Europe

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Croatia’s president said Friday that efforts by the European Union to uphold democratic standards in member countries threatened to tear the bloc apart, and condemned EU efforts to financially penalize Hungary for its alleged breaches of rule of law standards.

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Inspections of ships carrying Ukrainian grain and other food exports have slowed to half their peak rate under a U.N.-brokered wartime agreement, creating backlogs in vessels meant to carry supplies to developing nations where people are going hungry, United Nations and Ukrainian officials say.

Some U.S. and Ukrainian officials accuse Russia of deliberately slowing down inspections, which a Russian official denied.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia claimed Friday to have captured a village in eastern Ukraine as part of its intense, monthslong push toward the city of Bakhmut, while military analysts cautioned that tanks Kyiv hopes to receive from Western allies wouldn’t provide a magic wand to end the almost 11-month war.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the village of Klishchiivka, which is located nine kilometers (five miles) south of Bakhmut, had been “liberated.”

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A judge in Romania has granted a request to extend by another 30 days the arrest of Andrew Tate, the social media personality who was detained in the country on charges of being part of an organized crime group, human trafficking and rape, an official said Friday.

Tate, 36, a British-U.S. citizen who has 4.7 million followers on Twitter, was initially detained on Dec. 29, in Bucharest, Romania’s capital. His brother, Tristan, and two Romanian women were arrested and held in the same case.

LONDON (AP) — The Church of England formally apologized Friday for its treatment of LGBTQ people, even as it said that same-sex couples still won’t be allowed to marry in its churches.

The apology from the church’s bishops came in a report following five years of debate on the church’s position on sexuality. The report will be delivered to the church’s national assembly, the General Synod, which is meeting in London next month.

LONDON (AP) — Google is laying off 12,000 workers, or about 6% of its workforce, becoming the latest tech company to trim staff as the economic boom that the industry rode during the COVID-19 pandemic ebbs.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, the parent company of Google, informed staff Friday at the Silicon Valley giant about the cuts in an email that was also posted on the company’s news blog.

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AP) — Defense leaders gathered at Ramstein Air Base in Germany heard an impassioned plea for more aid Friday from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as they struggled to resolve divisions over who will provide battle tanks and other military aid to his embattled country.

MOSCOW, January 19. /TASS/: Ukraine’s military used 14 brigades in the Artyomovsk (Bakhmut) and Soledar areas, with their battles with Russian forces resulting in a loss of 60%-70% of their personnel, military expert Colonel Vitaly Kiselev, of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) has said.

MOSCOW, January 19. /TASS/: Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and his Belarusian counterpart Viktor Khrenin discussed measures of strategic deterrence and the training of the regional group of forces, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

"Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu held a telephone conversation with Belarusian Defense Minister Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin. The two defense chiefs discussed current measures of strategic deterrence and progress in the training of the regional group of forces," the statement reads.

BERLIN, January 19. /TASS/: Germany is not a party to the conflict in Ukraine but it will continue to provide Kiev with the necessary military assistance, Germany’s new Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday in Berlin, speaking to reporters after being sworn in.