KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian missiles and artillery pounded cities across Ukraine early Thursday, sparking fires, killing at least five people and trapping others under the rubble of destroyed buildings, authorities said, shortly after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced Russia as a “terrorist state” at the United Nations.

YANGON, Sept 21 (NNN-MNA) – A total of 12 people went missing, after a vessel capsized on Tuesday, in western Myanmar’s Sagaing Region, the information team of Myanmar’s State Administration Council said, yesterday.

The vessel departed from Hkamti town and sank in a whirlpool, in the Chindwin River, near Panset village of Mingin township, Sagaing Region, at around 9:55 a.m. local time on Tuesday, the information team said.

The people reported missing included three company staff, six civilians, and three security personnel, it said.

Sept 21 (Reuters) - A close aide to Jair Bolsonaro told police the former Brazilian president and senior military officers met last year to discuss a military intervention to overturn the result of the election after he lost, newspaper O Globo and news website UOL reported on Thursday.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 20 (Reuters) - It was to be Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy's first in-person appearance at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Moscow's invasion of his country when Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia objected to him taking the floor at the start of the meeting.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, serving as president of the tense session, responded with a gibe at Moscow, which has long said the invasion does not amount to a war but was a mere "special military operation".

MOSCOW, September 21. /TASS/: There are no meetings with US officials on the itinerary of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Soloviev Live TV channel.

"No, our itinerary does not include any meetings [with the US side]," Zakharova said, replying to a question on the matter.

STOCKHOLM, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Sweden's central bank on Thursday decided to increase the policy interest rate by 25 basis points to 4 percent, which will take effect from Sept. 27.

The Riksbank also indicated the likelihood of further hikes in the next 12 months to combat inflation.

SEOUL, Sept 21 (NNN-YONHAP) – The South Korean parliament today approved a motion seeking the arrest of Lee Jae-myung, chief of the main opposition Democratic Party.

The motion was put to an anonymous vote during a plenary session, with 149 in favour, 136 against, six abstentions and four undervotes.

VATICAN CITY, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Two bishops from mainland China are due to attend a major Vatican meeting next month, officials said on Thursday, a positive sign after recent tensions between the Holy See and Beijing.

The two bishops were chosen by their brother bishops in China, meaning they likely had approval from the Communist government, which holds great sway over the Chinese Catholic Church.

The two are Anthony Yao Shun of Jining and Joseph Yang Yongqiang of Zhoucun, officials said at a press conference.

NEW DELHI (AP) — India halted all visa services for citizens of Canada and told it to reduce its diplomatic staffing on Thursday as a rift widened between the countries after Canada’s leader said India may have been involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen.

Ties between Ottawa and New Delhi, key strategic partners in security and trade, have plunged to their lowest point in years after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week said there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader on its soil.

GORIS, Armenia, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh need security guarantees before giving up their weapons, an adviser to their leader said on Thursday, a day after Azerbaijan declared it had brought the breakaway region back under its control.

Karabakh Armenian authorities accused Azerbaijan of violating a ceasefire agreed on Wednesday after a lightning Azerbaijani offensive forced the separatists to agree to disarm.

BEIJING, Sept.21 (APP): The China and Pakistan joint air force exercise recently concluded in Northwest China is beneficial to both sides in terms of skills, tactics and interoperability, said Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert.

The two countries use different training approaches, but at the same time fly the same aircraft, the J-10C, so both sides can learn from each other, Fu told Global Times.

JERUSALEM, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Israel's foreign minister said on Thursday that a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia could be completed by early 2024.

"I think there is certainly a likelihood that in the first quarter of 2024 ... we will be able to be at a point where the details (of an agreement) are finalized," Eli Cohen told Israel's Army Radio.

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud expressed hope for the normalization negotiations on separate occasions.