Beijing: Chinese authorities officially confirmed Saturday that there were no survivors in the crash of a China Eastern 737-800 earlier this week with 132 people on board.

Sri Lanka's two major newspapers on Saturday suspended their publication over newsprint shortage and price escalation caused by the country's all-time worst foreign exchange crisis.

The second black box of the crashed Chinese passenger plane has yet to be found, official media reported on Friday, retracting an earlier announcement that it has been recovered from the crash site.

President Joe Biden and Western allies have pledged new sanctions and humanitarian aid in response to Vladimir Putin's assault on Ukraine, but their offers fell short of the more robust military assistance that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for in a pair of live-video appearances.

 NATO estimated on Wednesday that 7,000 to 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in four weeks of war in Ukraine, where fierce resistance from the country's defenders has denied Moscow the lightning victory it sought.

Britain will send thousands more missiles to Ukraine's government as Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Western allies to boost the supply of military aid to Ukraine.

The UN Security Council on Wednesday overwhelmingly defeated a Russian resolution that acknowledged Ukraine's growing humanitarian needs -- but didn't mention the Russian invasion that caused the escalating crisis which has left millions of Ukrainians in desperate need of food, water and shelter.

India, along with 12 other UN Security Council members, abstained on a resolution by Russia on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.