Europe

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — The foreign ministers of France and the Netherlands visited a NATO battlegroup at a base in Romania Friday and later agreed to bolster their ties amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Catherine Colonna of France and Wopke Hoekstra of the Netherlands visited the military base in Cincu, central Romania, along with their Romanian counterpart, Bogdan Aurescu. France and the Netherlands both have troops in the battlegroup, which was strengthened in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Romania’s neighbor.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Hundreds of climate activists blocked one of the main roads into The Hague on Saturday, defying attempts to prevent their protest that have sparked concerns about restrictions on the right to demonstrate in the Netherlands.

The protesters, many waving colored flags with the symbol of environmental group Extinction Rebellion and one holding a sign saying, in Dutch, “This is a dead end road,” gathered on the A12 road near the temporary home of the Dutch parliament. Police and hundreds more demonstrators looked on.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine and its Western allies are engaged in “fast-track” talks on the possibility of equipping the invaded country with long-range missiles and military aircraft, a top Ukrainian presidential aide said Saturday.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Ukraine’s supporters in the West “understand how the war is developing” and the need to supply planes capable of providing cover for the armored fighting vehicles that the United States and Germany pledged at the beginning of the month.

A MILITARY BASE IN SOUTHEASTERN POLAND (AP) — On the front lines in Ukraine, a soldier was having trouble firing his 155 mm howitzer gun. So, he turned to a team of Americans on the other end of his phone line for help.

“What do I do?” he asked the U.S. military team member, miles away at a base in southeastern Poland. “What are my options?”

28 Jan 2023; MEMO: Far-right Danish politician, Rasmus Paludan, committed another provocative act on Friday, burning a second copy of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, this time in front of the Turkish Embassy in Denmark, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Paludan, the leader of the Danish far-right party, Stram Kurs (Hard Line), sought to make a statement to journalists before the provocation from a point across from the Embassy, ​​under police protection.

MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/: Russian forces continued their offensive in the southern Donetsk and Zaporozhye areas, tightening their grip on Ugledar in the Donetsk People’s Republic over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Friday.

MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/: Only the successful completion of the special military operation may serve as the foundation for "meaningful and productive" talks on the situation in Ukraine, says First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, ex-Russian Permanent Representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov.

MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/: Moscow doesn’t rule out that IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi may visit Russia soon to discuss issues of further cooperation, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.

"We don’t rule out a possible visit by an IAEA delegation led by Mr. Grossi to Russia in the near future to discuss the parameters of our further cooperation," she said.

MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/: The citizens of NATO’s member-states should understand that the bloc is completely involved in confrontation with Russia in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a news briefing on Friday.

"The citizens of NATO’s countries should know that their bloc is completely involved in confrontation with our country. And this confrontation is growing," Zakharova said.

STOCKHOLM, Jan 27 (NNN-XINHUA) – “The migratory situation in the European Union (EU) is strained,” the member states’ justice and home affairs ministers agreed, at their Council meeting here yesterday.

“There is an urgent need to strengthen the external borders, increase returns, and prevent irregular migration,” they said, according to a statement, issued by the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU.