Mattarella's office said in a statement that the head of state had "taken note" of the resignation and asked Draghi to remain in a caretaker capacity. 

Nearly five months since President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Russia's neighbor, its forces are grinding through the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine and occupy around a fifth of the country.

A second meeting of the WHO's emergency committee on the virus will be held to examine the evidence on the worsening situation, with nearly 14,000 cases reported from more than 70 countries.

Grassland fires erupted on the edge of London, with one forcing the evacuation of 14 people as farm buildings, houses and garages were consumed by the flames.

"It is very important for us not to enter into the winter. After winter, when the Russians will have more time to get a footing, it will certainly be more difficult. It is very important for us not to give them this possibility," Yermak told Ukrainian weekly Novoye Vremya. 

Sunak won the support of 115 Tory lawmakers, followed by Penny Mordaunt on 82 votes, Liz Truss on 71, Kemi Badenoch on 58 and Tom Tugendhat on 31, who drops out as the last-placed candidate, the party announced.

In Britain, forecasters said the current national record of 38.7 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) could be broken and 40C breached for the first time, with experts blaming climate change and predicting more frequent extreme weather to come.

Much of Europe is baking in a heatwave that has pushed temperatures into the mid-40s Celsius (over 110 Fahrenheit) in some regions, with wildfires raging across tinder-dry countryside in Portugal, Spain and France. 

As the Conservative party chooses a successor to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Admiral Tony Radakin also said Britain's next leader should be aware that Russia poses "the biggest threat" to the UK and that its challenge would endure for decades.

Zelensky said more than 60 officials from the SBU security service and prosecutor's office were working against Ukraine in Russian-occupied territories, and 651 treason and collaboration cases had been opened against law enforcement officials. 

Forecasters have put 15 departments across the country on the highest state of alert for extreme temperatures, including Gironde in the southwest where forest fires have already wrought havoc.

The world, Blair said, was at a turning point in history comparable with the end of World War Two or the collapse of the Soviet Union: but this time the West is clearly not in the ascendant.

Penny Mordaunt, the bookmaker's favourite to replace Boris Johnson in the famous residence, revealed in an online forum that she has a quartet of Burmese cats, which she cited when asked for her biggest weakness.

Draghi tendered his resignation last week after one of the parties in his broad coalition, the 5-Star Movement, refused to back the government in a parliamentary confidence vote.

Rishi Sunak, the bookmakers' favourite to prevail, and Suella Braverman are campaigning for the Conservative party leadership and have made reference to the opportunities Britain gave members of minorities like them.

"Most will want to adopt a different approach on the day after April," one of the sources added, referring to a walkout staged by top officials from Britain, the United States and Canada. 

Without this shift, universally accepted goals of sustainable development and greater equity will remain out-of-reach, the science advisory panel for biodiversity, known as IPBES, found.

But he said he would remain in 10 Downing Street until Britain's ruling party elects a successor -- which could take months. 

Retno, in remarks as chair of the gathering in Bali, praised G20 counterparts for attending in person amid global tensions over the impacts of the Ukraine war, decisions she said should not be taken lightly. 

Sunak resigned his role as Chancellor of the Exchequer late Tuesday, prompting dozens of more junior colleagues to follow suit in the subsequent 36 hours and forcing his ex-boss to then quit as leader of the ruling Conservatives on Thursday.

"The G-7's plan to boycott Russia at the G-20 has failed," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on messaging app Telegram.

"To our Russian colleagues: Ukraine is not your country. Its grain is not your grain. Why are you blocking the ports? You should let the grain out," said Blinken, according to a Western official present.

Diplomats said Lavrov later also left an afternoon session before a virtual appearance by Ukraine's foreign minister and was not present as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Russia in the closed-door meeting in Bali.

"During the discussion, Western partners avoided following the mandate of the G20, from dealing with issues of the world economy," Lavrov said.

His remarks came as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov prepared for a closed-door foreign ministers' meeting at a G20 gathering in Indonesia on Friday - the first time Putin's top diplomat will come face-to-face with the most vocal opponents of the invasion of Ukraine since it began in February. 

Johnson was expected to announce his resignation after he was abandoned by ministers and his Conservative Party's lawmakers who said he was no longer fit to govern. The Kremlin said it too was no fan of the British leader, whose parents named him Boris after a White Russian emigre.

But the luck of a man once likened to a "greased piglet" for his ability to escape controversies finally ran out, after a slew of high-profile resignations from his scandal-hit government.

"We must continue to serve our country ... It is our duty now to make sure the people of this country have a functioning government. This is true now more than ever." Ellis, a minister in the Cabinet Office department which oversees the running of government, said, quoted by Reuters.

Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has triggered the most serious crisis in relations between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when many people feared the world was on the brink of nuclear war.

"It is in the interest of us all to ensure that international law is respected and adhered to. That is the common denominator," said Baerbock in a statement on Wednesday.