Former Turkish economy tsar Mehmet Simsek's refusal to return to politics has left President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party scrambling to rebuild its economic credibility less than two months before landmark elections, insiders and analysts say.

The EU's planned ban on new combustion engines from 2035 is not on the agenda of the upcoming EU summit but talks between the European Commission and Berlin about their differences over the plan are "very constructive", a German government official said.

Washington denounced Xi's visit, saying the timing indicated Beijing was providing Moscow with "diplomatic cover" to commit additional crimes.

Freshly reappointed for a third term in power, Xi is pushing a greater role for China on the global stage, and was crucial in mediating a surprise rapprochement between Middle Eastern rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia this month.

Moscow dismissed the orders as "void." Russia is not a party to the ICC so it was unclear if or how Putin could ever end up in the dock.

Xi will be in Russia from Monday to Wednesday, Beijing's foreign ministry and the Kremlin said on Friday.

"We think it would be a very good thing if the two of them talk," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters when asked about a Wall Street Journal report that the Ukrainian leader is set to talk with Xi for the first time since Chinese-ally Russia invaded.

"The incident with the American MQ-9 Reaper UAV -- provoked by Russia over the Black Sea -- is Putin's way of signalling his readiness to expand the conflict to involve other parties. The purpose of this all-in tactic is to always be raising the stakes," Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council secretary  Oleksiy Danilov said on social media.

Putin has yet to travel beyond the borders of the former Soviet Union since sending his armed forces into Ukraine in February last year, and missed November's G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.

France faced a seventh day of demonstrations on Saturday against President Emmanuel Macron's unpopular pension reform plans amid ongoing rolling strikes which have affected refineries, public transport and garbage collections.  

The disruption came during a fresh wave of Russian strikes across Ukraine which killed at least nine people and led to power outages across the country.

The US and NATO have called the attacks, which occurred seven months into Russia's invasion of Ukraine and destroyed three of the four pipelines running under the Baltic Sea, "an act of sabotage".

A new pact to facilitate the safe transfer of EU citizens' personal data to the United States might not come into force in time to avoid a suspension of Facebook's transatlantic data flows, the US firm's lead European regulator said on Tuesday.

"In addition to India (procedures simplification) ... is being worked out with Angola, Vietnam, Indonesia, Syria and Philippines," Ivanov said.

Deputy Defense Minister M. Herindra visited the United Kingdom and France this week to follow up on Indonesia’s defense procurement plans from two French giant arms makers Thales and Nexter, insisting it should include transfer of technology.  

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will hold confidential talks on Friday in Washington with US President Joe Biden about Russia's war in Ukraine, China and other matters amid signs of strains between the transatlantic partners.

Rescuers combed through charred and buckled rail carriages for more victims of Greece's deadliest train crash on Thursday, a disaster that killed at least 46 people and has led to a national outpouring of grief and anger.

 Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called it an unspeakable tragedy but questions are being asked whether the fatal collision of passenger and freight trains on Tuesday night could have been prevented.

Senior US officials have said as recently as Sunday that they were "confident" China was considering providing lethal equipment to Moscow, with a diplomatic pressure campaign underway to discourage it from doing so.

Britain and the European Union proclaimed Monday a "new chapter" in relations after years of Brexit tensions as they agreed on a sweeping overhaul of trade rules in Northern Ireland.

Transitioning has always been tough in Ukraine. Trans people often encounter discrimination from doctors and struggle to access gender-affirming healthcare such as hormones and surgery. Updating legal documents can also be a long process.

The magazine said it has seen information indicating that Russia's military is negotiating with Chinese drone manufacturer Xi'an Bingo Intelligent Aviation Technology to produce such drones for Moscow on a large scale.

A woman dies every two minutes due to pregnancy or childbirth complications, despite maternal mortality rates dropping by a third in 20 years, the United Nations said Thursday.

President Vladimir Putin's announcement that he was halting cooperation under the New START treaty should be understood as another attempt to put pressure on Western countries supplying Ukraine with weapons and money as it fights the Russian invasion, they added.

The United States has said China is "considering providing lethal support" for Russia's war in Ukraine. Beijing quickly rebuffed the claim this week but experts say it may have some merit and, if China did give support, could be a "game changer" in the year-old conflict.

Flanked by four Russian tricolour flags either side, Putin told Russia's political and military elite that Russia would "carefully and consistently resolve the tasks facing us" in Ukraine.

At 4:00 am (0900 GMT) Sunday -- unbeknown to the world's media, the Washington political establishment or American voters -- the 80-year-old Democrat boarded an Air Force Boeing 757, known as a C-32.

Beijing will "work with the international community to promote dialogue and consultation, address the concerns of all parties and seek common security", Qin Gang said in a speech on global security in the Chinese capital.

But behind the scenes, officials at the White House and other agencies were planning intensively for Biden to make an unannounced trip to Kyiv to show solidarity with Ukraine days before the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion.

Russia's Kommersant newspaper earlier reported that Wang had arrived. China's foreign ministry declined immediate comment as did Russia's foreign ministry.