- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
Germany's Scholz backs Ukraine weapons move on Japan trip
Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday thanked Germany's parliament for backing the decision to provide Ukraine with heavy weapons, as Russia said Western arms deliveries to the country were dangerous for European security.
Scholz, in Tokyo on his first official visit to Asia, did not address the Kremlin's comments directly but said a plan to replace stocks sent to Ukraine from eastern European nations would get weapons in use as quickly as possible.
Japan and Germany, the world's third and fourth largest economies, have sanctioned Russia over the war in step with fellow members of the G7, of which Berlin is the 2022 chair.
Tokyo has sent protective and humanitarian supplies to Ukraine, and Germany had sent defensive weapons until the government announced its policy shift earlier this week, which was approved by lawmakers on Thursday.
"I am very grateful for the clear support that the German parliament has given today to the policy of my government" for the delivery of heavy arms, Scholz said at a joint press conference with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Earlier, Scholz told business leaders that Germany is "supplying sophisticated weapons on a large scale to the warzone in Ukraine" and has "significantly expanded military support for our allies in central and eastern Europe, which enables them to help Ukraine with the weapons in a timely manner".
Scholz and Kishida said they had agreed to bolster security ties between their countries, pledging to hold a second round of talks between their defence and foreign ministers after a first meeting last year.
During the pair's discussions, the Kremlin said Western arms deliveries to Ukraine "threaten the security of the continent", responding to a call by Britain's foreign secretary for Kyiv's allies to "ramp up" military production to help Ukraine
Kishida said he wanted to "pay my most sincere respects to the decision by Germany to make a huge policy shift on national security".
Japan and Germany are both highly dependent on imported fossil fuels, and have so far held back on banning imports of Russian gas and oil.
But Scholz said his country had planned for a possible cut to its gas supplies by Russia.
"We can only prepare ourselves, and it's what we had already started to do before the war," he said, adding that it "makes no sense" to speculate on possible Russian actions.
J.V.Jacinto--PC