Europe

7 October 2022; MEMO: The American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS George H. W. Bush, arrived on Thursday at the Souda Bay military base on the Greek island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea.

Greece's local TV channel, SKAI TV, reported that the aircraft carrier arrived with 3,500 crew members and 2,500 Air Forces personnel aboard.

The aircraft carrier, which is one of the largest warships in the world, is expected to remain at the Souda base until 10 October.

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/: Head of Dagestan Sergey Melikov said that Hero of Russia Rustam Muradov has been appointed the commander of the Eastern Military District.

"One of our own, Hero of Russia Rustam Muradov, was appointed as the commander of the Eastern Military District - one of the most potent military districts in the country in terms of its personnel," he wrote on his Telegram channel on Friday.

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Friday said the decision by the Latvian parliament that orders a transition to education in the national language is discriminatory, even though the country signed international legal agreements.

The diplomat said Latvia’s Saeima recently amended the law on education to order preschool and school education to switch only to the Latvian language, from September 1, 2023 and September 2025, respectively.

GROZNY, October 7. /TASS/: About 10,000 Chechen combatants are fighting in Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, Chechnya Head Ramzan Kadyrov said at a festive lineup of the republic’s security, defense and law-enforcement agencies in honor of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 70th birthday on Friday.

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, October 7. /TASS/: NATO, whom French President Emmanuel Macron at one time called ‘brain dead’, has gone too far, judging from the US-led Western bloc’s recent policies on Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.

ST. PETERSBURG, October 7. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested discussing preparations for the first Russia-Central Asia heads of states' meeting at an informal CIS summit on Friday.

"The topic for discussion is preparations for next week's first-ever summit in the Russia-Central Asia format in Astana," Putin said. He drew attention to the fact that "this forum is held in the year of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and all five Central Asian states."

Oct 7 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that remarks by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy suggesting NATO should launch preventive strikes on Russia confirmed the need for what it calls its "special operation" in Ukraine.

"By doing so, (he) essentially presented the world with further evidence of the threats posed by the Kyiv regime," Lavrov said. "This is why a special military operation was launched to neutralise them."

LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A blockchain linked to Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, has been hit by a $570 million hack, a Binance spokesperson said on Friday, the latest in a series of hacks to hit the crypto sector this year.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said in a tweet that tokens were stolen from a blockchain "bridge" used in the BNB Chain, known until February as Binance Smart Chain.

LONDON, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- British households could face blackouts this winter if there are reduced European electricity imports and insufficient gas supplies in the country, a report warned on Thursday.

In the extreme scenario, it could erode the security of supply margins and mean some customers could be without power for pre-defined periods during the day. However, the event is "unlikely," said the Winter Outlook Report published by National Grid ESO, the electricity system operator for Great Britain.

PRAGUE, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of European Union (EU) member states met here for an informal summit on Friday focusing on energy, the economic situation and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

"We are at a critical juncture once more," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a letter to the member states ahead of the summit. "The energy crisis is severe and has entered a new stage. Only a common European response can reduce energy costs for families and businesses and provide energy security for this and coming winters."