Europe

POKROVSK, Ukraine (AP) — Through the debris-strewn rooms of the bomb-blasted house, the incessant ringing of a phone punctuates the crunch of broken glass splintering underfoot as police lay out a body bag.

But the call will never be answered. The phone’s owner crouches lifeless on the floor of his home, in a front room where the explosion from a missile — one of several to hit this eastern Ukrainian town — found him.

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — In a somber, regal procession, Queen Elizabeth II’s flag-draped coffin was driven slowly through the Scottish countryside Sunday from her beloved Balmoral Castle to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. Mourners packed city streets and highway bridges or lined rural roads with cars and tractors to take part in a historic goodbye to the monarch who had reigned for 70 years.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian troops on Sunday successfully pressed their swift counteroffensive in the northeastern part of the country, even as a nuclear power plant in the Russia-occupied south completely shut down in a bid to prevent a radiation disaster as fighting raged nearby.

Kyiv’s action to reclaim Russia-occupied areas in the Kharkiv region forced Moscow to withdraw its troops to prevent them from being surrounded, leaving behind significant numbers of weapons and munitions in a hasty retreat as the war marked its 200th day on Sunday.

10 Sep 2022; MEMO: Following tirades of strong remarks, on Friday, the US and NATO called on Turkiye and Greece to use dialogue and diplomatic means to end the mutual tension.

In a joint press conference held by US Secretary Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Stoltenberg expressed: "Turkiye and Greece are two highly valued allies."

MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/: Online vote is a very reliable and convenient form of voting, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday after casting his own vote online from his office in the Kremlin.

"September 11 is the Single voting day in Russia. But it is also possible to cast a vote in advance and remotely, which is exactly what I did now. It is a very convenient, reliable form of vote. To those who can and want to use it - I recommend," the Russian leader said.

BERLIN, September 10. /TASS/: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock arrived in Kiev Saturday, according to a report by DPA. This is her second visit since the beginning of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.

According to the report, the Minister’s visit aims to show that "Germany will continue supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes - by shipping weapons, humanitarian and financial aid."

Baerbock intends to hold negotiations with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmitry Kuleba. The rest of her schedule is kept secret due to security concerns, DPA report says.

MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/: In the past 24 hours, a total of 53,486 new Covid cases were registered in Russia, with 97 fatalities, the federal coronavirus prevention crisis center reported Saturday.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Russia registered 20,013,781 cases and 385,262 fatalities.

The recovery count increased by 46,023, bringing the total count to 19,023,718.

A total of 3,977 Covid patients were hospitalized in the past 24 hours versus 3,621 one day earlier (a 9.8% growth).

MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/: Media reports claiming that Russian tourists were banned from entering the EU are false, the embassy of Finland in Moscow told TASS Saturday.

Earlier, the media reported citing European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson that entry to the EU will be allowed to Russian citizens traveling for family and humanitarian reasons as well as to Russian journalists. The reports did not specify if they were talking about the already negotiated suspension of the simplified visa regime or some additional restrictions.

MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/: The Russian troops stationed at Balakleya and Izyum have been regrouped and redeployed to the Donetsk direction in order to step up efforts there, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov told reporters on Saturday.

"In order to achieve the declared goals of the special military operation for the liberation of Donbass, it was decided to regroup the Russian forces stationed near Balakleya and Izyum to boost efforts in the Donetsk direction," Konashenkov said.

PARIS, Sept 10 (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron held his first telephone call with new British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Saturday with the French presidency saying the two agreed on their desire to strengthen co-operation.

The statement said Macron and Truss focused on the support for Ukraine and how to respond to the consequences of the conflict on food security and energy prices.