MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin urged Western countries to stop supplying Ukraine with weapons during a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday.

Putin told Macron about Russia's efforts in the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol, the Kremlin said in a statement. (Russia-Ukraine-France)

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JERUSALEM -- Israel's military said on Tuesday that it has imposed a three-day closure on the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip ahead of the country's Memorial Day and Independence Day.

All the crossings between the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel were closed off on Tuesday at 15:00 (1200 GMT), an Israeli military spokesperson confirmed to Xinhua. The closure is scheduled to be lifted at midnight between Thursday and Friday (2100 GMT), "subjected to the situational assessment," the spokesperson added in a statement. (Israel-Closure-Palestinian Territories)

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SYDNEY -- After dropping interest rates down to historic low levels during the pandemic, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has lifted interest rates by 0.25 to 0.35 percent, the first rise since 2010, in an effort to calm growing inflation.

RBA Governor Philip Lowe said that it was now "the right time" to withdraw accommodative monetary support designed to help the Australian economy through the pandemic. (Australia-Interest Rate-Lift)

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LOS ANGELES -- California's population shrank for the second consecutive year, bringing the Golden State's total to 39,185,605 as of Jan. 1, 2022, local authority announced Monday.

The population of the California, which is still the most populous state in the United States, dipped slightly by 117,552 last year, according to a new population and housing data released from the California Department of Finance. (U.S.-California-Population)