Europe

KIEV, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said early Tuesday that Kiev has been urging the international community to hold emergency talks over Russia's decision on the status of Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine has been calling for an emergency summit of the Normandy Format, a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, and a special meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to address the issue, Zelensky said in a video address to the nation published on Facebook.

GENEVA (AP) — An independent human rights expert working with the United Nations is criticizing China and Russia for allegedly supplying weapons used by Myanmar’s military against civilians since it seized power last year.

Tom Andrews, a special rapporteur working with the U.N. human rights office, urged countries to halt such sales. He also called on the U.N. Security Council, where China and Russia are permanent members, to hold an emergency meeting to discuss a possible ban on sales of arms used by Myanmar’s military against civilians.

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — A fire aboard a ship carrying cars in the mid-Atlantic is dying out, a Portuguese navy officer said Tuesday, and the huge vessel is expected to be towed to the Bahamas.

The blaze on the Felicity Ace has burned for six days near Portugal’s Azores Islands. A Portuguese Air Force helicopter evacuated the 22 crew members last week, leaving the 200-meter-long (650-foot-long) vessel adrift.

MADRID (AP) — Surging energy prices and fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine are making European leaders think hard about energy security — particularly their decades-old reliance on Moscow for natural gas.

21 Feb 2022; MEMO: The Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Greece met today in the Greek capital, Athens, in an effort to resolve tensions and improve relations.

According to a Twitter post by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the meeting that took place between deputy Foreign Minister, Sedat Onal, and his Greek counterpart, Kostas Fragkogiannis, was the third working meeting to improve and advance dialogue between the two neighbours.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia set the stage for a quick move to secure its hold on Ukraine’s rebel regions on Tuesday with new legislation that would allow the deployment of troops there as the West prepares to announce sanctions against Moscow amid fears of a full-scale invasion.

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/: The government has been preparing for many months to the consequences of recognizing the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a Security Council meeting.

"We have already been preparing many months for the possible response to the recognition of LPR and DPR. I mean in the first instance import substitution and the analysis of all risks we can face in case of making such a decision," the Prime Minister said.

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 152,337, a new low since February 2, over the past day to 15,522,756, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Monday.

In relative terms, the growth rate reached 0.99%.

As many as 8,835 patients with COVID-19 were hospitalized in Russia in the past day, down 14.8% from a day earlier. Meanwhile, in 53 regions the number of those hospitalized has decreased, while in 31 regions the number has increased, according to the crisis center. The situation remained unchanged in one region.

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/: Moscow intends to take part in the upcoming Astana group’s foreign ministers meeting on Syria initiated by Turkey, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an address to participants in the Eleventh Middle East Conference hosted by the Valdai International Discussion Club. His address was read out by Russian Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov.

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/: The Munich Security Conference, instead of discussing its core subject, indulged in disinformation campaigns and fabricating fakes, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said on television on Monday.

"The Munich Security Conference turned out to be another in a series of platforms employed [for fabricating groundless charges]. Generally speaking, its mission is to address political security issues, while in reality it has been indulging in disinformation attacks, spreading fakes and demonstrating its own imbecility," Zakharova said.