March 20, 2023

*) Russia hails China's willingness to resolve Ukraine conflict Russia's President Vladimir Putin has welcomed China's willingness to play a "constructive role" in ending the conflict in Ukraine, saying Sino-Russian relations were "at the highest point" in history. His Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping heads to Russia hoping to deliver a breakthrough on Ukraine as Beijing seeks to position itself as a peacemaker. The quality of ties between Moscow and Beijing is "higher than the political and military unions of the Cold War era", Putin said in an article written for a Chinese newspaper and published by the Kremlin on the eve of Xi's visit. *) Biden in call with Netanyahu expresses 'concern' over judicial reform plan US President Joe Biden has spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express "concern” over his government’s planned overhaul of the country’s judicial system which has sparked widespread protests across Israel. The White House said on Sunday Biden reiterated US concerns about the measure to roll back the judiciary’s insulation from the country’s political system, in a call a senior administration official described as “candid and constructive.” There was no immediate indication that Netanyahu was shying away from the action after rejecting a compromise offered by the country’s figurehead president last week. *) North Korea's Kim supervises drills 'simulating a nuclear counterattack' North Korean leader Kim Jong-un led two days of military drills "simulating a nuclear counterattack", including the firing of a ballistic missile carrying a mock nuclear warhead, state news agency KCNA has reported. Kim expressed "satisfaction" over the weekend drills, which were held to "let relevant units get familiar with the procedures and processes for implementing their tactical nuclear attack missions", the report said on Monday. The drills were the fourth show of force from Pyongyang in a week and came as South Korea and the United States stage their own military manoeuvres - 11 days of jo