Europe

LONDON (AP) — Millions of people in the U.K. were urged to cancel travel plans and stay indoors Friday as the second major storm this week prompted warnings of high winds and flying debris across northern Europe.

Britain’s weather service said Storm Eunice, known as Storm Zeynep in Germany, was likely to cause significant disruption and dangerous conditions, with gusts that may exceed 90 miles per hour in highly exposed coastal areas. The Met Office later said a 122 mph gust was recorded on the Isle of Wight, provisionally the strongest ever recorded in England.

17 Feb 2022; MEMO: A US-Iranian deal taking shape to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers lays out phases of mutual steps to bring both sides back into full compliance, and the first does not include waivers on oil sanctions, diplomats say and Reuters reports.

18 Feb 2022; MEMO: The Ukrainian foreign ministry yesterday summoned the Israeli Ambassador in Kiev, Michael Brodsky, over the crisis with Russia.

Hebrew Channel 7 reported that the call came after Israel asked for Moscow's help in evacuating citizens in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The U.S. issued some of its starkest, most detailed warnings yet about how a Russian invasion of Ukraine might unfold, and its Western allies went on high alert for any attempts by the Kremlin to create a false pretext for a new war in Europe.

U.S. President Joe Biden sounded unusually dire Thursday, as he warned that Washington saw no signs of a promised Russian withdrawal — but instead saw more troops moving toward the border with Ukraine, indicating Moscow could invade within days.

MOSCOW, February 17. /TASS/: The Project 11442M heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov set to become the Russian Navy’s most powerful surface ship after its repairs and upgrade at the Sevmash Shipyard is being prepared for its handover," the Shipyard’s press office reported on Thursday.

MOSCOW, February 17. /TASS/: Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said that one can count on Rome's assistance in the diplomatic settlement of the Ukraine situation.

"I would also like to touch upon the tensions near Ukraine's eastern borders, on the border between Russia and Ukraine. Italy has been in favor of a diplomatic solution from the beginning, and Italy can be counted on to help reach a diplomatic settlement," he said at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday.·

DONETSK, February 17. /TASS/: The forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) had to open retaliatory fire to suppress the Ukrainian army’s weapons and protect civilians, spokesman for the DPR people’s militia Oleg Nikitin said in a statement on Thursday.

"In order to protect civilians, our defenders had to open retaliatory fire to suppress the enemy’s weapons," the spokesman said.

MOSCOW, February 17. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 180,622 over the past day to 14,840,502, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Thursday.

In relative terms, the growth rate reached 1.23%.

As many as 18,090 patients with COVID-19 were hospitalized in Russia in the past day, down 7.6% from a day earlier. Meanwhile, in 58 regions the number of those hospitalized has decreased, while in 27 regions the number has increased, according to the crisis center.

MOSCOW, February 17. /TASS/: The Kremlin is not ready to and will not consider complaints, including from the US, on how Russia deploys its armed forces on its own soil, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

LISBON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - As an Omicron-fuelled wave of infections ebbs, Portugal said on Thursday it would drop most of its remaining coronavirus rules, including the requirement to show the COVID-19 digital pass to stay at hotels or a negative test to enter nightclubs.

"This is a very important moment," Cabinet Minister Mariana Vieira da Silva told a news conference. "This is another a step towards a return to normal life."