• Chinese leader Xi Jinping will welcome Vladimir Putin to China on Thursday for the Russian president’s second visit in less than a year – the latest sign of their growing alignment amid hardening global fault lines as conflict devastates Gaza and Ukraine.
  • Putin will arrive in China just over a week since entering a new term in office, extending his autocratic rule until 2030 – the result of an election without any true opposition.

Source: cnn.com

Biden approves ban on Russian uranium

  • The move will backfire on the US economy, Moscow’s ambassador has warned
  • US President Joe Biden has signed into law a bill banning imports of Russian enriched uranium, despite warnings that the move could backfire on the American economy. Russia has remained America’s top foreign source of the crucial nuclear fuel, even amid tensions over the Ukraine conflict.
  • Biden signed the bipartisan legislation on Monday. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan claimed it would “strengthen our nation’s energy and economic security by reducing – and ultimately eliminating – our reliance on Russia for civilian nuclear power.”
  • The measure, which was unanimously passed by the Senate in late April, will go into effect in about 90 days. However, the US Department of Energy can issue waivers until 2028 in cases where there is no alternative to Russian low-enriched uranium or if its shipments are in the national interest. The ban also provides some $2.7 billion in federal funding to build new enrichment capacity in America to boost its civilian nuclear industry.

Source: rt.com