Europe

MOSCOW, February 28. /TASS/:  Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on the Federal Security Service (FSB) to continue to help the army in the course of the special military operation, including by providing counter-reconnaissance support.

MINSK, February 28. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko arrived in China on a state visit on Tuesday. According to the BelTA agency, his plane landed at Beijing airport.

It is expected that the Belarusian leader will hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in private and with other officials taking part. Meetings with top Chinese officials and the leadership of major Chinese corporations are on the agenda. A large package of documents on relations in key areas will be signed.

MOSCOW, February 28. /TASS/: An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has crashed near the village of Gubastovo in the Kolomna district of the Moscow Region. There is no threat to the safety of local residents, the Moscow Region’s governor, Andrey Vorobyov, said on Tuesday.

BRUSSELS, Feb 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Union published its peace plan for Serbia and Kosovo on Monday, ramping up pressure on their leaders to come to a deal after tense talks in Brussels ended without a clear breakthrough.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said a next meeting with Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic would take place in March and focus on how to implement the plan.

MOSCOW, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Tuesday repeated its position that Russia was open to negotiations to end the Ukraine conflict, but that new "territorial realities" could not be ignored.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Russia would never renounce its claims to four Ukrainian regions that Moscow declared it had annexed last year following referendums that Kyiv and the West slammed as bogus and illegal.

LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - British home prices will fall less than previously expected in 2023 as a resilient job market and easing recession fears soften the blow from higher borrowing costs, analysts polled by Reuters said.

Inflation running at multiple times its 2% target has pushed the Bank of England to embark on an aggressive policy tightening path and Bank Rate has gone from 0.10% in late 2021 to 4.00% today.

KYIV, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Russian forces on Tuesday pressed forward their weeks-long drive to encircle and capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut where the commander of Ukraine's ground forces described the situation as "extremely tense".

The Russian troops, including mercenary fighters from the Wagner Group, are trying to cut the Ukrainian defenders' supply lines to the city, scene of some of the war's bloodiest battles, and force them to surrender or withdraw.

BERLIN, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Two people have been seriously injured following gunshots near a school in Bramsche in northwest Germany, according to the local police.

Police have arrested the suspected shooter, and there is no danger to the public. The school itself was also not affected, the police said.

ROME, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Purchasing power in Italy fell by 54 percent over the last year, as high inflation, reduced trade and slower economic growth caused in part by the Russia-Ukraine crisis took their toll on the daily life of Italians, according to a new report published by Italian think-tank Nomisma on Monday.

The report, titled Changing World Observatory, did not cover data from any other European countries.

KIEV, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The United States has provided about 50 billion U.S. dollars in aid to Ukraine since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported Monday, citing visiting U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

"In the field of security, economy, humanitarian and social support, we have already provided about 50 billion dollars in assistance," Yellen said after her meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.