Europe

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s leaders have proposed a national lockdown as hospitals across the European Union country are hitting their limits amid a record surge of coronavirus infections.

Inspired by neighboring Austria, the Slovak government is set to discuss a lockdown for all — vaccinated and unvaccinated alike — at its session Wednesday. Prime Minister Eduard Heger said it’s necessary to act “immediately.” His four-party coalition government was mulling a two or three-week lockdown.

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — A bus carrying North Macedonians home from a tourist trip to Istanbul crashed and caught fire in western Bulgaria early Tuesday, killing at least 45 people, authorities and local media said.

The accident happened around 2 a.m. and there were children among the victims, authorities said. Seven people were taken to hospitals for treatment.

The cause of the crash was not immediately confirmed, but it appeared that the bus hit a highway guard rail, crashed and caught fire.

SUKHUM, November 22. /TASS/: Abkhazian President Aslan Bzhania signed a decree establishing a regional embassy in the Republic of Nicaragua, the presidential press service reported on Monday.

"In connection with the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of Nicaragua, the Embassy of the Republic of Abkhazia in the city of Managua should be established," the president’s decree reads.

YEREVAN, November 22. /TASS/: The situation at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border remains relatively calm and the Armenian armed forces are in control of border developments, Armenia’s Defense Ministry reported on Monday.

"The situation along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is relatively calm as of 12:00 (11:00 Moscow time) on November 22 and no provocations from the enemy or a considerable movement of its forces and capabilities have been registered, the armed forces of Armenia are in full control of the operational situation," the ministry said in a statement.

MOSCOW, November 22. /TASS/: Russia has never used its armed forces in southeast Ukraine and has no intention of doing so in the future, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council (the upper house of Russia’s parliament) Konstantin Kosachev said in a live broadcast on the Rossiya-24 TV network on Monday.

MOSCOW, November 22. /TASS/: Siemens and Russian Railways have signed a contract on the development of a high-speed train to be used at the Moscow-St. Petersburg high-speed line starting 2028, President of Siemens Russia Alexander Liberov told a forum on Monday.

BELGRADE, November 22. /TASS/: Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday he will have talks with Russian Presidents Vladimir Putin on Thursday in Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Sochi.

"Before my visit to Sochi — I will go to Sochi, not to Moscow — I will meet with [Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina] Milorad Dodik. He represents another country. We are not going together," he said when asked whether Dodik will also take part in the talks with Putin.

ROME, November 22. /TASS/: Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Russian President Vladimir Putin held telephone talks to discuss the migration crisis at the Polish-Belarusian border, prices for energy resources and the situation in Ukraine, the Italian government’s Chigi Palace said on Monday.

"Telephone talks between Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Russian President Vladimir Putin took place,’’ the Italian prime minister’s office said. ‘’The talks were focused on the migration crisis at the border of Poland and Belarus, energy prices and the situation in Ukraine.’’

MOSCOW, November 22. /TASS/: The permission for the mass production of the world’s heaviest Mi-26T2V military transport helicopter will be obtained by the yearend, CEO of the Russian Helicopters rotorcraft manufacturer (part of the state tech corporation Rostec) Andrei Boginsky told TASS on Monday.

MOSCOW, November 22. /TASS/: Moscow raises concern over the stubbornness of Berlin and Paris, which do not want to support the implementation of the Minsk agreements by Kiev, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.

"The self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics fulfill their obligations. Ukraine has publicly withdrawn from them. And instead of shortening Ukraine’s arm and forcing Kiev to do what was agreed, we are offered to [hold the Normandy format meeting]," the top diplomat told TASS.