. NIKKEI ASIA (JAPAN)
Japan pledges more Russian sanctions at G-7 summit
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida promised to impose high tariffs on Russian imports on Thursday as the leaders of the Group of Seven nations gathered here to turn up the diplomatic and economic pressure on Moscow.
. REUTERS (CANADA)
Western sanctions won’t sway Kremlin, says Russia’s former president Medvedev
It is “foolish” to believe that Western sanctions against Russian businesses could have any effect on the Moscow government, Russian ex-president and deputy head of security council Dmitry Medvedev was quoted as saying on Friday.
. AL JAZEERA (QATAR)
North Korea confirms ICBM test; warns of ‘long’ US confrontation
North Korea says it test-fired its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on the orders of leader Kim Jong Un to boost its defences and prepare for a “long confrontation” with the United States, state media reported on Friday.
DW (GERMANY)
Slovak foreign minister resigns as government teeters
Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok is one of six to step down after President Zuzana Caputova demanded the prime minister’s resignation. The education minister also quit on Wednesday.
. NEWS 24 (S.AFRICA)
‘It will be tough, and we will produce less’: Farmers on skyrocketing fertiliser prices
A “massive blow”: this is how one SA farmer described skyrocketing fertiliser prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Another spoke of being caught by surprise by the rising bills. As farmers face climbing input costs, they have resorted simply to using less fertiliser – and they expect to produce less as a result.
. WSJ (USA)
Biden’s Poland Visit to Underline Backing for Ukraine
President Biden traveled to this once quiet town that has developed into a principal hub for Western military aid to Ukraine, signaling U.S. determination to support Kyiv with high-tech weaponry to punish Moscow for its invasion.
. BAHA (AUSTRIA)
Erdogan to talk to Zelensky, Putin
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that he will talk to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin in separate phone calls, as Turkey continues its bid as a mediator between the two sides
