17 May 2023; MEMO: Russia confirmed on Wednesday that a deal to allow Ukraine to export its grain safely across the Black Sea, despite Russia's war in Ukraine, had been extended for two months, Reuters reports.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said the deal had been extended to help countries in need, but added that Russia's overall assessment of the situation regarding the deal had not changed.

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - Democrats in the U.S. Congress expressed frustration with President Joe Biden's willingness to engage with Republicans demanding tougher work requirements for food aid recipients as part of any deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling.

They have stopped short of threatening to block such moves, as talks on lifting the federal government's $31.4 trillion borrowing limit shifted into a bilateral format between Democrat Biden, Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy and their staffs.

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden and top U.S. congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday underscored their determination to reach a deal soon to raise the federal government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and avoid an economically catastrophic default.

17 May 2023; MEMO: Microalgae, which was collected by Turkish scientists in Antarctica, will be tested during Turkiye's first manned space voyage, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The Turkish Space Agency (TUA) and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkiye (TUBITAK) have announced that the microalgae experiments will be carried out in the 100th year of the Republic of Turkiye.

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — World leaders landed Thursday for a Group of Seven meeting in Hiroshima, the site of the world’s first atomic bomb attack, with Russia’s war in Ukraine expected to be high on the agenda.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida kicked off his summit diplomacy by meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden after his arrival at a nearby military base. He was due to hold talks with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a bit later in the day, before the three-day gathering of leaders of the world’s wealthy democracies opens on Friday.

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — President Joe Biden arrived in Japan on Thursday and greeted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida by saying, “When our countries stand together, we stand stronger” — a sign of how the economic and national security alliance between the two countries has grown.

The U.S. president began his remarks by noting that Kishida said during a January Washington visit that the world faced one of the “most complex” security environments in recent history. “I couldn’t agree with you more,” Biden said.

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis will officially enter the 2024 U.S. presidential race next week, according to two sources familiar with the decision, immediately becoming Donald Trump's biggest rival for the Republican nomination and shaking up a contest that largely has been one-sided.

DeSantis will likely file paperwork declaring his candidacy on May 25 to coincide with a donor meeting in Miami, with a more formal launch the week of May 29, according to a source.

LONDON (AP) — Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a lawsuit claiming that the German lender should have seen evidence of sex trafficking by Jeffrey Epstein when he was a client, according to lawyers for women who say they were abused by the late financier.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Australia will provide surveillance drones and other high-tech gear to the Philippine coast guard and is considering whether to take part in joint patrols in the disputed South China Sea, Australia Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Thursday.

Wong, who held talks in Manila with her counterpart, Enrique Manalo, also thanked the Philippine government for its help in the discovery of a ship that sank during World War II in the northern Philippines, killing nearly a thousand Australians “in a very sad chapter in our history.”

CANBERRA, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Australian authorities have identified a large area in the Indian Ocean where they will focus the search for a capsized Chinese fishing vessel.

A spokesperson for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) told Xinhua on Thursday that, based on drift modeling, a remote 12,000 square km zone has been identified to search for the vessel.

17 May 2023; MEMO: US Ambassador to Israel, Thomas Nides, said the US administration is exerting efforts to normalise relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Anadolu News Agency reports.

In an interview to the Israeli i24 News channel, Nides said the Biden administration is working to expand the Abraham Accords between Israel and Arab countries.

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets and Wall Street futures rose Thursday on hopes U.S. political leaders can reach agreement to avoid a potentially disastrous default on government debt.

London and Paris opened higher. Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong advanced. Oil prices edged lower.

Wall Street rallied Wednesday after President Joe Biden expressed confidence “America will not default” despite lack of agreement on Republican demands for cuts in aid to poor families in exchange for raising the amount the government can borrow.