AMSTERDAM, June 16 (Reuters) - It is "highly likely" that the collapse of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine was caused by explosives planted by Russians, a team of legal experts assisting Ukraine's prosecutors in their investigation said in preliminary findings released on Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of destroying the Kakhovka dam as a Western-backed tactic to escalate the conflict.

Ukraine is investigating the blast as a war crime and possible criminal environmental destruction, or "ecocide".

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian prosecutors on Friday opened legal proceedings against three Kosovo police officers arrested earlier this week, defying U.S. and other demands for their immediate and unconditional release.

Serbian officials have said the three Kosovo Albanians were arrested by Serbian security on Wednesday deep inside Serbia and close to the border with Kosovo, and that they were heavily armed when seized. Kosovo officials insist they were “kidnapped” inside Kosovo and taken to Serbia by force.

HONG KONG, June 16 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the global rise of artificial intelligence with Bill Gates on Friday and said he welcomed U.S. firms including Microsoft bringing their AI tech to China, two sources familiar with the talks said.

Xi also discussed Microsoft's (MSFT.O) business development in China during their meeting in Beijing, one of the sources said.

Gates, who co-founded Microsoft, stepped down from the company's board in 2020 to focus on philanthropic works related to global health, education and climate change.

MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/: The Australian authorities are seeking to "soft-pedal" the war crimes that the country’s troops committed in Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Friday.

MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/: Russia is ready to give a military-technical response if F-16 fighter jets appear in the skies over Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the RT television channel on Friday.

"Of course, a military-technical response will follow," he said, responding to a related question.

Lavrov added that Russia had presented "a very serious demarche" within the framework of the UN Security Council panel "nuclear five" in connection with the possibility of F-16 aircraft being prepared for transfer to Ukraine to carry nuclear weapons.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The United States men’s soccer team’s match against Mexico was cut short Thursday night by the referee after repeated homophobic chants could be heard from fans.

Four players were ejected in the game, which the U.S. won 3-0 for a spot Sunday in the CONCACAF Nations League final against Canada.

Christian Pulisic scored two goals and Ricardo Pepi scored one in a strong showing, but this game will be remembered much more for the ugliness.

ST. PETERSBURG, June 16. /TASS/: The United Arab Emirates is ready to assist in any way possible the efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said during talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday.

"Regarding Ukraine, thank you for your words. You can be certain that if the UAE can play any role in stabilizing the situation, in humanitarian issues, we are ready to assist in any way possible," the UAE president said.

ST. PETERSBURG, June 16. /TASS/: Russia always responds militarily to Ukrainian strikes, but it seldom presents its retaliation as breaking news, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday.

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO launched a new center Friday for protecting undersea pipelines and cables following the still-unsolved apparent attack on the Nord Stream pipelines and amid concern Russia is mapping vital Western infrastructure for energy and the internet in waters around Europe.

“The threat is developing,” Lt. Gen. Hans-Werner Wiermann, who heads a special cell focused on the challenge, said after NATO defense ministers gave the greenlight for the new center, located in Northwood, northwest London.

PHNOM PENH, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn signed here Thursday the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Special Fund 2023.

Wang said at the event that Cambodia had so far harvested a total of 89 LMC Special Fund projects.

ROME (AP) — Officials of the political party founded three decades ago by the late former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi vowed Friday to breathe new life into his creation and pursue battles dear to him, including overhauling the justice system he insisted was biased against him.

“This is his creature, and this is and always will be the party of Silvio Berlusconi,″ said Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who is now the Forza Italia party’s top official in his role as party coordinator.

BAGHDAD, Jun 16 (NNN-NINA) – Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, yesterday met with visiting Qatari Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to discuss strengthening bilateral ties.

The two leaders co-chaired a meeting in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, during which they discussed issues related to energy, transportation, investment, as well as, security and information cooperation, according to a statement issued by al-Sudani’s media office.