Europe

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/: About 400 Russian diplomats have been expelled from 28 Western countries since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Ivanov said on Monday at a meeting of the Russian Federation Council's Interim Commission for the Protection of State Sovereignty and Prevention of Interference in the country's Internal Affairs.

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 7,651 over the past day to 18,144,788, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Monday.

In absolute terms, the growth rate was the lowest since May 6, 2021. In relative terms, the growth rate reached 0.04%.

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/: Russia’s Central Bank has changed the procedure for calculating official exchange rates of the dollar, euro and yuan against the ruble to ensure business continuity of economic agents on Russian territory. Now the exchange rate will be calculated as of 3:30 pm Moscow time, the regulator reported on Monday.

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/: The sixth package of sanctions against Russia may include some form of an oil embargo, though it is necessary to make sure the damage on the European Union’s member states is minimized, Executive Vice President of the European Commission (EC) Valdis Dombrovskis said in an interview with The Times published on Monday.

GENEVA, April 25 (Reuters) - The United States, as well as the Taliban authorities, is contributing to the suffering of women in Afghanistan through asset freezes, U.N. independent experts said on Monday.

The United Nations and foreign governments, including Washington, have condemned moves by the Taliban to backtrack on women's rights commitments such as on girls' education in the months following their takeover in Aug. 2021. 

AMSTERDAM, April 25 (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) will take part in the joint team investigating allegations of war crimes in Ukraine following the Russian invasion, the European Union's agency for criminal justice cooperation said on Monday.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan and the Prosecutors General from Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine signed an agreement for the international war crimes tribunal's first-ever participation in an investigative team, Eurojust said.

April 25 (Reuters) - Ukraine denied on Monday reaching an agreement with Russia on evacuating civilians from a steel plant in the southern city of Mariupol, and pushed for the United Nations to be the "initiator and guarantor" of any such deal.

Russia had said earlier on Monday that it would open a humanitarian corridor for civilians to leave the huge Azovstal steel plant where they are holed up with Ukrainian fighters and are under Russian attack. 

KYIV, April 25 (Reuters) - The United States will reopen its embassy in Ukraine soon, its top diplomat said on Monday after he and the U.S. defense secretary visited Kyiv, promising more military aid and hailing its success in pushing back Russia's invasion.

Both Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the fact they were able to come to Ukraine's capital was proof of its tenacity in forcing Moscow to abandon an assault on Kyiv last month.

MOSCOW, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Defense Ministry on Monday announced a ceasefire near the Azovstal plant in Mariupol for the safe evacuation of civilians.

Russia's armed forces and the formations of the Donetsk People's Republic "from 14:00 Moscow time (1100 GMT) on April 25 will unilaterally cease all hostilities" to ensure the safe evacuation of the specified category of civilians (workers, women and children), the ministry said in a statement.

It said the civilians will be taken "in any direction they choose."

KIEV, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met in Kiev to discuss Washington's assistance for Ukraine, the presidential press service said Monday.

The parties discussed defense assistance, strengthening sanctions on Russia, financial support for Ukraine and security guarantees, according to a statement on the Ukrainian presidential website.