Europe

BRUSSELS, July 12 (Reuters) - European Union finance ministers on Tuesday formally approved Croatia becoming the 20th member of the euro common currency at the start of 2023, a move hailed as the culmination of an "amazing journey" for a Balkan nation once at war.

European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said Croatia's accession confirmed that the euro remained an "attractive, resilient and successful global currency" and a symbol of strength and unity.

KYIV, July 12 (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Tuesday it had carried out a long-range rocket strike against Russian forces and military equipment in southern Ukraine, territory it says it is planning to retake in a counter-offensive using hundreds of thousands of troops.

The strike hit an ammunition dump in the town of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region and killed 52 Russians, Ukraine's military said. It came after Washington supplied Ukraine with advanced HIMARS mobile artillery systems which Kyiv says its forces are using with growing efficiency.

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) - Eight candidates will compete to replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party, the committee in charge of organising the leadership contest said on Tuesday.

The nominated candidates were Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak, Tom Tugendhat, Liz Truss and Nadhim Zahawi.

MOSCOW, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Russia has registered its first confirmed case of monkeypox, Rospotrebnadzor, the country's consumer rights and human well-being watchdog, said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Russia has confirmed its first case of monkeypox. A young man, who had returned to Russia after a trip from European countries, turned to medical treatment because of a characteristic rash," it said.

The patient has been isolated and is under medical supervision with mild symptoms but no life-threatening risks.

KIEV, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday met with visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to discuss financial and military support for Kiev, the presidential press service reported.

At the talks, Zelensky thanked Rutte for the Netherlands' allocation of 200 million euros (about 201.5 million U.S. dollars) of additional financial support for Ukraine, which will help ensure the financing of payments for Ukrainian teachers, doctors and pensioners.

LONDON (AP) — British health officials say there have now been 1,735 confirmed cases of monkeypox and that three-quarters of those cases are in London, according to data released on Tuesday.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday that their forces targeted a Russian ammunition depot in southern Ukraine overnight, resulting in a massive explosion captured on social media.

The Ukrainian military’s southern command said a rocket strike targeted the depot in Russian-held Nova Kakhovka, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) east of the Black Sea port city of Kherson, which is also occupied by Russian forces.

LONDON (AP) — A BBC investigation alleged Tuesday that British special forces killed dozens of detainees in suspicious circumstances during counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan a decade ago.

Citing newly obtained military documents, the broadcaster alleged that one SAS unit may have unlawfully killed 54 people in the southern Helmand province in 2010 to 2011. It also alleged that the former head of U.K. special forces knew about the alleged killings, but didn’t pass on the evidence to a murder inquiry.

LONDON (AP) — London’s Heathrow Airport is capping daily passenger numbers for the summer and telling airlines to stop selling tickets as it steps up efforts to quell travel chaos caused by soaring travel demand and staff shortages.

Britain’s busiest airport said Tuesday that it’s setting a limit of 100,000 passengers that it can handle each day through Sept. 11. The restriction is likely to result in more canceled flights even after airlines already slashed thousands of flights from their summer schedules.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ilona Khomenko was widowed nearly two months ago when her husband died in fighting in Sievierodonetsk in eastern Ukraine. Now, she’s looking to make a difference on the battlefield.

Khomenko, 29, is helping to train soldiers and civilians in combat first aid to help save lives as Russia’s war in Ukraine is well into its fifth month.

The training is mostly based in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. Up to 100 people attend each day. So far, Khomenko and others have taught more than 5,000 people simple rules that can save their lives.