- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
Chinese banks limit financing for Russian purchases: Bloomberg
Several Chinese public banks are limiting financing to purchase raw materials from Russia for fear of Western sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg news agency reported on Saturday.
China and Russia have strengthened their ties considerably since Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea and subsequent Western sanctions.
To power its growth, the Asian giant has also increased its purchases of Russian commodities, with about 30 percent of Russian oil and gas now sold to China.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at least two of China's largest state-owned banks, ICBC and Bank of China, are restricting funding for the purchase of Russian commodities, Bloomberg said.
The decision was taken for fear that allowing funding could be perceived as support for Moscow's invasion and risk sanctions from the United States and its allies, the US news agency said, citing unidentified sources.
Bloomberg said the move may only be temporary.
ICBC is the world's largest bank by assets, while Bank of China is the country's largest commercial bank for currency trading.
US sanctions could potentially deprive them of access to the dollar.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine on Thursday sparked a wave of international sanctions against Moscow, mainly from Western countries.
Washington has, among other things, imposed sanctions on energy giant Gazprom and other large Russian companies, which will no longer be able to raise money on Western financial markets.
China is walking a diplomatic tightrope over the Ukraine conflict.
It does not want to directly oppose its ally Russia.
While visiting Beijing for the Winter Olympics earlier in February, Putin signed important agreements with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
The two countries notably agreed to strengthen their cooperation in the financial sector and on the supply of gas.
But while Beijing has not condemned the invasion of Ukraine, it has also stopped short of outright support.
China abstained on Friday's United Nations resolution condemning Russia's "aggression" against Ukraine and demanding the immediate withdrawal of its troops, which Russia vetoed.
On Saturday the Chinese embassy in Ukraine advised its citizens to "refrain... from displaying signs of identification", just days after telling those leaving Kyiv to clearly fix a Chinese flag to their vehicles.
F.Bennett--AMWN