Europe

BUDAPEST, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Hungary is moving closer to the forefront of 5G technology advances, with the completion of digitization at Huawei's European Supply Center (ESC) plant in Paty, 20km west of Budapest, the capital of Hungary.

This development will enable a number of 5G-based Industry 4.0 solutions to support the logistics and manufacturing center, the company said here on Monday.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union officials on Tuesday defended the 27-nation bloc’s decision to ban Russian state-controlled media outlets from broadcasting in the region as decisive steps to check a Kremlin-led “information war.”

Speaking at the European Parliament during a debate on foreign interference and disinformation, the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell brushed off critics who say the EU is threatening freedom of information with the ban on Sputnik and RT/Russia Today.

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was on the last leg Tuesday of a short tour of the three Baltic states aimed at reassuring the former Soviet republics that NATO will guarantee their security as Russia’s war with Ukraine rolls on unabated.

Blinken was meeting with senior Estonian officials in Tallinn, a day after hearing appeals from both Lithuania and Latvia for more support and greater U.S. and NATO troop presence to deter a feared Russian intervention.

BERLIN (AP) — Emmanuel Oyedele’s dream of getting a business degree in Ukraine lies shattered in the rubble of Russia’s sudden fierce military assault, but right now the 28-year-old Nigerian says he feels blessed.

After hastily escaping Kyiv as Russian forces advanced, Oyedele, his brother and two young female friends spent days trying to flee Ukraine by train and on foot before eventually making it to Berlin, where they were welcomed into a stranger’s home.

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Safe corridors intended to let Ukrainian civilians escape the Russian onslaught could open Tuesday, Kremlin officials said, though Ukrainian leaders were skeptical since prior efforts to establish evacuation routes crumbled amid renewed attacks.

MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/: The larger part of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) has been placed under control and the republic’s forces are encircling remaining communities, LPR Head Leonid Pasechnik said in a live broadcast on the Rossiya-1 TV Channel on Monday.

"Practically the entire territory of the LPR, its larger part has been liberated. We have not yet liberated quite a serious stronghold - Severodonetsk and the Lisichansk frontier. They have actually been encircled," the LPR head said.

KIEV, March 7. /TASS/: The opening of humanitarian corridors, which were proposed earlier by Russia, are unacceptable for the Ukrainian side, Deputy Prime Minister for issues of reintegration on uncontrolled territories Irina Vereshchuk said on Monday.

"This is an unacceptable option for opening humanitarian corridors," she told a news briefing.

MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/: Confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia grew by 73,162 in the past 24 hours to 17,014,818, the federal anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Monday.

The growth was the slowest since January 25 and amounted to 0.43%, the crisis center reported.

As many as 3,804 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia in the past day, which is 53.8% fewer than in the previous day. The number of hospitalized patients declined in 78 Russian regions and increased in seven other regions, the data show.

MOSCOW, March 6. /TASS/: TikTok suspends live streaming and new content adding to its video service, the social network said on Sunday in the statement posted on its website.

"In light of Russia’s new ‘fake news’ law, we have no choice but to suspend livestreaming and new content to our video service while we review the safety implications of this law," TikTok said. "Our in-app messaging service will not be affected," it noted.

MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/: The Government of the Russian Federation has approved on Monday a list of foreign states and territories that commit unfriendly actions against Russia, its companies, and citizens.