Europe

MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated the West’s growing concern about the work of the BRICS countries to develop their independent financial mechanisms.

BRATISLAVA, April 17. /TASS/. Donbass and Crimea will remain part of Russia forever, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told members of the European Affairs Committee of the country’s National Council (parliament).

MOSCOW, April 18. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky admitted that Russian forces were advancing and asked the West to provide his country with everything that can help Ukrainian troops hold the frontline.

"They are putting pressure on us at the front and are gradually moving [forward]," Zelensky said in his address to European leaders during an informal summit in Brussels.

He also said that Russia is feeling its strength in almost everything related to the armed component, including artillery, equipment and ability to operate in the sky.

UNITED NATIONS, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) on Wednesday launched a flash appeal worth 2.822 billion U.S. dollars for the occupied Palestinian territory.

The money will be used to provide assistance to 3.1 million people in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, through the end of the year, said UNOCHA.

KIEV, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday agreed to hold an urgent meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council.

"The Secretary General of the Alliance confirmed the convening of an extraordinary meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council at Ukraine's request," Zelensky said in a post on Telegram after a phone conversation with Stoltenberg.

The meeting at the defense ministers level will take place on Friday, Zelensky said.

01 April 2024; MEMO: World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged Israel on Sunday to urgently enable access to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza and establish a humanitarian corridor, Anadolu news agency reported.

“We urge Israel to urgently facilitate access and a humanitarian corridor so WHO and partners can carry out the lifesaving transfer of patients,” Tedros said on X.

ATHENS, April 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thick clouds of dust blown in from the Sahara once again covered Greek skies Monday, especially Athens and Thessalonika, with temperatures rising as high as 31øC (88øF).

The dust storms, which had already affected Greece last week as well as regions such as Switzerland and Southern France, made breathing difficult for many people. 

A high of 26øC was forecast in the capital Athens Monday, which public television station ERT described as conditions more akin to May. 

28 March 2024; MEMO: Pope Francis has expressed his support for Catholics in the Holy Land as Easter approaches. He assured them, “You are not alone.”

The statement came following a meeting with two peace activists, Bassam Aramin, a Palestinian, and Rami Elhanan, an Israeli, who both lost their daughters, ages ten and 13, because of the war.

29 March 2024; AP: For Evan Gershkovich, the dozen appearances in Moscow’s courts over the past year have fallen into a pattern.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin scoffed at the possibility of his country launching an attack on a NATO member, calling it “sheer nonsense,” but warned that any Western air base hosting U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets that are slated for deployment in Ukraine would be a “legitimate target” for the Kremlin’s forces.

“Their statements about our alleged intention to attack Europe after Ukraine is sheer nonsense,” Putin said late Wednesday, referring to warnings in the U.S. and Western Europe that Russia could turn its sights on other countries unless it’s stopped.