KYIV, June 10 (Reuters) - Counterattacking Ukrainian forces have advanced up to 1,400 metres at a number of sections of the front line near the eastern city of Bakhmut in the past day, a military spokesman said on Saturday.

The advance is the latest in a series of similar gains reported this week by Kyiv near Bakhmut, which Russia said it had fully captured last month after the bloodiest and longest battle since it began its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/: The West’s accusations of Russia are an attempt to cover up its lack of desire to listen to Moscow’s concerns, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Peskov made the statement in an interview with Pavel Zarubin for the "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin." program, a fragment of which the journalist posted to his Telegram channel.

"There are accusations from Washington, from European capitals that Russia is aggressive and so on. This is just an attempt to camouflage their unwillingness to listen to our concerns," he said.

MOSCOW, June 9 (Xinhua) -- More than 5,800 people, including 243 children, have been evacuated from the flooded areas of the Kherson region after the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam collapsed, a local official said on Friday.

In total, 22,273 houses in 17 settlements were affected in the Kherson region and the rise in water level can last up to 10 days, acting governor of the region Vladimir Saldo said in a Telegram post.

As water is draining from the Kakhovka reservoir, there is a threat to the supply of drinking water to 4,000 local residents, he added.

TEHRAN, Jun 10 (NNN-IRNA) – At least seven people were killed and 59 others injured, in storms and flash floods, in five Iranian provinces over the past two days, IRIB news agency reported, yesterday.

Among the four people killed in Isfahan were three by flooding, in Nohuj village in Ardestan County on Thursday, and a driver on an intercity road, whose car was washed away by the deluge, the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted Isfahan Disaster Mitigation and Management Organisation, as saying.

09 June 2023; MEMO: A large Muslim charity, suing those who charged it funded terrorist groups, won an out-of-court settlement against its accusers, it was reported Friday, Anadolu Agency reports.

The defendants also retracted their claims as part of the settlement.

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — Montenegro is holding an early parliamentary election Sunday, a vote that could provide indications of whether the small NATO member in the Balkans will overcome the deep political divisions and instability that have hampered its route to joining the European Union.

Some 542,000 voters are eligible to choose among 15 parties and coalitions fielding candidates, ranging from groups that are staunchly pro-Western to ones that are pro-Serbian and pro-Russian.

BAGHDAD, June 10 (Reuters) - Iraq has agreed to pay about $2.76 billion in gas and electricity debt to Iran after receiving a sanctions waiver from the United States, a senior Iraqi foreign ministry official said.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein was given the clearance during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the Riyadh Conference on Thursday, the foreign ministry source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media, told Reuters.

KYIV, June 10 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Ukrainian counter-offensive operations were under way, but declined to divulge details, telling reporters to pass on to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine's generals are optimistic.

The Ukrainian leader, in his trademark khaki fatigues, shrugged at a press conference in Kyiv when asked about comments by Putin, who said on Friday that Kyiv had begun its counter-offensive but failed to make progress.

MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin is keeping track of the situation in the Kherson Region following the recent collapse of a dam there, the region’s Interim Governor Vladimir Saldo said on Rossiya-24 television on Saturday.

"The president concerns himself with the situation, asking what is happening, how it’s happening. He now often dials me up and asks questions, monitoring the situation all the time," he said.

SINGAPORE, June 10 (NNN-Bernama) — Online fraud is a big issue not only for Malaysia but for many countries, said Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Teo Nie Ching.

According to Teo, this was from the findings of the G2G Ministerial Roundtable: Scams And AI Governance which she attended on the sidelines of the four-day Asia Tech x Singapore (ATxSG) event that ended on June 9, 2023.

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Saturday said the self-ruled island would work to improve its rescue and defense capabilities with new technologies, adding that strengthening Taiwan is key to maintaining peace.

Tsai also pledged that her government would promote policies to safeguard maritime and border security after inspecting an anti-terror drill in Kaohsiung city in southwestern Taiwan.

“The safer Taiwan is, the safer the world is,” she said.

LAGOS, June 10 (Reuters) - Nigeria's suspended central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele has been detained and is being held in custody for investigative reasons, the police's Department of State Services (DSS) said on Saturday.

The country's new President Bola Tinubu suspended Emefiele with immediate effect on Friday, a measure the government said was linked to an ongoing probe of the governor's office and to planned reforms in the financial sector.