Europe
Russia continues to slash gas supply to Europe
"As Germany's Siemens, the manufacturer of the gas turbine engines, failed to provide the overhaul service in time, Gazprom decided to stop the second engine at the Portovaya compressor station due to its technical condition," the company said on Telegram. The daily output of the Portovaya compressor station from 1:30 a.m. Thursday Moscow Time (2230 GMT Wednesday) will be no more than 67 million cubic meters, sharply down from 100 million.
More refugees die crossing the Mediterranean to Europe: UN
While reported numbers of refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe were fewer than in 2015, the journeys were becoming more fatal, said Shabia Mantoo, spokesperson for UNHCR, on Friday. "Since a peak in 2015, in which more than a million refugees and migrants crossed the Mediterranean to Europe, the numbers of those making these journeys had seen a downward trend," she told a press briefing.
Europe's red alert for monkeypox as nations told to prepare vaccination strategies
EU authorities are set to publish a risk assessment, which will advise all member states to draw up an inoculation strategy to control the spread of the tropical virus, Daily Mail reported. No monkeypox-specific vaccine exists � but smallpox jabs � which were routinely offered to Brits until the virus was eradicated four decades ago, is 85 per cent effective, Daily Mail reported.
Iran vows not to cross red lines to surrender in Vienna talks
Iran will not cross its redlines to surrender in the Vienna talks, the conclusion of which requires "political will" of the US, Kamal Kharazi, a senior Advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said. Making the remarks at the Doha Forum international conference, Kharazi on Sunday added that "we want to reach an agreement (in Vienna) and establish normal relations
NATO approves deployment of four new battle groups
The four new battle groups deployed along eastern part of the NATO alliance were approved on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported. In total, there will now be eight NATO battle groups deployed along the eastern flank of the alliance, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.
The organisation's heads of states were called for an extraordinary meeting to discuss further support for Ukraine, in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict that started in February.
NATO to send more troops to Europe
"The first step is the deployment of four new NATO battlegroups. In Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. Along with our existing forces in the Baltic countries and Poland, this means that we will have eight multinational NATO battlegroups all along the eastern flank. From the Baltic to the Black Sea," he said.
Russia will use nuclear weapons if it faces existential threats: Kremlin
“We have a concept of domestic security, and it's public. You can read all the reasons for nuclear arms to be used… So if it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be used in accordance with our concept,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told CNN. The US has responded to these statements saying that Moscow is not behaving like a responsible nuclear power.
Russia leaves Council of Europe
Russia has left the Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights organisation, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow announced on Thursday. In a statement, the Ministry said that the European Union and NATO countries "are using their absolute majority in the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers to continue the destruction of the Council of Europe and the common humanitarian and legal space" on the continent, reports Xinhua news agency.
‘Are we your slaves?’: Imran Khan slams Western envoys for asking Pakistan to Condemn Russian invasion of Ukraine
“What do you think of us? Are we your slaves ... that whatever you say, we will do?” PM Imran Khan said at a rally. The diplomats of 22 missions in Islamabad, including those of the EU members, wrote and released a joint letter to the Pakistani PM to support a resolution in the UN General Assembly to condemn Moscow’s acts of aggression against Ukraine.
Chechen leader seeks Putin's go ahead to seize major Ukrainian cities
If Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to put a quick end to the countrys military operations in Ukraine, he should give Chechen troops the go-ahead to seize the East European nations major cities, a Chechen leader has claimed. According to the head of the republic, there are currently 12,000 Chechen troops in the East European country.
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