Europe

July 15 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned Ukrainians that Russia was throwing all its resources into a campaign to stop Kyiv's troops from pressing their counter offensive and a top general reported new progress on the southern front.

But Ukrainian military analysts suggested that things were not easy for Ukrainian forces in their bid to advance southward.

Ukraine has launched a counter offensive to take back swathes of land in eastern and southern Ukraine captured by Russian forces in their invasion launched in February 2022.

July 15 (Reuters) - Russia is investigating whether a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile crashed in its waters during a test launch on Wednesday, state media quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko as saying.

RIA and TASS news agencies quoted Rudenko as saying that Russia's defence ministry was investigating, but "so far we have no clear information that the missile fell in Russia's economic zone".

(AP) --- A large convoy carrying fighters from the Wagner private army was spotted entering Belarus from Russia early Saturday, a monitoring group reported after the country’s Defense Ministry said it planned for the mercenaries and Minsk’s own armed forces to conduct joint military drills.

The independent monitoring group Belaruski Hajun, which tracks the movements of armed forces in Belarus, said that at least 60 trucks, buses and other large vehicles crossed into the Eastern European country accompanied by Belarusian police.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — More than 2,000 people were evacuated as a wildfire rages “out of control” on La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands on Saturday, destroying around a dozen homes, authorities said.

The blaze has affected an area of about 4,500 hectares (11,000 acres) and officials warned residents that the situation could worsen because a heat wave has made the terrain tinder-dry.

“The fire has spread very fast,” Canary Islands regional president Fernando Clavijo said. “The fire is out of control.”

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Saturday, offering support for the invaded country in its war with Russia while demonstrating his own nation’s cooperation with NATO.

Yoon’s office said he traveled to Ukraine with his wife, Kim Keon Hee, following trips to Lithuania for a NATO summit and to Poland. It’s his first visit since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

14 July 2023; MEMO: The European Parliament has called on the Palestinian Authority to hold "free, credible, inclusive, transparent and fair" parliamentary and presidential elections without any further delay in order to strengthen its legitimacy.

14 July 2023; MEMO: A Spanish judge investigating the Israeli-made Pegasus spyware used against top politicians, including Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has halted the case due to a "complete" lack of cooperation from Israel, a court statement announced on Monday.

14 July 2023; MEMO: Unite the Union, which represents 1.2 million workers in the UK, has today passed three crucial motions reaffirming its ongoing solidarity with the Palestinian people's struggle for liberation, affirming support for the Palestinian call for a campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions until Israel ends its violation of Palestinian rights, and condemning the government's anti-boycott bill which is currently at committee stage in the House of Commons.

MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/: Russia and Poland maintain parity in terms of the number of diplomatic missions, Polish Ambassador to Russia Krzysztof Krajewski said on Friday.

"We have parity in terms of the number of missions. Poland has its embassy in Moscow, Russia has its embassy in Warsaw. Each of us has three consulates general," he said in an interview with the Polish Press Agency. "So, parity is maintained."

MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/: The Kremlin sees measures restricting the ability of foreigners to exit their Russian businesses as part of protecting the domestic economy, Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.