Russia has sought to defend its seven-month-old war in Ukraine, with Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov telling the United Nations that regions of Ukraine where widely criticized referendums are being held would get Russia's "full protection" if annexed by Moscow.
When Shinzo Abe's family held a funeral service a week after the former prime minister's assassination in July, mourners crowded streets near the temple where it took place. But more than two months later, support in Japan for a larger public ceremony has significantly eroded.
Canada is expanding a facility it uses in Scotland to ship weapons and other aid to eastern Europe and Ukraine, as that country calls for more aid.
Italians are voting today in an election that could move the country's politics sharply toward the right during a critical time for Europe, with war in Ukraine fuelling skyrocketing energy bills and testing the West's resolve to stand united against Russian aggression.
