Top 10 world news: Ukraine cites Russian 'provocations' for pausing evacuations of civilians, and more

Ukraine said Monday it was pausing evacuations of civilians from war-scarred regions of the country because intelligence reports suggested invading Russian troops were planning attacks on humanitarian routes.Philippines on Monday held the biggest military exercises in seven years with the United States as China continues to impose its presence over the South China Sea.

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"Our intelligence has reported possible provocations by the occupiers on routes of humanitarian corridors. Therefore, for reasons of public safety, we are not opening humanitarian corridors today," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a statement on social media.

As the delegations prepare for a fresh round of talks in Istanbul, the Kremlin stated Monday that talks between Moscow and Kyiv negotiators have so far yielded no major achievements on the Ukrainian issue.

The annual exercises, called Balikatan, Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder, will run up to April 8 with nearly 9,000 navy, marines, air force and army troops, including 5,100 American military personnel, to strengthen the longtime treaty allies’ “capabilities and readiness for real-world challenges,” US and Philippine military officials said.

According to reports, China's Sinopec has suspended investment and a gas marketing venture in Russia amid increasing threat of Western sanctions.

In an exclusive conversation, when WION asked Eva-Maria Liimets, the Foreign Minister of Estonia, if she is worried that Vladimir Putin will not stop at Ukraine, the minister said, “We truly hope that this unprovoked and unjustified war started by Russia will end as soon as possible. So that we will not see any more civilian casualties and also that Ukraine could restore its territorial integrity. Here in Estonia, we don't see that there is a direct military threat to any of the NATO countries."

According to reports, Russian officials have seized millions of dollars worth of Swiss watches as part of retaliation against Swiss sanctions.

The Panzerfaust 3 is a man-portable anti-tank weapon that was first used by the Bundeswehr in 1987. It is the modern-day successor to the famous Panzerfaust of World War II. It was initially intended to combat the Soviet T-72 and T-80 main battle tanks.

Gender inequality is entrenched in the gig economy, revealed a new report, which was commissioned by the Victorian government in Australia.

An auction site in southern France plunged into chaos after a local Gabonese community held protest against the auction of a 19th-century wooden carved mask that was sold for 4.2 million euros (US $ $4.6 million).

Tens of thousands of people are being targeted by cryptocurrency scammers that have a new target, which is dating apps.