Europe

KIEV, December 12. /TASS/: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has said he thinks it is necessary to change the Minsk Agreements.

"It will be very difficult, but we can and we must change them," Zelensky told "1+1" TV channel when asked about whether the Minsk Agreements should be amended.

MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/: Firefighters have extinguished a blaze onboard Russia’s sole aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, which is under renovation in Murmansk, northwest Russia, a source in the emergencies services told TASS on Friday.

"At around 5 a.m. the fire was extinguished. The fire covered 500 square meters," the source said. The firefighters continue dropping water on the scene.

ATHENS, Dec 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — France will help Greece tackle an ongoing migration challenge that has put overwhelming pressure on its infrastructure by accepting 400 asylum-seekers, the French ambassador to Athens said.

“Over the coming months, France will accept 400 persons who have arrived on Greek soil,” ambassador Patrick Maisonnave told the state Athens News Agency.

“We cannot leave Greece without assistance in the midst of a humanitarian challenge,” said Maisonnave, noting that Turkey has “repeatedly threatened” to send more asylum-seekers to Europe.

BRUSSELS, Dec 113 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Europe warned Washington to mind its own business after US lawmakers gave initial approval to a bill that would sanction contractors working on a Russian pipeline to the continent.

Brussels “opposes the imposition of sanctions against any EU companies conducting legitimate business,” EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said.

PARIS (Reuters) - Police officers shot dead a man who threatened them with a knife in the Paris business district of La Defense on Friday, police sources said.

A security man had alerted police to the presence of a man armed with a knife in La Defense Square.

The suspect rushed towards the three-men patrol that had gone to check the situation, wielding the knife and shouting: “I am going to kill you”, the sources said.

Seven shots were fired, with two shots hitting the man in the chest and in the thigh. The man carried no identify papers.

HAGUE, Dec 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi urged UN judges to throw out a genocide case against Myanmar, warning it risked reigniting the crisis that forced nearly three-quarters of a million Rohingya Muslims from their homes.

In her closing arguments after a three-day hearing at the International Court of Justice, Myanmar’s de facto civilian leader issued a stark warning to judges that allowing The Gambia’s case against Myanmar to go ahead could “undermine reconciliation”.

BERLIN (Reuters) - One person was killed and dozens were injured in an explosion in an apartment block in Germany on Friday, police said, according to local media.

The blast, whose cause police said was not yet known, occurred in the eastern city of Blankenburg.

Residents, including children at a nearby kindergarten, were evacuated, and the area where the explosion occurred was sealed off, police said. None of the children were hurt, police tweeted.

BELFAST/GLASGOW (Reuters) - The election result was hailed as a victory for English, Scottish and Irish nationalism - and it could spell the end of the United Kingdom.

Boris Johnson’s resounding triumph will allow him to take the United Kingdom out of the European Union next month but it could spell the break-up of the union that has bound England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for centuries.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose on Friday to its highest in nearly three months as progress in resolving the U.S.-China trade dispute and Britain’s general election result appeared to lift two clouds that have been dampening investor appetite for risk.

U.S. sources said on Thursday that Washington has set its terms for a trade deal with Beijing, offering to suspend some tariffs on goods and cut others in exchange for Chinese purchases of more American farm goods.

LONDON (Reuters) - Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Friday he would stand down as his party faced its worst electoral defeat in 84 years, but he did not set a date for his departure and added he would remain in charge during a period of reflection.

An exit poll and early results showed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party were set for a resounding victory in Britain’s election, allowing him to deliver Brexit on Jan. 31.