Europe

MOSCOW, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Saturday to strengthen measures for protecting transport crossing through the Kerch Strait, the power grid connecting Crimea and the main gas pipeline to the peninsula.

Putin authorized the Russian Federal Security Service to organize and coordinate measures to effectively protect these facilities, said the decree published by the Kremlin.

Earlier on Saturday, a deadly blast hit the 19-km Crimean Bridge, which consists of two parallel routes for automobiles and trains over the Kerch Strait.

BERLIN (AP) — A major German state is voting Sunday in an election that Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left party hopes will bring some relief from poor recent nationwide poll showings as the country faces high inflation and worries about energy supplies this winter.

PARIS (AP) — Nicolas Toulliou had just proposed marriage to his girlfriend. Nelson Marinho Jr. was heading off on a new oil exploration job. Eric Lamy was about to celebrate his 38th birthday.

They were among 228 people killed in 2009 when their storm-tossed Air France flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris slammed into the Atlantic. After more than a decade of legal battles, their families at last have a chance at justice.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The exquisite golden tiara, inlaid with precious stones by master craftsmen some 1,500 years ago, was one of the world’s most valuable artifacts from the blood-letting rule of Attila the Hun, who rampaged with horseback warriors deep into Europe in the 5th century.

The Hun diadem is now vanished from the museum in Ukraine that housed it — perhaps, historians fear, forever. Russian troops carted away the priceless crown and a hoard of other treasures after capturing the Ukrainian city of Melitopol in February, museum authorities say.

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian barrage pounded apartment buildings and other targets in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least 17 people and wounding dozens, officials said Sunday.

The blasts in the city, which remains under Ukrainian control but sits in a region Moscow has claimed as its own, blew out windows in adjacent buildings and left at least one high-rise apartment building partially collapsed.

8 October 2022; MEMO: France and the Netherlands have urged their nationals to leave Iran and for others not to travel to the country, warning of political instability caused by the ongoing protests and the risks of arbitrary detention.

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/: Traditional Christmas and New Year celebrations in Saint Petersburg will be canceled and all previously allocated money for the festivities will be channeled to finance volunteers and mobilized troops of the special military operation in Ukraine, the municipal authorities said in a statement on Friday.

"During a session with Governor Alexander Beglov with members of the municipal administration it was decided to cancel previously scheduled events dedicated to New Year festivities," the statement reads.

MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/: Ukraine’s reaction to an incident on the Crimean Bridge highlights the terrorist nature of the Kiev regime, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram on Saturday.

"The Kiev regime’s reaction the destruction of civilian infrastructure highlights its terrorist nature," she pointed out, commenting on remarks from Kiev officials.

MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s remarks about willingness to engage in diplomacy with Russia on Ukraine are at odds with the real steps taken by Washington, which is getting increasingly involved in the multifaceted support for the Kiev regime, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Saturday.

MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on enhancing security measures for the Crimea bridge as well as for the energy bridge and the gas pipeline connecting the peninsula with mainland Russia, the Kremlin said in a statement on Saturday.