- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing
Blinken urges Russia to withdraw troops from Ukraine borders in Lavrov call
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Russia to "immediately" de-escalate tensions and withdraw its troops from Ukraine's borders in a call Tuesday with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, the State Department said.
Blinken "emphasized that further invasion of Ukraine would be met with swift and severe consequences and urged Russia to pursue a diplomatic path," the department said in a statement.
A State Department official said Blinken told Lavrov that Washington and its allies were ready to sit down and discuss the proposals both sides have set out in a series of letters to resolve the crisis.
Blinken told Lavros that the discussions "will be best advanced by de-escalation of Russia's build up military forces on Ukraine's borders."
However, the official said, "nothing we heard would give any indication that we would see a change in the coming days," in terms of de-escalation.
"We continue to hear those assurances that Russia is not planning to invade, but certainly every action we see says otherwise, with the continued buildup of troops and heavy weapons moving to the border," the official said, speaking on grounds of anonymity.
The official said that a letter sent by Lavrov to Blinken and counterparts in Europe late Monday was not Russia’s formal response to the positions the US and European allies laid out in letters to Moscow last week.
"They're still working on their formal response," that needs to be signed off on by President Vladimir Putin, the official said.
Once that response is delivered, the different sides will be able to talk about the next steps in the process, the official said.
But the US side stressed the need for Russia to draw down some of the more than 100,000 troops it has amassed on Ukraine's border, including inside Belarus.
"If President Putin does not intend war or regime change, the secretary (Blinken) told Foreign Minister Lavrov, then this is the time to pull back troops and heavy weapons and heavy weaponry," the official said.
L.Harper--AMWN