Europe

BERLIN, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Authorities in Germany are investigating whether China maintains an illegal extraterritorial police station in Frankfurt, a spokesperson said, a week before Chancellor Olaf Scholz heads on an already contested visit to the economic giant.

The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

BERLIN, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused an "epochal break" in Germany's ties with Moscow and the war has shattered former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev's dream of a "common European home", President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Friday.

Steinmeier, who hails from a wing of Germany's Social Democrats that long argued for closer economic ties to Moscow, said Russia's invasion of Ukraine had brought a change in era.

HELSINKI, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Finland and Sweden will joint NATO at the same time, their prime ministers said on Friday, presenting a united front to Turkey which has raised questions about both their applications.

The Nordic neighbours asked to join the alliance in May in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but ran into objections from Turkey which accused the two of harbouring groups it deems terrorists.

MOSCOW, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- The historical period of boundless Western domination in world affairs is coming to an end and the unipolar world is becoming the past, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

The West aims to maintain hegemony on global economy and politics with so-called "rules" they created, Putin said at the plenary session of the 19th meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club in the Moscow region on Thursday.

BRUSSELS, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (EU) reached a provisional agreement late on Thursday on a European Commission proposal to end the sale of new CO2-emitting cars and vans by 2035.

EU co-legislators also agreed to a 55 percent CO2 emission reduction target for new cars and 50 percent for new vans compared to 2021 levels by 2030. By 2035, the targets will go up to 100 percent for both categories.

MOSCOW, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that various countries around the world are choosing not to succumb to Washington's demands despite pressure.

"Previously, only a few countries could afford to argue with America, and this seemed almost like a sensation," Putin said at the plenary session of the 19th annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is in the midst of yet another goodwill trip through the Western Balkans to drum up support for the bloc and to make sure that Europe’s historical tinderbox is not about to pick the side of hostile Russia or strategic rival China in the world of geopolitics.

During her whirlwind six-nation tour, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made a stop Friday in Serbia, by far the most important nation in the southern region, and one that has shown scant regard for solidarity in joining EU sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain’s state prosecutor dropped its charges against Neymar on Friday, but a Brazilian company involved in the case will continue to fight the soccer player in court.

The case stems from Neymar’s transfer in 2013 from Santos to Barcelona.

The state prosecutor withdrew all charges against Neymar, his father and the former executives of the Brazilian and Spanish clubs. However, the trial will continue because Brazilian company DIS, which brought the case, maintained its accusation that the parties involved committed fraud and corruption.

LONDON (AP) — Northern Ireland’s political deadlock deepened Friday when the U.K. government delayed calling an early election for the Belfast-based Assembly after a deadline to restore the mothballed administration expired.

The limbo means more uncertainty and delays to government decision-making at a time when many people in Northern Ireland are struggling with soaring food and energy prices.

BAKHMUT, Ukraine (AP) — Russian soldiers pummeling a city in eastern Ukraine with artillery are slowly edging closer in their attempt to seize Bakhmut, which has remained in Ukrainian hands during the eight-month war despite Moscow’s goal of capturing the entire Donbas region bordering Russia.

While much of the fighting in the last month has unfolded in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region, the battle heating up around Bakhmut demonstrates Russian President Vladimir Putin’s desire for visible gains following weeks of clear setbacks in Ukraine.