Moscow's attack on its neighbor is set to dominate the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, the first since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion in February.

Bestselling economists Joseph Stiglitz of the United States and Thomas Piketty of France among others made the call in an open letter published in The Guardian newspaper ahead of Wednesday's G20 finance meeting.

The embattled UK leader has weathered the initial storm after being penalized last week for breaching Covid lockdown laws on one occasion in 2020, doggedly defying calls to resign.

"Police fired several warning shots. Three people appear to have been hit by ricochets and are currently being treated in hospital", police said in a statement.

The move was taken "in view of the unprecedented hostile action by the British Government, in particular the imposition of sanctions against senior Russian officials," the ministry said in a statement, adding that it would expand the list soon.

The Moskva, Russia's flagship in its Black Sea fleet, sank as it was being towed to port in stormy weather, Russian news agencies quoted the defence ministry as saying.

The guided missile cruiser Moskva had been leading Russia's naval effort against its neighbor in the seven-week conflict, in which civilian killings have sparked accusations of genocide.

"As a result of a fire, ammunition detonated on the Moskva missile cruiser. The ship was seriously damaged," the Russian defence ministry was quoted as saying, adding that the cause of the fire was being determined and that the crew had been evacuated.  

Finland, which shares a 1,300-km (810-mile) border with Russia, and Sweden are mulling whether or not to join the NATO alliance. Finland will make a decision in the next few weeks, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Wednesday.

Johnson, whose future has been thrown into doubt after he received a fine for breaking coronavirus lockdown rules, was elected partly on promises to curb illegal immigration, but his term has so far been marked by record numbers of Channel crossings. 

Indonesia is finding itself caught between a rock and a hard place as pressure mounts from G20 members to invite Ukraine to November's summit.

In one of the country's highest-profile corporate crime trials in decades, Zurich's district court will rule whether to convict Pierin Vincenz, a former Swiss 'banker of the year' charged with making millions through illicit deals while he was chief executive of a cooperative lender Raiffeisen Switzerland.

Biden used the term genocide in a speech at an ethanol plant in Iowa and later stood by the description as he prepared to board Air Force One.

Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said earlier on Tuesday that Kyiv was checking unverified information that Russia may have used chemical weapons while besieging the southern Ukrainian port city.

Paxlovid, a combination of Pfizer's new pill with older antiviral ritonavir, was made available to thousands of people with compromised immune systems in Britain in February. 

Macron and Le Pen came out on top in Sunday's first-round vote, setting up a repeat of the 2017 duel pitting a pro-European economic liberal against a euro-skeptic nationalist. 

Heathrow said in a statement on Monday that inbound leisure and business travel had remained weak however due to high levels of coronavirus in the country, and testing requirements for travellers leaving the country.

The tycoon, who for years enjoyed a close friendship with the Russian leader, said Putin had to take full responsibility in the eyes of the world over the invasion of Ukraine.

The contest will be a rematch of the 2017 fight that Macron, a former investment banker who ran a reformist campaign from the centre, won handily at 66 percent compared with 34 percent for Le Pen.

"We have actually now, only for this morning, 1,222 dead people only in Kyiv region," Venediktova said in an interview with Britain's Sky News.

Moscow's forces seized the defunct power plant on the first day of their invasion of Ukraine on February 24. They occupied the highly radioactive zone for over a month, before retreating on March 31.

Polls open in mainland France at 0600 GMT after an unusual campaign overshadowed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine that analysts warn could lead to unpredictable outcomes with turnout a major factor.

AFP journalists on the scene saw at least 20 bodies of people grouped and lying under plastic sheets next to the station.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was responding to a question about calls by some leaders of G20 countries to exclude Putin from the summit over his decision to send tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine.

The premier, Pedro Sanchez, and Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares were given a red carpet reception at Rabat's main airport before heading for discussions with the king followed by iftar -- the evening meal in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The call follows an international outcry after Ukrainian officials said hundreds of civilians were found executed in areas where Russian soldiers have withdrawn around the capital Kyiv.

During a special session of the General Assembly, a resolution demanding the suspension of Russia's membership in the council was approved by majority vote.

Her comments at a US House Financial Services Committee hearing raised questions about the G20's future role in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The democratic world must reject Russian oil and completely block Russian banks from the international finance system, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily video address early on Thursday.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Monday slammed Macron's hours of phone calls with Putin, whom he likened to Hitler, and suggested they had achieved nothing.