Reuters

By David Lawder

STRESA, Italy (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Reuters that European banks face growing risks operating in Russia and the U.S. is looking at strengthening its secondary sanctions on banks found to be aiding transactions for Russia's war effort.

"We are looking at potentially a tougher stepping-up of our sanctions on banks that do business in Russia," Yellen told Reuters in an interview, declining to... (continue reading...)

(Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Saturday that the United States was "deeply concerned" over China's military drills in the Taiwan Strait and around Taiwan, and strongly urged it to act with restraint.

"Using a normal, routine, and democratic transition as an excuse for military provocations risks escalation and erodes longstanding norms that for decades have maintained peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," the State Department... (continue reading...)

By Max Hunder

KHARKIV, Ukraine (Reuters) - Russian strikes on a crowded DIY hardware store in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Saturday killed at least two people, wounded many more, and triggered a huge blaze that fire crews were battling to contain, regional officials said.

Oleh Syniehubov, Kharkiv regional governor, said via the Telegram messaging app that two guided bombs had hit the DIY hypermarket in a residential area of the city.... (continue reading...)

MADRID (Reuters) - The Spanish defence minister said on Saturday that the conflict in Gaza is a "real genocide", as relations between Israel and Spain worsen following Madrid's decision to recognise a Palestinian state.

Reuters couldn't immediately reach Israeli officials for comment on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.

Israel has strongly rejected accusations made against it by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that... (continue reading...)

STRESA, Italy (Reuters) - There is growing consensus within the European Central Bank over the need for a first rate cut as inflation is diminishing, creating the conditions to ease its monetary policy, ECB policymaker Fabio Panetta said on Saturday.

"It seems to me that a fairly general consensus has emerged on the possibility of a rate cut," Panetta, the Bank of Italy governor, said during the press conference after the end of the G7 finance meeting... (continue reading...)