Worried by deepening China-Russia relations, Narendra Modi is heading to Moscow next week for talks with President Vladimir Putin, the Indian prime minister's first bilateral visit since he won a third term. The meeting, which will help Putin counter Western efforts to cast him as a pariah, comes two months after the Kremlin leader went to China for the inaugural foreign visit of his new term, underlining Moscow's increasing dependence on Beijing. Russian attack submarines have conducted missions around the Irish Sea twice since the invasion of Ukraine, sources say, an unprecedented move that forced the UK military to take steps to protect British and Irish waters. The initial deployment of a Russian Kilo-class submarine close to the Irish Sea happened around 18 months ago, while the second occurred more recently. A Russian Kilo-class submarine. Photographer: Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in Kyiv on a visit that may ease tensions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy over Budapest's ties with Russia and efforts to stall aid. Orban has acted as a disruptor among EU leaders, slowing assistance to Kyiv and seeking to limit sanctions targeting Moscow. Hong Kong leader John Lee urged residents to take advantage of new measures announced by Beijing to facilitate cross-border exchanges as he vowed to further integrate the self-administered city into China's development plans. The gift of a pair of giant pandas will help attract tourists and a new five-year travel permit to enter the mainland offered to non-Chinese permanent residents will bolster the Asia finance hub's advantage, Lee said. As the UK prepares to head to the polls on Thursday, stocks are near a record high, bond fluctuations have evaporated, and hedging against pound weakness is at a seven-year low. That marks a rethink by investors who imposed penalties on the nation's assets following the 2016 decision to leave the EU and Liz Truss's disastrous premiership of 2022. The backdrop also suggests comfort with the likelihood that the election will hand power to the opposition Labour Party, whose traditional support for higher taxes and trade unions has historically put it at odds with markets. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said his government will resume talks with the US this month with a goal of reaching new agreements to meet the conditions of a Qatar-brokered accord on electoral guarantees in exchange for sanctions relief. Mohamed Ould Ghazouani secured a second term as president of Mauritania in Saturday's election, a victory that is expected to bring policy continuity to investors in the EU ally that's on the cusp of a gas boom. Peruvian political scion Keiko Fujimori appeared in a Lima courtroom yesterday to begin what's expected to be a massive, years-long trial for allegedly laundering millions of dollars during her failed presidential bids. Chancellor Olaf Scholz is upgrading Germany's relationship with Poland after Prime Minister Donald Tusk — who hosted Scholz in Warsaw today — returned the nation to the European mainstream last year and France's lurch to the right throws ties off balance. |
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