Russia will continue cooperation with the US on de-escalation zones in southern Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, adding that although a ceasefire agreement came into force on Sunday, it needs to be consolidated.

"Regarding the perspectives of our cooperation with the Americans, it will continue through the implementation of those deals agreed on the de-escalation zone in Syria's southwest. The memorandum from June 7... assumes the development of additional details that would secure how this zone would work in practice. And despite the ceasefire coming into force on Sunday at 12:00 [local time], this [ceasefire] should be consolidated," Lavrov told reporters in Moscow.

A de-escalation zone helps to "disengage" armed opposition from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), Al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra Front (now known as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham) and other groups recognized as terrorists by the UN Security Council.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has affirmed the alliance's "unwavering support" for Ukraine's territorial integrity and has called on Russia to remove its "thousands of soldiers from Ukraine and stop supporting the militants with command-and-control and military equipment."

Stoltenberg made the comments in Kyiv after talks with President Petro Poroshenko and other officials on July 10.

"I am convinced that an investment in Ukraine's security is an investment into the security of NATO and its member states that pays off," Stoltenberg said, adding that the alliance is "learning a lot" from the cyberattacks that Ukraine has endured in recent months.

The International Monetary Fund has urged German authorities to raise the effective retirement age above 67, saying an aging population could work longer and hence save less and spend more.

"A pension reform encouraging people to retire later in life would reduce the need to save for retirement, encouraging consumption and thus reducing the surplus," said Enrica Detragiache, an IMF expert on Germany, as quoted by CNNMoney.

Some economists have criticized Germany for going in a different direction in 2014 by lowering the age at which Germans can retire to 63.

The German Council of Economic Experts warned at the time the change would cost the country an extra €10 billion ($11.4 billion) per year.

After six solid months of co-ordinated allegation from the mainstream media allied to the leadership of state security institutions, not one single scrap of solid evidence for Trump/Russia election hacking has emerged.

The immediate prospect for significant improvement in U.S.-Russia relations now depends on something tangible: Will the forces that sabotaged previous ceasefire agreements in Syria succeed in doing so again, all the better to keep alive the "regime change" dreams of the neoconservatives and liberal interventionists?

Or will President Trump succeed where President Obama failed by bringing the U.S. military and intelligence bureaucracies into line behind a cease-fire rather than allowing insubordination to win out?

These are truly life-or-death questions for the Syrian people and could have profound repercussions across Europe, which has been destabilized by the flood of refugees fleeing the horrific violence in the six-year proxy war that has ripped Syria apart.

Republican senators have lashed out at President Trump for teaming up with Russia's Vladimir Putin to form a cybersecurity unit to prevent election hacking. The politicians called the idea "close to the dumbest" and insisted Putin is doing the hacking.

"It's not the dumbest idea I have ever heard but it's pretty close," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told NBC's Meet the Press program, labeling Donald Trump's meeting with Putin on the sidelines of G20 summit as "disastrous."

Trump has "a blind spot when he deals with Russia," the senator said, adding that by "forgiving and forgetting" Moscow's alleged cyberattacks means to "empower Putin."

"Two hours and fifteen minutes of meetings; Tillerson and Trump are ready to forgive and forget when it comes to cyberattacks on the American election of 2016," Graham said, "Nobody's saying, 'Mr. President, the Russians changed the outcome. You won fair and square. But they did try to attack our election system.'"

France wants Brussels to take a tougher stance on American multinationals working inside the European Union (EU) and force them to pay an appropriate amount of tax.

"I can tell you that the times we live in are not for the weak," French Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire said in a conference in the southern French city of Aix-en-Provence.

"Since we have to deal with Mr. Putin, Mr. Trump or Mr. Erdogan, it's time for Europe to pull itself together and defend its own interests, to make Google, Amazon and Facebook pay the taxes they owe in Europe," he added, as quoted by Reuters.

London's High Court has ruled that UK arms sales to the Saudi Arabian regime are "lawful" in response to a judicial review brought by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT).

The case hinged on the question of whether the UK failed to suspend sales in line with legal obligations, given the Saudi's current war in neighboring Yemen, which has been waged in part using British manufactured military equipment.

Documents cited in court showed that civil servants had, in fact, recommended that sales should no longer go ahead, but ministers had ignored the advice.

"This is a very disappointing verdict, and we are pursuing an appeal," Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade said.

"If this verdict is upheld then it will be seen as a green light for government to continue arming and supporting brutal dictatorships and human rights abusers like Saudi Arabia that have shown a blatant disregard for international humanitarian law."

Austrian authorities say they are banning Turkey's Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci from entering the country to attend a rally marking the anniversary of last year's failed coup. However, Zeybekci denies he tried to go to Austria.

A spokesman for Austria's foreign ministry announced the decision on Monday, saying the planned event was "very big"and the visit represented a "danger for public order and security in Austria," Reuters report.

"I can confirm that (Austrian) Foreign Minister (Sebastian) Kurz has in fact forbidden the Turkish economy minister from entering the country," the spokesman said.

According to Reuters, the Turkish Economy Ministry refuted Austria's claims on Monday afternoon saying Zeybekci never attempted to visit the country and therefore could not have been refused entry.

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has begun closure procedures against Jugra, the country's 30th largest bank by assets. The regulator has put Jugra under provisional administration for six months to avoid Russia's biggest banking collapse in recent years.

Under the regulator's "financial rehabilitation program" banks under temporary administration are either absorbed by larger banks or liquidated because of their massive debt.

"The powers of shareholders connected with participation in the authorized capital and the powers of the managing bodies of PJSC BANK JUGRA are suspended for the period of provisional administration activities. The key objective of the provisional administration is to carry out an inspection of the bank's financial situation," said the CBR in a statement. The central bank referred to the federal law on insolvency.