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Oil fell from a two-week high as traders tracked tensions in the Middle East and the US eased

Asian stocks slipped following US peers lower, driven by the continued sell-off in Treasuries and increasing tensions in

By Jamie McGeever A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist.

The Indian state of Sikkim is still reeling from destruction caused by deadly flash floods on 4 October.

Xi Jinping warned the West against breaking economic ties with China on Wednesday as he welcomed his “dear friend” Vladimir Putin and other allies to a global summit in Beijing. The Chinese president was hosting the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) forum, part of its long-term plan to build global infrastructure and energy networks connecting Asia with Africa and Europe through overland and maritime routes. Representatives of more than 130 countries – largely from the Global South, but including Hungary – attended the forum. “We stand against unilateral sanctions, economic coercion, decoupling and supply chain disruption,” Xi told more than 1,000 delegates gathered in an ornate conference room in the Great Hall of the People near Tiananmen Square. Putin sat with key Chinese officials from the 25-member Politburo on the front row, as Xi delivered his opening remarks. Western leaders insist their goal is not to “decouple” from China but to “de-risk” by diversifying supply chains that have become too dependent on the world’s second-largest economy. China’s threats to Taiwan and the trade disruptions of the pandemic years have added urgency to the desire to limit their dependence on China. As Putin made a speech praising the BRI, several European officials left the hall. During a three-hour meeting on the sidelines of the conference, Xi told Putin that both sides should explore cooperation in strategic emerging industries and deepen regional cooperation. “China hopes that the China-Mongolia-Russia natural gas pipeline project will make substantive progress as soon as possible,” Xi said. Both leaders also had “in-depth” discussions on the Middle East conflict, state broadcaster CCTV reported. "In the current difficult conditions, close foreign policy c-ordination is especially required," Mr Putin said in his speech. "So, in terms of bilateral relations, we are moving forward very confidently," he added, noting that Moscow-Beijing trade is on track to pass a record £164bn this year. China is a key customer for Russian oil and gas, providing Moscow with an economic lifeline in the face of punishing Western sanctions imposed over its campaign against Ukraine. Just weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, Mr Putin and Mr Xi met in Beijing and signed an agreement pledging a "no-limits" relationship. Meanwhile Estonia’s prime minister Kaja Kallas said pictures of Putin shaking hands with Hungary’s Viktor Orban were “very, very unpleasant”. “How can you shake a criminal’s hand, who has waged the war of aggression, especially coming from a country that has a history like Hungary has?” he told Reuters. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Putin in March, accusing him of the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine. “It is not so distant past what happened in Hungary, what the Russians did there,” Kallas said. The 1956 Hungarian Uprising was crushed by Soviet tanks and troops. At least 2,600 Hungarians and 600 Soviet troops were killed in the fighting. Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report. Read More European delegates walk out of China’s BRI summit as Putin starts speaking Putin arrives in China on rare trip abroad to meet ‘dear friend’ Xi Jinping North Korea releases letters from Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin exchange MI5 boss says Chinese espionage in UK on ‘epic’ scale Canada accuses China of ‘dangerous’ interception of its jet over international waters Sushi standoff spreads as Russia joins China in banning Japanese seafood

TUNIS Tunisia's central bank on Wednesday held its key interest rate unchanged at 8%, the bank said. The

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Google's Russian subsidiary has been recognised as bankrupt by a Moscow court, the RIA news agency reported on

European delegates staged a walkout at an international cooperation forum hosted by China – as Vladimir Putin was set to begin speaking. The Russian president arrived in China as a guest at Beijing’s third installment of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – Beijing’s multibillion-dollar infrastructure project aimed at increasing the country’s global standing by connecting China to other parts of the world through road, train, and port project investments. Chinese president Xi Jinping opened the ceremony in the presence of several world leaders and more than 1,000 delegates at the Great Hall of the People, west of Tiananmen Square, and shared the stage with Mr Putin who made the rare trip outside Russia despite his nation’s . But he was boycotted by some European delegates, including former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, underscoring the growing geopolitical divide in Europe and the West. Videos from the event showed Mr Raffarin and other delegates walking out from the halls as Mr Putin was set to deliver his remarks after Mr Xi. Other footage from the visit showed Mr Putin accompanied by his aides carrying the so-called nuclear briefcase which can be used to order a nuclear strike. Surrounded by security, Mr Putin was followed by two Russian naval officers in uniform each carrying a briefcase – known as Cheget – that can transmit nuclear strike launch orders to the central military command. Mr Putin and Mr Xi spoke out against the West in their speeches as the two leaders underscored their close relationship amid Russia’s international isolation over the Ukraine war. “Ideological confrontation, geopolitical rivalry and bloc politics are not the choice for us, but we stand against economic sanctions, economic coercions, and decoupling and supply chain disruptions,” Mr Xi said Mr Xi pushed against Western efforts to reduce dependence on the Chinese economy, saying that, "our lives will not be better and our development will not be faster if we view the development of others as a threat and economic interdependence as a risk”. Mr Putin, who attended the ceremony along with foreign leaders and key Chinese officials from the 25-member Politburo, praised Mr Xi for the success of BRI projects. "When we start something big, we expect that it will be successful. But undertsanding the global scale, it is hard to expect everything will be well," he said. "But our Chinese friends did it," he said. The Kremlin leader called Mr Xi his “dear friend” as he spoke on his only second known trip outside the former Soviet Union since the Ukraine war. He insisted that Moscow can play a key role in China‘s modern-day revival of the ancient Silk Road and invited states to participate in the Northern Sea Route, which is ambitious Russian Arctic maritime transport artery running from of Russia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to Norway and to the Bering Strait near Alaska. "Starting next year, navigation for ice-class cargo ships along the entire length of the Northern Sea Route will become year-round,” he said. The two leaders held bilateral talks and touted “close political coordination” to safeguard international “justice”. "In the current difficult conditions, close foreign policy coordination is especially necessary - which is what we are doing, and today we will also discuss all of this," Mr Putin told Mr Xi. Mr Putin held several bilateral talks on the sidelines of the summit, including with Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Pakistani leaders. He took part in an official family photo ceremony with heads of delegations at the summit. Hungary’s leader, Viktor Orban held talks with Mr Putin and was pictured shaking hands with him – becoming the first western leader to share stage with him since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against the Russian president for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Mr Orban said the meeting was a bid to “save everything that is possible from our bilateral contacts” and that that Hungary “never wanted to confront Russia”. “We are interested in supporting this co-operation not only at the level of communication but also at the economic level,” Mr Orban said. Hungary, which is dependent on Moscow for it’s 80 per cent of gas trade, has faced criticism from the bloc members for aligning with Mr Putin’s interests, especially through his delays in imposing sanctions, refusal to provide military aid to Kyiv, and objections to its EU accession amid the war. Read More Putin arrives in China on rare trip abroad to meet ‘dear friend’ Xi Jinping Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin’s forces suffer blow as Kyiv fires US ATACMS missiles for first time Russia threatens US with ‘serious consequences’ after Ukraine fires first long-range ATACMS missiles The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Provides an overview of Kiribati, including key dates and facts about this Pacific island country.

HANOI (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted an invitation from his Vietnamese counterpart to soon visit Vietnam as the two

Stocks in Asia slipped as uncertainties lingered in the Middle East and markets digested the possibility of further

China has approved dozens of genetically modified corn and soybean seed varieties for planting, in a breakthrough move