Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia temporarily closed the M-9 highway in the western Tver region near the town of Toropets on Saturday to ensure the safety of traffic, Russian news agencies reported, citing a branch of the federal roads agency.

The move came three days after a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack triggered a huge blast at a major arsenal near Toropets, forcing the evacuation the town, according to war bloggers and some media.

PARIS (Reuters) - Authorities in Martinique are banning demonstrations in four municipalities after violent protests over rising living costs led to the imposition of a curfew earlier this week, according to a statement issued on Saturday.

Martinique's prefect, the local representative of France's central government in the overseas territory, said in the statement that all protests were forbidden until Monday in the municipalities of Fort-de-France,... (continue reading...)

KYIV (Reuters) - An overnight Russian missile strike on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih killed a 12-year-old boy and two elderly women, regional governor Serhiy Lysak said on Saturday.

"Again, a terrifying enemy attack on Kryvyi Rih. In the middle of the night, when the city slept," Lysak wrote on Telegram.

He said three more people were injured, and were taken to hospital with injuries of medium severity.

The two... (continue reading...)

TOKYO (Reuters) - Record rainfall on Saturday hit central Japan's Noto region, which was devastated by a major earthquake in January, prompting evacuation orders for tens of thousands of residents and causing a power outage for more than 5,000 households.

In Wajima city, two people were missing, and calls for rescue were swamping the local fire department, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Hourly rainfall came to a record 121mm (4.8... (continue reading...)

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China could issue ultra-long-term treasury bonds within two years to generate at least 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) worth of stimulus to the economy, a former central bank adviser said on Saturday, according to state media.

China should introduce a basket of measures, focusing on enhancing social protections, buying unsold apartments for affordable housing and speeding up urban construction, Liu Shijin, former vice president... (continue reading...)