelo Becciu, once the third-most powerful person in the Vatican and now among 10 defendants on trial on charges of corruption and other financial crimes.

The jury deliberated for a full day on Wednesday and briefly on Thursday before deciding that Cruz should receive life in prison with no chance of parole for the February 2018 murders of 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Spanish Finance Minister Nadia Calvino, elected in January to head the IMF's steering committee, hinted at a "tectonic shift" in the principles that have guided the global world order since the end of World War Two.

One hundred years on, the British Broadcasting Corporation is a global media giant. But its centenary comes at a time of drastic budget cuts that have raised questions about its future.

China and Japan are exceptions, where the economic recovery has been weaker, slack remains substantial and inflation has not risen as sharply as elsewhere, said Krishna Srinivasan, director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department.

South Korea's National Security Council (NSC) condemned the North for escalating tensions, calling its moves a violation of a 2018 bilateral military pact that bans "hostile acts" in the border area.

As Xi Jinping prepares to extend his tenure as China's leader at next week's Communist Party Congress, he faces once-in-a-generation economic challenges and decisions that will significantly shape the lives of the country's 1.4 billion people.

Analysts say the company has toned down the hype a bit as it struggles to reach its goal of creating an interactive virtual world that it sees as the next phase of online activity.