Europe

MOSCOW, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Russia is ready to deliver additional volumes of natural gas to the European Union in the autumn-winter period, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.

One of the two branches of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has survived the recent leak incident and Russia is willing to send gas through it to Europe, Putin said at the plenary session of the "Russian Energy Week" international forum in Moscow.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian missile attacks caused a crippled nuclear plant in Ukraine to lose all external power for the second time in five days, increasing the risk of a radiation disaster because critical safety systems need electricity to operate, Ukraine’s state nuclear operator said Wednesday.

PARIS (AP) — The French government on Wednesday started the process of requisitioning workers at petrol depots of ExxonMobil’s French branch Esso in an attempt to ensure that service stations around the country are supplied with badly needed fuel amid an ongoing strike.

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Statements made this week by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko have reignited fears that his army could join Russian forces in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, but the authoritarian leader appears reluctant to lend his troops to the effort, despite perceived pressure from Moscow.

LONDON (AP) — As anti-government protests roil cities and towns in Iran for a fourth week, tens of thousands of Iranians living abroad have marched on the streets of Europe, North America and beyond in support of what many believe to be a watershed moment for their home country.

12 October 2022; MEMO: UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan met yesterday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and discussed bilateral relations and the latest regional and international developments.

Sheikh Mohammed, who is on an official visit to Russia, hailed the bilateral cooperation with Russia, saying trade volume between the two countries doubled from $2.5 to $5 billion during the COVID-19 pandemic, while half a million Russian tourists have visited the UAE.

11 October 2022; MEMO: Turkiye and Greece inaugurated a "friendship line" ferry link between the seaside town of Izmir in western Turkiye and the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki, Turkish media reports.

According to the report, Greek-based shipping company, Levante Ferries, announced "Smyrna di Levante" vessel started ferrying passengers this week.

The Thessaloniki-Izmir ferry line marks the first direct maritime link between mainland Greece and Turkiye, the report says.

MOSCOW, October 11. /TASS/: Russia expects the Moldovan side to fulfill its obligations to ensure the security of the Russian embassy in Chisinau, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Tuesday.

BRUSSELS, October 11. /TASS/: The defense ministers of NATO member states will make decisions to increase ammunition stockpiles at a meeting on October 12-13, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference on Tuesday.

"At this ministerial, we will take decisions to increase our stockpiles of munitions and equipment," he pointed out.

According to Stoltenberg, the NATO Defense Planning Process will be used to provide the industry with information about the long-term demand that it needs to boost production.

MOSCOW, October 11. /TASS/: Russia will review a proposal for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G20 summit, should such proposal be filed; however, there has been no signals from the US on negotiations, and no serious proposals on talks on Ukraine have been made, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Russian TV Tuesday.