- Stocks shrug off China disappointment but oil slides
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- Russian prosecutor demands 3 years prison for French researcher
- 'Innocent' British nerve agent victim caught in global murder plot: inquiry
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- Russian prosecutor demands 3 years, 3 months jail for French researcher
- England ready for Pakistan's spin assault in second Test
- New Zealand's Ravindra excited for India Tests with father in crowd
- India's capital bans fireworks to curb air pollution
- Stocks diverge, oil retreats as China disappoints markets
- FIFA to open 'global dialogue' on transfer system after Diarra ruling
- Trio wins economics Nobel for work on wealth inequality
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- Ex-Stasi officer jailed over 1974 Berlin border killing
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- Hezbollah says targeted Israeli naval base after deadly drone strike
- Rice praises 'unbelievable' England interim boss Carsley despite uncertainty
- Nepali teenager hailed as hero after climbing world's 8,000m peaks
- England captain Stokes back from injury for second Pakistan Test
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as markets rally
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as Asian markets rally
- South Korea military says 'fully ready' as drone flights anger North
- Pakistan 'vigilantes' behind rise in online blasphemy cases
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- Smith experiment as Test opener over, Green out of India series
- With inflation down, ECB eyes faster tempo of rate cuts
- Is life possible on a Jupiter moon? NASA goes to investigate
- Dodgers crush Mets 9-0 in MLB playoff series opener
- South Korea military says 'fully ready' as drone tensions soar
- Cummins back, Marsh and Head out of Pakistan ODI series
- Shanghai stocks swing after stimulus briefing as most of Asia rises
- New Zealand's Latham promises 'no fear' as he takes charge for India Tests
- Kyrgios vows to 'shut up' doubters with December comeback
- Public hearings start into death of Brit by Russian nerve agent
- Ex-Stasi officer faces verdict over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Role of government, poverty research tipped for economics Nobel
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- Rookie McCarty captures first PGA Tour title in Black Desert Championship
- Australia all-rounder Green ruled out of India Test series
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- Hezbollah drone strike kills four, wounds dozens at Israeli base
- China says launches military drills around Taiwan
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- England return to winning ways in Nations League, Austria thrash Norway
- UN chief says attacks on UNIFIL 'may constitute a war crime'
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Russia stepping up attacks, Ukraine says, ahead of EU decision
Russian forces have stepped up their shelling in Ukraine's Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, Kyiv said Monday, after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned to expect greater hostilities ahead of a historic EU decision on Ukraine's bid for candidate status.
Nearly four months after Russia launched a bloody invasion of his country, Zelensky said in his evening address on Sunday there had been "few such fateful decisions for Ukraine" as the one it expects from the European Union this week.
"Obviously, we expect Russia to intensify hostile activity this week ... We are preparing. We are ready," he said.
Leaders of the EU's 27 member states will discuss at a summit on Thursday and Friday whether to add Ukraine to the list of countries vying for membership.
EU foreign ministers gathering in Luxembourg kicked off the week urging Moscow to stop blocking the export of vitally needed grain from Ukraine, a top global supplier.
"One cannot imagine that millions of tonnes of wheat remain blocked in Ukraine while in the rest of the world people are suffering hunger. This is a real war crime," the bloc's top diplomat Josep Borrell said.
Moscow has denied responsibility for the food crisis, and blames Western sanctions for the disrupted deliveries that have pushed up cereal prices and fanned fears of famines in vulnerable regions.
- Heavy bombardment -
On the ground, Russia appeared to be making some battlefield advances in the east.
In its daily update on Monday, Ukraine's presidency reported heavier Russian shelling in the Kharkiv region in the northeast.
In the Donetsk region, the intensity of the attacks "is growing along the entire frontline" it said, leaving at least one person dead and injuring seven people, including a child.
Fighting also continued in the key industrial city of Severodonetsk in the east, with Ukraine saying it had lost control of the adjacent village of Metyolkine.
"Unfortunately, we do not control Metyolkine anymore. And the enemy continues to build up its reserves," the Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said in a statement on social media.
Moscow's forces have for weeks been battling to seize the eastern Donbas region, after being repelled from other parts of the country following their February invasion.
A chemical plant in Severodonetsk where hundreds of civilians are said to be sheltering was being shelled "constantly", Gaiday said.
NATO's chief Jens Stoltenberg meanwhile warned on Sunday that the war could grind on "for years" and urged Western countries to be ready to offer long-term military, political and economic aid.
Ukraine has repeatedly urged Western countries to step up their deliveries of arms, despite warnings from nuclear-armed Russia that it could trigger wider conflict.
- Energy crisis -
Russia's defence ministry said Sunday it launched missile strikes during the past 24 hours, with one attack on a top-level Ukrainian military meeting near the city of Dnipro killing "more than 50 generals and officers".
It said it also targeted a building housing Western-provided weapons in Mykolaiv, destroying Ukrainian artillery and armoured vehicles.
There was no independent verification of the claims.
Mykolaiv is a key target for Russia as it lies on the route to the strategic port of Odessa.
With Russia maintaining a blockade of Odessa that has trapped grain supplies, residents have turned their attention to rallying the home front effort.
"Every day, including the weekend, I come to make camouflage netting for the army," said Natalia Pinchenkova, 49, standing by a large Union flag, a show of thanks to Britain for its support for Ukraine.
The Ukraine war is fuelling not only a global food crisis but an energy crisis too.
Hit by punishing sanctions, Moscow has turned up the pressure on European economies by sharply reducing gas supplies, which has in turn sent energy prices soaring.
Germany on Sunday announced emergency measures including increased use of coal to ensure it meets its energy needs after a drop in the supply of Russian gas in recent days.
Austria announced it will reopen a mothballed coal power station to combat shortages, and Italian company Eni joined a huge Qatari project to expand production from the world's biggest natural gas field.
China's imports of oil from Russia meanwhile jumped by 55 percent year on year in May, customs data showed Monday, as Beijing continued to refuse to condemn Moscow's war.
Natalia Khalaimova, 54, a resident in Lysychansk, across the river from Severodonetsk, said she wanted Russia and Ukraine to negotiate an end to the war.
"Every war in any country ends -- but the sooner, the better," she told AFP. "So many civilians are killed. Most of them were not involved in the war at all."
burs-mfp/yad
Ch.Kahalev--AMWN