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 Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet in Uzbekistan on Friday and discuss trade as well as sales of Russian fertilizers and mutual food supplies, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

"There are plans to discuss issues of 'saturation' of the Indian market with Russian fertilizers and bilateral food supplies," it said in its handout of materials for the meeting.

The meeting will be held on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional security bloc.

"First of all, moves, aimed at boosting bilateral trade flows, will be looked at. The trade turnover reached $11.5 billion in the first half of 2022, up almost 120% year-on-year," the Kremlin said.

India's fertiliser imports from Russia rose to $1.03 billion in April-July compared to $773.54 million in whole of the last fiscal year to March 31, 2022, according to the Indian commerce ministry's website.

India is looking for a three-year fertiliser import deal with Russia.

Attempts to sign a long-term fertiliser import deal earlier this year were hit by the challenging geopolitical situation after Russia launched what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine on Feb. 24. 

Putin will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the sidelines of the summit in Uzbekistan's ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand. 

India and China are key buyers of Russian energy, helping to cushion Moscow from the effects of Western sanctions and allowing the two Asian economies to secure raw materials at discounts compared to supplies from other countries.

The two Asian nations have not publicly criticised Moscow's actions in Ukraine, despite the outcry in the West.

India, which rarely used to buy Russian oil, has emerged as Moscow's second biggest oil customer after China.

Refiners in India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, have been snapping up discounted Russian oil, shunned by some western countries and companies.

The Group of Seven countries is working to cap the price of Russian oil from Dec. 5 in an attempt to cut the price Russia receives for oil without reducing its petroleum exports to world markets.

So far, India and China have not said if they will join the price cap mechanism.

Oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri last week said India would examine the issue when more details are available. He also said many conversations and proposals were taking place and "we will see who is participating" in the price cap mechanism. (Reuters)

Taiwan's de facto ambassador in Washington, Hsiao Bi-khim, on Tuesday hosted dozens of international lawmakers who back sanctions on China for aggression toward the island, a show of support for Taipei amid military pressure from Beijing.

The unannounced gathering of about 60 parliamentarians from Europe, Asia and Africa at Taiwan's sweeping hilltop diplomatic mansion in Washington - called Twin Oaks - is the latest move in Taipei's efforts to persuade fellow democracies to stand against China since Russia's invasion of Ukraine heightened concerns that Beijing could attempt to take the island by force.

The group, consisting of members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) gathering in Washington this week, is expected to sign a pledge to push their governments to adopt "greater deterrence against military or other coercive" actions by the People's Republic of China (PRC) against Taiwan, according to a draft seen by Reuters.

"We will campaign to ensure our governments signal to the PRC that military aggression towards Taiwan will cost Beijing dearly. Economic and political measures, including meaningful sanctions, should be considered to deter military escalation, and to ensure trade and other exchanges with Taiwan can continue unimpeded," the draft said.

It added that their countries' ties to Taiwan were not Beijing's to determine, and that they would push to increase mutual visits by lawmakers.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to bring democratically governed Taiwan under Beijing's control and has not ruled out the use of force. He is set to secure a third, five-year leadership term at a Communist Party congress next month. Taiwan's government strongly rejects China's sovereignty claims.

Sources familiar with the issue have told Reuters that Washington is considering sanctions against China to deter it from invading Taiwan, with the European Union coming under diplomatic pressure from Taipei to do the same.

Hsiao, speaking to the lawmakers - who according to a guest list seen by Reuters hailed from countries including the U.K., Australia, Canada, India, Japan, Lithuania, Ukraine, New Zealand and the Netherlands - told the gathering: "It is important to demonstrate to the bully that we have friends too.

"We are not seeking to provoke the bully, but neither will we bow to their pressure."

She welcomed two Ukrainian representatives at the event.

"We certainly hope that as the international community stands with Ukraine, that the international community will also stand with Taiwan... that together we can deter the further aggression coming from China."

The IPAC pledge, expected to be signed on Wednesday, also calls for countries to secure supply chains from forced labor in China's Xinjiang region, and to pursue sanctions on Chinese officials for abuses in Hong Kong, and on Chinese companies that support Russia's military industry.

China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

'YEARS PAST DUE'

U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Menendez, who acts as the United States' IPAC co-chair with Republican Marco Rubio, told an IPAC briefing at the Capitol on Tuesday that a U.S. bill to support Taiwan would face some changes during a scheduled review this week, but that the "thrust" would remain the same.

An initial version of that bill threatens severe sanctions against China for any aggression against Taiwan, and would provide Taiwan with billions of dollars in foreign military financing in coming years. 

Rubio said he believed the Biden administration was divided over how to approach prospective sanctions on China, and that although Beijing appeared to be taking steps to insulate itself from such actions, Washington needed be clear about the costs of hostility across the Taiwan Strait.

"It's important for us to be prepared to proactively outline – whether it's through legislation or through an executive announcement, exactly what the economic consequences will be if such an act of aggression goes forward," Rubio told the briefing.

China conducted blockade-style military drills around Taiwan after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island last month, a reaction Taiwanese officials have credited for spurring an uptick in foreign engagement that Beijing views as a violation of its sovereignty claims over the island.

Taiwan also has been urging Washington, its largest arms supplier, to expedite already approved weapons deliveries that have faced delays because of supply chain issues and heightened demand from the war in Ukraine.

Republican U.S. Representative Young Kim, who has written a bill to track U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, told Reuters in an interview that Hsiao had delivered a forceful message to Congress about ensuring those weapons systems reach Taiwan quickly.

"She's said it in a hundred different ways that we appreciate the United States trying to get us the arms but don't forget, it's many years past due," Kim said of Hsiao. "She's very firm." (Reuters)

China reported 1,062 new COVID-19 infections on Sept. 13, of which 237 were symptomatic and 825 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Wednesday.

That is compared with 1,048 new cases a day earlier, 242 symptomatic and 806 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately.

There were no new deaths, same as a day earlier, keeping the nation's fatalities at 5,226.

As of Sept. 13, mainland China had confirmed 247,557 cases with symptoms.

China's capital Beijing reported 18 new local symptomatic cases and no asymptomatic cases, compared with 10 symptomatic and six asymptomatic cases a day earlier, according to local government data.

Financial hub Shanghai reported one local symptomatic and no asymptomatic cases, compared with no symptomatic and asymptomatic cases the day before, local government data showed.

China's southern technology hub of Shenzhen, which has eased anti-virus restriction measures after a strict lockdown for most residents, reported eight new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections, the same as a day earlier.

The southwestern metropolis of Chengdu reported 35 new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections, compared with 44 a day earlier, data from the local government showed. (Reuters)

Japan's emperor and empress will attend Queen Elizabeth's funeral instead of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Kyodo news reported, citing multiple government sources.

Britain has extended invitations to two representatives per country, Kyodo said. (Reuters)