Our daily journey around the world

🇨🇳🤝🇷🇺 Xi Jinping began a three-day summit with Vladimir Putin in Moscow yesterday. Discussions between the Chinese and Russian leaders are expected to focus mainly on the ongoing war in Ukraine. Since Russia invaded a little over a year ago, China has helped shield Moscow from Western sanctions by significantly increasing the imports of Russian oil and the exports of technologies like microchips. After meeting with Putin, Xi plans to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about potentially negotiating an end to the ongoing war, per multiple sources.

🌏 A new UN climate report found the world will likely miss its global temperature goal. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's assessment, released yesterday, concluded that humanity still has a chance to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, as laid out in the Paris Agreement. However, to do so would require the world to collectively cut 60% of its emissions by 2035 (since the world has already warmed by 1.1°C when compared to average temps from 1850-1900).

🇮🇳 The Indian state of Punjab has blocked internet access and text messaging, amidst its search for a missing fugitive. The ongoing statewide ban, which covers ~27 million people, can be traced back to Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh – a popular figure within a movement seeking to establish a sovereign Sikh-run state in Punjab. On Friday, Singh drove through central Punjab with a caravan of followers, prompting state officials to block mobile internet service in a bid to avoid mass protests and curtail what it called “fake news.” For local residents, the shutdown isn’t anything new: in each of the past five years, Indian officials have ordered blackouts more frequently than any other government.

+Update: French President Emmanuel Macron’s government narrowly survived a no-confidence vote held yesterday in response to his plan to raise the minimum retirement age.