Europe

LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - A British-born woman, who went to Syria as a schoolgirl to join Islamic State, lost her latest appeal against the removal of her British citizenship, but her lawyers vowed to keep fighting and said the case was "nowhere near over".

The British government took away Shamima Begum's citizenship on national security grounds in 2019, shortly after she was found in a detention camp in Syria.

BERLIN (AP) — Nearly a year after Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “turning point” that would trigger weapons shipments to a nation at war and a massive increase in Germany’s military spending, the turnaround for his country’s armed forces still has a long way to go.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin made a “big mistake” by suspending his country’s participation in the the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty. The U.S. president was in Poland to reassure eastern flank NATO allies that the U.S. will remain by their sides amid the grinding Russian invasion of Ukraine.

MOSCOW (AP) — Both houses of Russia’s parliament on Wednesday quickly endorsed President Vladimir Putin’s move to suspend the last remaining nuclear arms treaty with the United States, with officials and lawmakers casting it as an eleventh-hour warning to Washington amid the tensions over Ukraine.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany said Wednesday that it is expelling two Iranian diplomats over the death sentence imposed in Iran against one of its citizens.

Authorities in Iran announced Tuesday that Jamshid Sharmahd, a 67-year-old Iranian-German national and U.S. resident, was sentenced to death after being convicted of terrorist activities.

BERLIN (AP) — Nearly a year after Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “turning point” that would trigger weapons shipments to a nation at war and a massive increase in Germany’s military spending, the turnaround for his country’s armed forces still has a long way to go.

Russia and China showcased their deepening ties Wednesday in a series of meetings closely watched for signs that Beijing might offer stronger support to the Kremlin for its war in Ukraine.

The visit by Wang Yi, the Chinese Communist Party’s most senior foreign policy official, to Moscow comes as the conflict in Ukraine continues to upend the global diplomatic order.

VILNIUS, Lithuania, Feb 21 (APP): Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Tuesday met his Lithuanian counterpart Gabrielius Landsbergis and held talks on expanding bilateral cooperation in the areas of trade, investment and education.

The two Foreign Ministers, who exchanged views on regional and international issues, also signed an agreement regarding the establishment of a bilateral consultative mechanism on this occasion.

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 11,277 over the past day to 22,189,988, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Tuesday.

A day earlier, 12,076 daily cases were recorded.

As many as 1,830 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, up 186.4% from a day earlier. The number of hospitalized patients decreased in ten regions, while in 71 regions the figure increased. The situation remained unchanged in four regions. A day earlier, 639 people were rushed to hospitals.

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/: Russia may look at denouncing the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) if the United States ignores its message to reconsider the way it is implemented, a Russian lawmaker told TASS on Tuesday.