Europe

KYIV, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Amnesty International apologised on Sunday for "distress and anger" caused by a report accusing Ukraine of endangering civilians which infuriated President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and triggered the resignation of its Kyiv office head.

The rights group published the report on Thursday saying the presence of Ukrainian troops in residential areas heightened risks to civilians during Russia's invasion. 

ZAGREB, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Twelve people were killed and at least 30 were injured in a traffic accident when a bus with a Polish licence plate skidded off a highway in northern Croatia, according to the authorities.

The accident happened at around 5:40 a.m. local time when the bus veered off the A4 highway in the direction of the country's capital Zagreb.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Four more ships carrying agricultural cargo held up by the war in Ukraine received authorization Sunday to leave the country’s Black Sea coast as analysts warned that Russia was moving troops and equipment in the direction of the southern port cities to stave off a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Ukraine and Russia also accused each other of shelling Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.

MOSCOW, August 6. /TASS/: Russia recorded 19,974 coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the highest number since March 30, the anti-coronavirus crisis center said on Saturday. The total number of cases has reached 18,692,396.

As many as 2,141 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, up from 1,906 the day before. Hospitalizations declined in 40 regions of the country and rose in 41 regions.

Moscow’s COVID-19 cases surged by 5,997 to 2,852,583 in the past day, St. Petersburg’s coronavirus cases increased by 2,303 to 1,565,084.

UKRAINE, August 6. /TASS/: The risk is high that Ukrainian nuclear materials will fall into the hands of terrorists but Moscow is making utmost efforts to prevent such developments, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva Andrey Belousov told reporters.

MOSCOW, August 6. /TASS/: Moscow calls on parties to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to return to a sustainable ceasefire, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Saturday.

"Moscow is seriously concerned about a new round of armed violence in the zone of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," the statement reads. "We call on all the parties involved to show maximum restraint, prevent an escalation of military activities and immediately return to a sustainable ceasefire," Zakharova added.

MOSCOW, August 6. /TASS/: Russia’s Aerospace Forces destroyed two Ukrainian Su-25 aircraft in the past 24 hours, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said at a briefing on Saturday.

MOSCOW, Aug 6 (NNN-TASS) – Russian President, Vladimir Putin, signed a decree yesterday, banning “unfriendly” investors from making transactions with their shares in strategic Russian enterprises and projects, until the end of the year.

The decree, published on the country’s official portal for legal information, prohibits foreigners associated with “unfriendly countries” to carry out any kind of transactions with their shares and assets, in strategic Russian enterprises and banks until Dec 31, 2022.

PRISTINA, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Kosovo police said one of their patrols close to the Serbian border came under fire on Saturday, in an area of the country marred by ethnic disputes and smuggling activities.

Tensions between western Balkan neighbours Kosovo and Serbia

have flared recently and came to a head last week after Kosovo said it would oblige Serbs living in the north of the country and using Serbian car licence plates to apply for plates issued by Pristina institutions. The obligation has now been postponed.

Aug 6 (Reuters) - Western governments are increasingly alarmed about deepening economic ties between Turkey and Russia, warning of the mounting risk that Turkey could be hit by punitive retaliation if it helps Russia avoid sanctions, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan agreed to boost cooperation in the transport, agriculture, finance and construction industries.

Six Western officials told FT that they were concerned about the agreement.