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Give us 5 minutes, and we’ll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Ukraine’s armed forces are making “gradual tactical advances” against Russia’s defensive line east of the town of Robotyne, the British Defense Ministry said Saturday in its daily intelligence update on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The update, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, also indicated that it is “highly likely” Russia has taken forces from other areas of the front line “to replace degraded units” near Robotyne. The redeployments, the ministry said, are “likely limiting” Russia’s capacity for executing offensive operations in other frontline areas and are “highly likely” indicative of pressure on Russia’s defensive lines, especially around Robotyne.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in a letter last month that Russia would be eligible to apply for membership and access to the SWIFT banking system for food and fertilizer transactions.

The Russian Agricultural Bank subsidiary in Luxembourg could immediately apply to SWIFT to “effectively enable access” for the bank to the international payments system within 30 days, the United Nations told Russia in a letter, seen by Reuters on Friday.

In an effort to persuade Moscow to return to the U.N.-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative that had allowed the safe export through the Black Sea of Ukrainian grain, Guterres outlined four measures the United Nations could facilitate to improve Russia’s grain and fertilizer exports.

Guteres told Lavrov the U.N. was immediately ready to move on all measures “based on the clear understanding that their application would lead to the Russian Federation’s return to the Black Sea Initiative and the full resumption of operations.”

A key Russian demand has been the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank, Rosselkhozbank, to the SWIFT system. It was cut off by the European Union in June of last year after Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed skepticism in a statement Wednesday at the U.N. chief’s proposals.

“Instead of actual exemptions from sanctions, all Russia got was a new dose of promises from the U.N. Secretariat,” it said. “These recent proposals do not contain any new elements and cannot serve as a foundation for making any tangible progress in terms of bringing our agricultural exports back to normal.”

Russia exited the deal in July, a year after it was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey to combat a global food crisis the U.N. said was worsened by Russia’s invasion. Ukraine and Russia are both leading grain exporters.

In other developments, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin masterminded the death of Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in an unexplained plane crash with his top lieutenants last month.

Zelenskyy did not provide evidence to back up the claim he made in passing during a conference in Kyiv when he was asked a question about the Russian president.

“The fact that he killed Prigozhin — at least that’s the information we all have, not any other kind — that also speaks to his rationality, and about the fact that he is weak,” Zelenskyy said.

The Kremlin says all possible causes of the crash will be investigated, including the possibility of foul play. It has called the suggestion that Putin ordered the deaths of Prigozhin and his men an “absolute lie.”

Prigozhin led a short-lived mutiny in Russia in June that Putin characterized as treasonous and a “stab in the back.”

Delegates from the world’s most powerful countries have reached a compromise on language to describe the war in Ukraine, a source with knowledge of the discussions said, as their leaders began the annual G20 summit on Saturday in New Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of host India inaugurated the meeting by calling on members to end a “global trust deficit” and announced that the bloc was granting permanent membership to the African Union in an effort to make it more representative.

“Today, as the president of G20, India calls upon the entire world to first convert this global trust deficit into one trust and one confidence,” he said. “It is time for all of us to move together.”

The group is deeply divided over the war in Ukraine, with Western nations pushing for strong condemnation of Russia while others are demanding a focus on broader economic issues.

The sherpas, or country representatives, have reached a compromise on the language to be used in the final communique, which will be presented to the leaders, the source with knowledge of the negotiations said.

No details were immediately available, but it could be similar to the language in the communique issued in Indonesia at the 2022 summit, which noted that while most nations condemned Russia for the invasion, there were also divergent views.

At the start of the day, U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders of the Group of 20 were driven through deserted streets to a new, $300 million conch-shaped convention centre called Bharat Mandapam, opposite a 16th-century stone fort, for the two-day summit.

Many businesses, shops, offices and schools have been closed in the city of 20 million, and traffic restricted as part of security measures to ensure the smooth running of the most high-powered meeting to be hosted by the country. Slums have been demolished and monkeys and stray dogs removed from the streets.

According to an earlier draft of the summit declaration reviewed by Reuters, negotiators were unable to resolve disagreements over the wording on the war in Ukraine, leaving it to the leaders to reach a compromise if possible.

The 38-page draft that was circulated among members left the “geopolitical situation” paragraph blank, while it had agreed on 75 other paragraphs covering a range of issues.

Biden will press for a higher level of climate action from major countries at the summit, a White House official said, as concerns grow about lack of consensus on cutting emissions.

The G20 nations account for 80% of global emissions and their views are being keenly watched ahead of the COP 28 meeting in the United Arab Emirates.

Modi, in his opening remarks at the summit, invited the AU, represented by Chairperson Azali Assoumani, to take a seat at the table of G20 leaders as a permanent member.

The summit is expected to be dominated by the West and its allies. Chinese President Xi Jinping is skipping the meeting and has sent Premier Li Qiang instead, while Russia’s Vladimir Putin will also be absent.

Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Bin Salman and Japan’s Fumio Kishida, among others, are attending.

The summit had been seen as affording a venue for a possible meeting between Xi and Biden following months of efforts by the two world powers to mend ties frayed by trade and geopolitical tensions.

“It’s incumbent upon the Chinese government to explain” why its leader “would or would not participate”, Jon Finer, the U.S. deputy national security adviser, told reporters in Delhi.

He said there was speculation that China is “giving up on G20” in favour of groupings like BRICS, where it is dominant.

BRICS includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and has agreed to add another six new members – Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates – in a move aimed at accelerating its push to reshuffle a world order it sees as outdated.

G20 sherpas, or country negotiators, have been struggling to agree on the language because of differences over the Ukraine war, hoping to get Russia on board to produce what is called the Leaders’ Declaration.

Russia is being represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and he has said he will block the final declaration unless it reflects Moscow’s position on Ukraine and other crises.

One source told Reuters a joint declaration may or may not come to a unanimous agreement. It could have different paragraphs stating the views of different countries. Or it could record agreement and dissent in one paragraph.

According to another senior source in one of the G20 countries, the paragraph on the war on Ukraine had been agreed by Western countries and sent to Russia for its views.

The official said Russia had the option to accept Western countries’ views and give its dissent as part of the statement.

In the absence of an agreement, India will have to issue a chair statement, which would mean that G20 for the first time in 20 years of summits will not have a declaration.

A Leaders’ Declaration “is by far the best way to record what has been agreed, so that countries can be held to account in the future by external parties, and so that government systems know what their leaders have signed up to and what they need to do internally”, said Creon Butler, director for the global economy and finance programme at London’s Chatham House.

The differing views on the war have prevented agreement on even a single communique at ministerial meetings during India’s G20 presidency so far this year.

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A multinational rail and ports deal linking the Middle East and South Asia will be announced Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi, a White House official said.

The pact comes at a critical time as U.S. President Joe Biden seeks to counter China’s Belt and Road push on global infrastructure by pitching Washington as an alternative partner and investor for developing countries at the G20 grouping.

The deal will benefit low and middle-income countries in the region and enable a critical role for the Middle East in global commerce, Jon Finer, the U.S. deputy national security adviser, told reporters at the bloc’s annual summit in New Delhi.

It aims to link Middle East countries by railway and connect them to India by port, helping the flow of energy and trade from the Gulf to Europe, U.S. officials have said, by cutting shipping times, costs and fuel use.

A memorandum of understanding for the deal will be signed by the European Union, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and other G20 partners, Finer said.

“Linking these key regions, we think, is a huge opportunity,” said Finer. No immediate details of the value of the deal were available.

The move comes amid U.S. efforts for a broader diplomatic deal in the Middle East that would have Saudi Arabia recognize Israel.

From the U.S. viewpoint, Finer added, the deal helps “turn the temperature down across the region” and “address a conflict where we see it.”

Budget for new public buildings includes allotment for original artworks

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem endorsed Donald Trump at a campaign rally on Friday, potentially boosting the former president’s lead in the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential primary race.

A rising star in the party, Noem has long been mentioned as a possible running mate for Trump should he win the nomination. Her endorsement will likely add fuel to that speculation.

Noem announced her “full and complete endorsement” of Trump at an evening rally in Rapid City, South Dakota, attended by thousands of the former president’s supporters.

“He is the leader, the fighter that our country needs,” said Noem, who used a joke to nod at speculation that she could be his running mate but did not directly address the issue. “I will do everything I can to help him win and save this country.”

With the first nominating contest in Iowa still months away, only a handful of Republican governors have officially endorsed candidates in the crowded primary.

Republican strategist Matt Dole said Noem’s move to endorse at this early stage suggests she is increasingly confident that Trump, who is far ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other rivals in national polls, will win the primary.

“It is a sign that he is solidifying the base behind his candidacy,” said Dole, who has advised gubernatorial and congressional candidates. “Governor Noem has a backing in the Republican Party who like her style and have followed her career. I think she brings folks to the table with her.”

Noem, 51, raised her national profile during the COVID-19 pandemic when she pushed back on restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the virus. She has been a staunch Trump supporter, winning her a measure of popularity among his base of voters.

Trump called Noem one of the most successful governors, citing her record resisting pandemic lockdowns and strong economic growth in her state.

“I get endorsements, some don’t mean anything. Hers means a lot,” Trump said.

Trump spent most of his nearly two-hour speech railing against the policies of President Joe Biden, a Democrat who defeated him in the 2020 election. The two appear to be on track for a rematch in 2024, with Republican primary voters rallying to Trump’s side even as he faces four criminal indictments.

He reiterated plans to dismantle tax incentives for electric vehicles, one of Biden’s signature policies, and vowed to implement a mass deportation of immigrants and fire scores of government workers in an effort to “obliterate the Deep State.”

Trump painted the economic outlook in hyperbolic terms, underscoring his attempt to capitalize on polls showing that most voters don’t approve of Biden’s handling of the economy, despite easing inflation and low unemployment.

“The fact is we are probably heading into a Great Depression,” Trump said. “The only question is whether or not it will be during the remaining months of the Biden administration. If it’s going to happen, let it happen then.”

Trump also called on Republicans in Congress to try to use an upcoming government funding deadline of Sept. 30 as leverage to ban the Biden administration from using taxpayer funds for resettling immigrants within the United States.

Leaders of the world’s 20 most powerful nations begin an annual summit on Saturday in India’s capital New Delhi, deeply divided over the war in Ukraine but in broad agreement on issues such as cryptocurrencies and reforms in multilateral development banks.

U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders of the Group of 20 nations will gather for the two-day summit at a new, $300 million conch-shaped convention centre called Bharat Mandapam, opposite a 16th-century stone fort.

Businesses, shops, offices and schools have been closed in Delhi, a city of 20 million, and traffic restricted as part of security measures to ensure the smooth running of the most high-powered meeting to be hosted by the country. Slums have been demolished and monkeys and stray dogs removed from the streets.

According to a draft of the summit declaration reviewed by Reuters, negotiators were unable to resolve disagreements over the wording on the war in Ukraine, leaving it to the leaders to reach a compromise if possible.

The 38-page draft that was circulated among members left the “geopolitical situation” paragraph blank, while it had agreed on the 75 other paragraphs.

Biden will press for a higher level of climate action from major countries at the summit, a White House official said, as concerns grow about lack of consensus on cutting emissions.

G20 sherpas, or country negotiators, have been struggling for days to agree on the language because of differences over the war, hoping to get Russia on board to produce what is called the Leaders’ Declaration.

Russia is being represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the meeting, and he has said he will block the final declaration unless it reflects Moscow’s position on Ukraine and other crises.

One source told Reuters a joint declaration may or may not come to a unanimous agreement. It could have different paragraphs stating the views of different countries. Or it could record agreement and dissent in one paragraph.

“We may paper over the differences and make a general statement saying we should have peace and harmony across the world so that everybody agrees,” a second source said.

According to another senior source in one of the G20 countries, the paragraph on the war on Ukraine had been agreed by Western countries and sent to Russia for its views.

The official said Russia had the option to accept Western countries’ views and give its dissent as part of the statement. In the absence of an agreement, India will have to issue a chair statement, which would mean that G20 for the first time in 20 years of summits will not have a declaration.

A Leaders’ Declaration “is by far the best way to record what has been agreed, so that countries can be held to account in the future by external parties, and so that government systems know what their leaders have signed up to and what they need to do internally”, said Creon Butler, director for the global economy and finance programme at London’s Chatham House.

“A chair’s statement would not have anything like the same effect. It would certainly lead to a crisis of confidence in the Group.”

An EU diplomat said Russia was “blocking a compromise that is acceptable otherwise for everyone else”.

The document showed that the group agreed to address debt vulnerabilities in low and middle-income countries “in an effective, comprehensive and systematic manner”, but did not produce a plan for fresh action.

The draft also shows countries pledged to strengthen and reform multilateral development banks, while it accepted the proposal for tighter regulations of cryptocurrencies.

It also agreed that the world needs a total of $4 trillion low-cost financing annually for energy transition. The draft did not mention a fossil fuel phase-down.

The two-day summit is expected to be dominated by the West and its allies. Chinese President Xi Jinping is skipping the meeting and sending Premier Li Qiang instead, while Russia’s Vladimir Putin will also be absent.

Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Bin Salman and Japan’s Fumio Kishida, among others, will attend.

The hardened stance on the war has prevented agreement on even a single communique at the ministerial meetings during India’s G20 presidency so far this year.

China, Russia’s most powerful ally, said on Friday it is willing to work with all parties and push for a positive outcome at the summit.

India has avoided blaming Moscow for the war and has called for a solution through dialogue and diplomacy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is projecting India’s presidency of the group and the summit as a showcase for the country’s fast-growing economy and its rising global stature.