Europe

DONETSK, November 3. /TASS/: An exchange of prisoners of war with Ukraine under a "107 for 107" formula is scheduled for Thursday; 65 residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics are to return home, the DPR’s acting head, Denis Pushilin, has said.

"Today, we are to welcome home 107 of our fighters released from Ukrainian dungeons. We are returning the same number of prisoners to Ukraine, mostly military personnel. In the group of POWs to be released to us there are 65 people from the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

VIENNA, November 3. /TASS/: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found no indications of undeclared nuclear activities at three Ukrainian facilities, the agency said in a statement on Twitter on Thursday.

"IAEA inspectors have completed in-field verification activities at three locations in Ukraine at the request of the Ukrainian government - found no indications of undeclared nuclear activities and materials," the tweet reads.

LISBON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Portugal is likely to scrap its "golden visa" programme giving wealthy foreigners residence rights, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Wednesday, saying that the 10-year-old scheme had already fulfilled its role.

The Authorisation of Residence for Investment Activity for people from non-EU countries, commonly known as the golden visa programme, has been heavily criticised at home for sending house prices and rents up, and the European Commission has called for the end of such national schemes.

Nov 3 (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it had delivered a protest to the British ambassador after summoning her over its allegation that British specialists had been involved in a Ukrainian drone strike on Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Crimea.

"The demarche stressed that such confrontational actions by the British threatened to escalate the situation and could lead to unpredictable and dangerous consequences," the ministry said in a statement.

BRUSSELS (AP) — New Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni is coming to Brussels on Thursday — and it’s not the ordinary kind of visit by the leader of a European Union founding nation seeking to renew unshakable bonds with the 27-nation bloc.

For some, it brings the Trojan Horse of the far right into the walls of the EU, just as the bloc faces crises on many fronts. For others, it’s a case of the EU applying the dictum: keep your friends close but your enemies closer.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is bringing his message of dialogue with the Muslim world to the kingdom of Bahrain, where the Sunni-led government is hosting an interfaith conference on East-West coexistence even as it stands accused of discriminating against the country’s Shiite majority.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Not long after Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, soldiers broke down the office door of Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov. They put a bag over his head, bundled him into a car and drove him around the southern city for hours, threatening to kill him.

Fedorov, 34, is one of over 50 local leaders who have been held in Russian captivity since the war began on Feb. 24 in an attempt to subdue cities and towns coming under Moscow’s control. Like many others, he said he was pressured to collaborate with the invaders.

02 Nov 2022; MEMO: Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, told his Iranian counterpart on Wednesday that Western media had launched a campaign that could trigger an escalation in the Gulf, his Ministry said, Reuters reports.

In a telephone call with Hossein Amirabdollahian, Lavrov commented on "the harmfulness of the information campaign that has been launched by Western media", the Ministry said in a statement summarising his remarks.

MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 6,385 over the past day to 21,441,143, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Wednesday.

A day earlier, 5,252 daily cases were recorded.

As many as 1,320 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, down 11.1% from a day earlier. The number of hospitalized patients increased in 35 regions, while in 41 regions the figure decreased. The situation remained unchanged in nine regions. A day earlier, 1,485 people were rushed to hospitals.

MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/: Natalia Vovk, a suspect in the murder of Russian journalist Daria Dugina, has been put on an international wanted list, the press office of the Moscow Basmanny District Court told TASS on Wednesday.

"The suspect is on an international wanted list," a spokesman for the court said.

Earlier in the day, the court satisfied a motion submitted by investigators and ruled to put Vovk in custody in absentia for a period of two months starting from the day of her arrest or extradition to Russia.