Europe

MOSCOW, February 23. /TASS/: Moscow will offer a strong response to US sanctions, if not necessarily tit-for-tat, but a measured and sensitive one for Washington, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on new US anti-Russian sanctions on Wednesday.

"There should be no doubt - sanctions will be met with a strong response, not necessarily symmetrical, but measured and sensitive for the US side," the document says.

WARSAW, February 23. /TASS/: Polish President Andrzej Duda stated that the entry to his country may be blocked for Russians if the situation in eastern Ukraine aggravates.

MOSCOW, February 23. /TASS/: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres made several statements on the situation in eastern Ukraine that are not compatible with his status, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, opening talks with UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on Wednesday.

"To our great regret, the UN Secretary General whom you are representing turned out to be susceptible to pressure by the West and recently made several statements incompatible with his status and his authority under the UN Charter," he said.

MOSCOW, February 23. /TASS/: Russia has registered 137,642 new confirmed COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours, with the total number of infections reaching 15,795,570 cases, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Wednesday.

According to the crisis center, the relative increase of new infections is at the level of 0.88%.

MOSCOW, February 23. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone conversation on Wednesday exchanged assessments on the situation around Russia’s recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, the Kremlin press service said.

"Vladimir Putin stressed the real need for the decision that was made amid the Ukrainian authorities’ aggression in Donbass and their absolute refusal to implement the Minsk agreements," the statement said.

LONDON, Feb 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Oil prices are climbing on fears that the Ukraine-Russia crisis will disrupt supply chains across the world.

Futures of Brent crude, the international benchmark, reached a seven-year high of almost $98 on Tuesday after Russia recognised breakaway rebel regions in Ukraine’s east as independent states.

The UK and several western allies have threatened sanctions on the country.

Russia is the second largest exporter of crude oil after Saudi Arabia.

It is also the world’s top producer of natural gas.

PARIS, Feb 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The number of major wildfires worldwide will rise sharply in coming decades due to global warming, and governments are ill-prepared for the death and destruction such mega-blazes trail in their wake, the UN warned Wednesday.

     Even the most ambitious efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions will not prevent a dramatic surge in the frequency of extreme fire conditions, a report commissioned by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) concluded.

PARIS, Feb 23 (Reuters) - French lawyer Sarah Asmeta wears a hijab at work but that means she is banned by her local Bar Council from representing clients in the courtroom.

She has been fighting to overturn that rule.

Next Wednesday, France's highest court is due to rule on Asmeta's case in a judgment that could set a nationwide precedent and will resonate in a country where the hijab - a headscarf worn by some Muslim women - has become a flashpoint in a debate over identity and immigration.

PARIS, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Opposition contenders in France's upcoming leadership election mocked President Emmanuel Macron's diplomatic efforts in the Ukraine crisis, accusing him of putting up a show for electoral gains.

However, they also found their own past comments and dealings with Russia coming under scrutiny.

Macron has led European efforts to avert war in Ukraine, flying to Moscow earlier this month to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and spending hours on the phone with him and other world leaders over the past weeks to mediate.

Feb 23 (Reuters) - The Biden administration is expected to announce on Wednesday it will allow sanctions to move forward on Nord Stream 2 AG, the company in charge of building Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, CNN reported, citing U.S. officials.

Such an action would be part of U.S.-imposed penalties against Russia for President Vladimir Putin's recognition of separatist territories in eastern Ukraine as independent.