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Russian fighter jets have “harassed” American drones over Syria for the third day in a row this week, the U.S. military said. Tension between Russian and U.S. troops is not uncommon in Syria as both countries conduct patrols on the ground as well as overflights. Syria’s 12-year conflict has left half a million people dead and over 1 million wounded. The U.S. military said in a statement that Friday’s encounter lasted for about two hours during which three MQ-9 drones were “once again harassed” by Russian fighter aircraft while flying over Syria.

Russian and Syrian militaries were engaged in a six-day joint military training which ended on Monday, Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria, said earlier this week. Gurinov, in his remarks quoted by the Syrian state media earlier this week, expressed Moscow's apprehension regarding the drone operations conducted by the coalition led by the United States over the northern region of Syria.

PARIS (Reuters) — The U.S. presidential election could trigger a major energy shock if Republicans were to win and decide to halt hydrocarbon exports, Patrick Pouyanné, the chief executive of French oil major TotalEnergies, said on Saturday.

(Reuters) -The United States announced on Friday that it would supply Ukraine with widely banned cluster munitions for its counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces, and NATO's leader said the military alliance would unite at a summit next week on how to bring Ukraine closer to joining.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang's prolonged absence from public view for 12 days has raised concerns and speculation about his well-being. Qin was scheduled to meet with the European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, this month, but China unexpectedly postponed the meeting without providing further information. There have been rumors in Brussels that Qin's absence might be due to health issues, but Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin stated that he had not heard about such reports during a press briefing in Beijing. The official website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry indicates that Qin's last official engagement was on June 25, where he met officials from Sri Lanka, Russia, and Vietnam. On the same day, he also participated in an event alongside Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley. Additionally, a lunch meeting between Qin and ambassadors from the European Union in late June was abruptly canceled, according to an ambassador based in Beijing who was on the invite list.

NATO was created to deter Soviet tanks and missiles in Europe. Now it is also in the business of deterring China’s global ambitions, spurring concern among some members about mission creep and accusations by Beijing of inciting confrontation.

Russia's war in Ukraine as the fighting passed the 500-day mark with no end to the conflict in sight. More than 9,000 civilians, including 500 children, have been killed since Russia's February 24, 2022 invasion, the UN's Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said in a statement on Friday, though UN representatives have previously said the real count is likely to be much higher.

cluster munitions to Ukraine for the first time. This decision comes as Ukrainian forces are engaged in a challenging counteroffensive against invading Russian troops. The move has been met with strong criticism from human rights groups due to the inherent dangers posed by unexploded bomblets. However, the U.S. government has stated that it has received assurances from Kyiv that they will take steps to minimize the risk to civilians, including refraining from using the munitions in populated areas. These cluster munitions are part of a new military aid package worth $800 million that the U.S. plans to send to Ukraine. In addition to the cluster munitions, the package includes Bradley and Stryker armored vehicles, as well as various types of ammunition, including rounds for howitzers and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.

Biden has two main jobs on Ukraine at next week's NATO summit, but there's a hitch: they take him in opposite directions. The US president will arrive in Lithuania late Monday on a mission to stoke NATO support for Ukraine while simultaneously pouring cold water on dreams of quickly bringing Ukraine into the alliance.

The US said it will send cluster bombs to Ukraine as part of a new push to support the country’s counteroffensive and boost its dwindling stocks of ammunition, overruling concerns that the weapons often fail to explode and pose a grave danger to civilians. President Joe Biden called the move a “difficult decision" given the risk posed by cluster bombs, but said Russia has been raining the munitions on Ukraine for months.

By Scott DiSavino

Indian refiners, including a private refiner, have paid for some Russian oil imports in Chinese currency Yuan following such demands from suppliers, according to people familiar with the matter. Indian refiners pay for most of most of the Russian oil in dollars but some cargoes that are priced above the G7 price cap of $60 per barrel are paid for in non-dollar currency to avoid the US scrutiny. So far, it was UAE's dirham that Indian refiners used for paying Russian suppliers but now at least two refiners have paid in Chinese Yuan as well, according to people familiar with the matter.

Tennis appears set to follow the path of golf and other sports by doing business with Saudi Arabia and its $650 billion sovereign wealth fund

India, Russia and Brazil, on Friday raised concerns over the EU's deforestation law, at the World Trade Organisation. Terming the EU's policy directive «unfortunate», New Delhi said that it will directly harm the economic interests of women and small enterprises.

India is looking to usher in a comprehensive and multifaceted partnership with the countries of Central Asia by leveraging the platform provided by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), people aware of the matter said. SCO is a prominent Eurasian grouping to ensure peace, stability, and security in the vast and resource rich region stretching from the borders of Europe to the Pacific, including China, Russia and Pakistan. India hosted SCO's latest summit virtually earlier this week where Iran became the ninth member of the grouping.

Oil prices inched lower on Friday after U.S. jobs data did little to allay fears of further interest rate hikes, but were on track for their second straight weekly gain after a larger-than-expected fall in U.S. oil stockpiles.

Investing.com — Crude oil prices weakened Friday after softer-than-expected U.S. employment data raised fears that the U.S. economy is weakening even as the Federal Reserve is expected to tighten monetary policy again this year, to the detriment of economic activity.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is visiting Beijing as part of efforts to revive U.S.-Chinese relations that are at their lowest level in decades due to disputes over technology, security and other irritants

Joe Biden led United States administration is likely to announce that US will provide Ukraine a new military aid package that will include cluster munitions for the first time, according to several international reports.  However, it is to be noted that cluster ammunitions also entail considerable controversy all over the world, one being banned in Australia and 120 other countries. Russia, Ukraine and US have declined to sign the treaty under the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2008.

Putin emerged from last month's Wagner mutiny looking weakened, despite defusing the immediate threat, according to analysts. The short-lived and ultimately aborted revolt by Yevgeny Prigozhin's mercenary force marked the most dramatic challenge ever to Putin's rule. The Belarus-brokered deal to halt Wagner's march toward Moscow saw off a major clash, yet now that agreement seems to be in question.

inflation: that it is driven by fast-growing wages. Central bankers live in fear of wage-price spirals. Last year Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, asked workers to “think and reflect" before asking for pay rises.