READY TO SPEAK TO PUTIN IF HE IS LOOKING FOR WAY TO END THE WAR': JOE BIDEN

US President Joe Biden said Thursday he is open to holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time since the Ukraine invasion, but only if he wants to end the war. Biden was speaking during a state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron.

At a joint news conference, Biden said, "I'm prepared to speak with Mr. Putin if in fact there is an interest in him deciding he's looking for a way to end the war. He hasn't done that yet."

"If that's the case, in consultation with my French and my NATO friends, I'll be happy to sit down with Putin to see what he has in mind. He hasn't done that yet."

Both Biden and Macron also vowed support for Ukraine and pledged to hold Moscow accountable for war crimes.

"There's one way for this war to end, the rational way. Putin to pull out of Ukraine, number one. But it appears he's not. Bombing nurseries, hospitals, children's homes. It's sick what he's doing," he said.

"The idea that Putin is ever going to defeat Ukraine is beyond comprehension," Biden said.

"He's miscalculated every single thing he initially calculated."

Meanwhile, Macron told reporters that he planned to talk to Putin over the security of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia plant in Ukraine.

CHINESE OFFICIAL SIGNALS EASING OF COVID-19 RULES AFTER PROTESTS

After days of unprecedented protests against three years of stringent COVID-19 restrictions, Chinese authorities have this week signalled a pathway towards gradually easing some of the measures and a change in policy. The top official in charge of the pandemic policy, Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan, in a meeting held on Wednesday with scientists of the National Health Commission and with frontline health workers, said the country’s battle against the pandemic was now facing “a new situation” with the “decreased pathogenicity” of the Omicron variant.

Her comments marked the first instance of any senior Chinese official saying so, and a stark contrast from continued official messaging describing COVID-19 as a life-threatening disease, which was a justification for continuing the zero-COVID policy.

The government also announced plans this week to step up vaccinations of the large number of vulnerable elderly citizens, the other commonly cited reason for continuing the policy which calls for lockdowns, mass testing and quarantining of positive cases and close contacts.

Ms. Sun said “the country is facing a new situation and new tasks in epidemic prevention and control as the pathogenicity of the Omicron virus weakens, more people are vaccinated and experience in containing the virus is accumulated,” the official Xinhua news agency quoted her as saying. She “urged efforts to further optimise the COVID-19 response, improve diagnosis, testing, treatment and quarantine measures, strengthen immunisation of the whole population, particularly the elderly, and step up the preparation of medications and other medical resources.”

In a meeting with frontline health workers, Ms. Sun said China possessed adequate drugs for treatment. The zero-COVID policy, which was backed by Chinese President Xi Jinping as recently as October and framed as one of the key legacies of his second term, is likely to be eased only gradually, over coming months, in the view of most observers.

UKRAINE WAR: ZELENSKY AIDE REVEALS UP TO 13,000 WAR DEAD

Up to 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the start of Russia's invasion, a senior official has said.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said between 10,000 and 13,000 troops had died.

It is rare for Ukraine to give figures for casualties, and Mr Podolyak's comments have not been confirmed by the country's military.

In June he said between 100 and 200 Ukrainian soldiers were dying daily.

Last month, the most senior US general, Mark Milley, said around 100,000 Russian and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed or injured since the start of the war.

In a video address on Wednesday, EU Commission head Ursula Von der Leyen said that 100,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed. However a spokesperson for the EU Commission later clarified that this was a mistake, and the figure referred to those both killed and injured.

Speaking to Ukrainian TV outlet Channel 24, Mr Podolyak said Kyiv was "openly talking about the number of the killed".

"We have official evaluations by the General Staff, official evaluations by the commander-in-chief [Mr Zelensky], and they range from 10,000 to 12,500-13,000 killed," he said.

Mr Podolyak also suggested that up to 100,000 Russian soldiers had been killed since the invasion began on 24 February, and that a further 100,000 to 150,000 had been wounded, or were missing or unable to return to combat.

PAK SEEKS 30-40% DISCOUNT ON CRUDE, RUSSIA SAYS NO

Islamabad : A Pakistani delegation holding talks with their Russian counterparts has asked for a 30-40% discount on crude oil, a demand turned down by Moscow which said it could not offer anything right now as all volumes were committed, according to a media report on Thursday. The delegation — comprising state minister for petroleum Musadik Malik, secretary petroleum Capt (retd) Muhammad Mahmood, joint secretary and officials of the Pakistan embassy in Moscow — asked for a discount during talks in Moscow on Wednesday, the News reported. The talks ended with no cogent conclusion but the Russian side promised to consider Pakistan’s demand and to share its decision later on through di-plomatic channels, the paper said, citing its sources.

Indian oil companies have managed to import oil at a discount from Russia, which the government maintained has helped the economy partly offset the impact of high crude prices, which had soared to $130 a barrel in the wake of the war in Ukraine. At the peak of the crisis the oil companies had managed to get a discount of around $10 a barrel, according to industry sources.

Meanwhile, the News reported Russia saying that it can offer crude at the rates it is providing to its large client countries, which are reliable and sound economies, at a suitable time. Right now all volumes are committed with big buyers, sources said. The Russian side asked Pakistan to first honour its commitment to the flagship project of the much-touted Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline to beconstructed from Karachi to Lahore.

LETTER BOMB DEFUSED AT US EMBASSY, FIVE SIMILAR DEVICES SENT ACROSS SPAIN IN 2 DAYS

Madrid : Bomb disposal experts defused a letter bomb at the US embassy in Madrid on Thursday, the sixth such device sent to high-profile targets in a wave that prompted Spain to step up security and vow not to be deterred from supporting Ukraine. The campaign began with a package sent to PM Pedro Sanchez on November 24, spurring Madrid to tighten security around public buildings. Since Wednesday, similar devices have also been sent to the defence ministry, an air force base, a weapons manufacturer and the Ukrainian embassy — where a security officer was slightly injured.

Spain’s defence minister Margarita Robles, who was visiting the Ukrainian city of Odessa on Thursday and met her Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov, said the letter bombs would not deter Spain from supporting Ukraine’s “just cause”. “What must be very clear is that none of these deliveries or any other violent action will change the clear and firm commitment of Spain, Nato countries and the EU to support Ukraine,” she said.

The latest package was intercepted at the US embassy by security officials and was later detonated in a controlled ex-plosion by Spanish police. On Wednesday, a package addressed to the Ukrainian ambassador to Spain detonated at the country’s embassy as a security official investigated it, causing him to suffer minor injuries to his hands and a concussion. Security has now been stepped up around embassies as well.

SAN FRANCISCO VOTES TO LET COPS DEPLOY ROBOTS THAT KILL

San Francisco : Supervisors in San Francisco voted on Tuesday to give city police the ability to use potentially lethal, remote-controlled robots in emergency situations — following an emotionally charged debate that reflected divisions on the politically liberal board over support for law enforcement.

The vote was 8-3, with the majority agreeing to grant police the option despite strong objections from civil liberties and other police oversight groups. Opponents said the authority would lead to the further militarisation of a police force already too aggressive with poor and minority communities. Supervisor Connie Chan said she understood concerns over use of force but that “according to state law, we are required to approve the use of these equipment. ”

The San Francisco police department said it does not have pre-armed robots and has no plans to arm robots with guns. But the department could deploy robots equipped with explosive charges “to contact, incapacitate, or disorient violent, armed, or dangerous suspect” when lives are at stake, SFPD spokesperson Allison Maxie said in a statement.

“Robots equipped in this manner would only be used in extreme circumstances to save or prevent further loss ofinnocent lives,” she said.

Supervisors amended the proposal on Tuesday to specify that officers could use robots only after using alternative force or de-escalation tactics, or concluding they would not be able to subdue the suspect through those alternative means. Only a limited number of high-ranking officers could authorise use of robots as a deadly force option.

SURVEY : NEW YORK & S’PORE TOP WORLD’S COSTLIEST CITIES’ LIST

New Yorkand Singapore are jointly the world’s most expensive cities after inflation soared this year, an annual survey showed on Thursday. The pair displaced last year’s number one Tel Aviv, which fell to third place this time round in the Worldwide Cost of Living index from the Economist Intelligence Unit. The survey revealed “the soaring cost of living in the world’s biggest cities as the war in Ukraine and continuing Covid curbs disrupt supply chains, particularly for energy and food”. New York hit the top spot for the first time, while Damascus and Tripoli remained the cheapest cities.

Prices rocketed by an average 8. 1% in the 172 cities covered by the survey, conducted between August and September. Hong Kong and Los Angeles (tie), Zurich, Geneva, San Francisco, Paris and Copenhagen moved into the top 10. The biggest upward movers were Moscow and St Petersburg, “which shot up by 88 and 70 places respectively”.

MUSK: TWITTER’S CLASH WITH APPLE MISUNDERSTANDING

Twitter owner Elon Musk said he met with Apple CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday and “resolved the misunderstanding” that prompted him to declare war on the firm’s App Store. “We resolved the misunderstanding about Twitter potentially being removed from the App Store,” Musk tweeted. “Tim was clear that Apple never considered doing so. ”