Europe

June 17 (Reuters) - Russian journalist and Nobel Peace laureate Dmitry Muratov is auctioning his Nobel medal for Ukrainian refugees, distraught at the eradication of independent media in his country, where he says fewer and fewer people support Moscow's military campaign.

Muratov is the bear-like co-founder and long-time editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, a newspaper critical of the Kremlin that was itself established in 1993 with money from former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev's Nobel Peace Prize.

PARIS, June 16 (Reuters) - Ukraine alone should decide whether or not to accept any territorial concessions towards Russia in view of ending the war, French President Emmanuel Macron told TF1 television in an interview as he visited Kyiv.

"This is up to Ukraine to decide," Macron said when asked what concessions, including on its territory, Ukraine should accept, adding: "I think it is our duty to stand by our values, by international law and thus by Ukraine."

COPENHAGEN, June 17 (Reuters) - A Russian warship early on Friday twice violated Danish territorial waters north of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm where a democracy festival attended by senior lawmakers and business people was taking place, the Danish Armed Forces said.

Denmark called the action an unacceptable provocation.

The Russian warship entered Danish waters without authorization at 0030 GMT on Friday and again a few of hours later, the armed forces said in a statement. The warship left after the Danish navy established radio contact, it said.

June 17 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West on Friday of colonial arrogance and trying to crush his country with "stupid" sanctions that amounted to an economic "blitzkrieg".

Addressing the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, a showcase event being held this year with almost no Western participation, he returned time and time again to the theme of Russia's sovereignty and strength in the face of what he presented as Western hostility:

LONDON, June 17 (Xinhua) -- British Home Secretary Priti Patel has approved the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face espionage charges, the Home Office confirmed on Friday.

Britain's Westminster Magistrates' Court issued a formal order in April to extradite Assange, leaving the final decision to Patel. Assange and lawyers for the United States have gone through several rounds of legal battle over the past months that reached up to the British Supreme Court.

BRUSSELS, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission on Friday recommended Ukraine and Moldova be granted candidate status for accession to the European Union (EU).

Both countries should also be granted the "European Perspective," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The College of the European Commission met on Friday morning to issue an opinion on whether Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia should be granted the European Perspective and candidate status for EU accession.

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, June 17 (Xinhua) -- A detachment of Russia's Pacific Fleet has entered the Philippine Sea, engaging in anti-aircraft training activities as well as those in search of submarines of a mock enemy, said the press service of the fleet Friday.

The training also includes interaction with naval aviation crews of the Pacific Fleet.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona’s members have approved a plan to sell portions of the team’s television rights and future revenues from merchandise and licensing in hopes of injecting 600 million euros ($631 million) immediately into the debt-ridden Spanish club.

Club president Joan Laporta said that the two measures were necessary to “generate profits and have positive equity” after two seasons of being unable to make major signings due to crippling debt that ballooned at one point to 1.3 billion euros (nearly $1.37 billion).

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s health minister urged residents and visitors to wear face masks indoors to protect themselves and others from the coronavirus, but he acknowledged that current data doesn’t justify making mask use a legal requirement.

An indoor mask mandate largely lapsed across Germany this spring, with the requirement remaining for places such as hospitals and care homes. The libertarian Free Democratic Party, which is part of the country’s governing coalition, has been particularly vocal in pressing for an end to COVID-19 measures.

LONDON (AP) — The British government has ordered the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges. WikiLeaks said it would appeal.

Home Secretary Priti Patel signed the extradition order on Friday, her department said. It follows a British court ruling in April that Assange could be sent to the U.S. over WikiLeaks’ publication of a huge trove of classified documents more than a decade ago.