Moscow on Wednesday said that it is not surprised by the record-long absence of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Donald Trump, given the "unprecedented deterioration" of Russia-US relations during the tenure of former US President Joe Biden.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the remarks on an assessment, which noted that for the first time in the modern history of Russia, the US-Russian summit had not been held even after more than six months since the inauguration of the new US President.

Previously, the wait for the Russia-US summit reportedly lasted on average from one to five months. This time, six months and 16 days have passed since Trump took over the presidency; however, there has not been any personal meeting between the American, reported.

US President Donald Trump has said that he was waiting to see what happens at the meeting between Russia’s leaders and his special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday before deciding on the punitive tariffs on those buying oil from Russia.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday afternoon, he said, “We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow. We're going to see what happens, we'll make that determination, at that time”.

On Tuesday morning, Trump warned that he would impose heavy tariffs on India within the next 24 hours, but his afternoon statement, while talking to reporters, appeared to indicate that he may hold off on the threat if there was movement on the talks to end the Ukraine War.

The Israeli army has begun fortifying five key military positions it continues to occupy along the southern Lebanon border, according to a Lebanese security source and eyewitnesses.

The Defence Acquisition Council, under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on Tuesday approved various proposals for buying military hardware at a total cost of about Rs 67,000 crore.

Yemen's Houthi military group said it launched a new missile attack on the Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel on Tuesday, which was reportedly intercepted by Israeli defence systems.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that upcoming tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals could eventually rise as high as 250 per cent, as part of his push to bring drug manufacturing back to the United States.

Klyuchevskoy volcano in Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula ejected an ash plume reaching 7 kilometres above sea level on Tuesday, with the cloud drifting southeast toward the Pacific Ocean, local authorities reported.

"There are no settlements in the path of the ash cloud, and no ash fallout has been recorded in populated areas. No registered tourist groups are currently in the vicinity of the volcano," the Kamchatka branch of the Ministry of Emergency Situations said on its Telegram channel.

The volcano has been assigned an orange aviation colour code, indicating a high likelihood of ash emissions and potential hazards to aviation.

The eruption activity intensified on Monday, when the Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences recorded four separate ash plumes from Klyuchevskoy, with the highest reaching 9 kilometres above sea level, reports news agency.

Many households in Brunei continue to express concerns about the prices of groceries, even as overall inflation has moderated or turned negative, according to the local daily Borneo Bulletin on Tuesday.

Recent data comparing average prices in June 2025 to levels in 2019 shows that food prices have risen significantly across a range of essential items, with notable increases including frozen minced beef, fresh lamb, chillies, tomatoes, and cooking oils, the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics (DEPS) was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The DEPS, under Brunei's Ministry of Finance and Economy, said in a statement that the price hikes reflect both global factors, such as supply chain disruptions, climate-related impacts, and geopolitical tensions, and local market conditions, including production costs and a smaller scale of production, reports news agency.

The Hong Kong Observatory on Tuesday morning issued the black rainstorm warning signal, the fourth time within eight days.

This is the highest level in the observatory's three-tier heavy rain alert system. This indicates that heavy rain has fallen or is expected to fall generally over Hong Kong, exceeding 70 mm in an hour, and is likely to continue.

Due to seriously flooded roads and inclement weather conditions, people are advised to take shelter in a safe place. An emergency coordination centre of the Home Affairs Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government is in operation. The department has opened temporary shelters for needy people.

In light of the severe rainstorm, some public services and activities in the HKSAR have been suspended. Classes in all schools are suspended, reports news agency.

Public general outpatient clinics and specialist outpatient clinics are closed. All court and tribunal hearings will be adjourned this morning.

Fueled by gusty winds and bone-dry timber, Arizona's Dragon Bravo Fire sweeping across the North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park had grown to roughly 472 square km, according to the US interagency website on wildfire.

The blaze, ignited by a July 4 lightning strike on the Walhalla Plateau inside the park, is only 12 per cent contained as of Sunday despite the round-the-clock efforts of 1,214 firefighters supported by helicopters and large air tankers.

Over 900 people, 54 trail mules, and staff have been evacuated safely. Firefighters have been using graded forest roads, canyon walls and remnants of previous burns to contain the wildfire since mid-July, news agency reported.