Europe

MOSCOW, February 15. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg have discussed the issues of European security during their meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, a message by the Russian Foreign Ministry informs.

"They have discussed the state of security in Europe and the relations between Russia and NATO," the ministry stated.

Earlier, Stoltenberg said that he plans to discuss the possibility of maintaining the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Lavrov in Munich.

CAIRO, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Warsaw conference on the Middle East ended up without setting up the anti-Iran coalition, an overt goal of the United States that remains unrealized.

The two-day conference, co-organized from Feb. 13 to 14 by Poland and the United States, appeared to be a blatant attempt to build the coalition of hardliners.

15 Feb 2019; AFP: At least 100,000 babies die every year because of armed conflict and its impact, from hunger to denial of aid, Save the Children International said on Friday.

In the 10 worst-hit countries, a conservative estimate of 550,000 infants died as a result of fighting between 2013 and 2017.

They succumbed to war and its effects, among them hunger, damage to hospitals and infrastructure, a lack of access to health care and sanitation and the denial of aid.

15 Feb 2019; AFP: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the United States had "productive" talks with China over their trade dispute after negotiations in Beijing ended Friday with no sign that any concrete progress had been made.

Top officials from the world's two biggest economies had held two days of talks, hoping to at least create sufficient goodwill to stave off an escalation of their tariff war.

15 Feb 2019; DW: Children should not be allowed to use smartphones before the age of 14 to help prevent them from coming into contact with harmful pornography at a young age, an adviser to the German government has said.

Children as young as nine were already looking at pornographic images and distributing videos of their peers masturbating, Julia von Weiler told newspapers of the Funke media group published on Friday.

MOSCOW, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Russia, Turkey and Iran on Thursday agreed on several key directions of future interaction in the settlement of the Syrian crisis after a trilateral summit of their presidents in the Russian city of Sochi.

"It is very important that our three countries intend to strengthen cooperation within the framework of the Astana process, which proved its necessity," Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference, following "constructive and businesslike" talks with his Turkish and Iranian counterparts.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Thursday condemned the "heinous and cowardly terrorist attack" in Iran's southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan Province that killed 27 and wounded 13 others.

In a statement, the members of the council expressed their sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and to the Iranian government and wished a speedy and full recovery to the injured.

WARSAW, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The international conference on the Middle East ended here on Thursday. During the two-day discussion, the United States and the EU have held different views on Iran issue, and didn't reach any agreements specifically.

The conference, which started on Wednesday, was co-organized by Poland and the U.S. The main topics included the political situation and the role of Iran in regional development, the situation in Yemen and Syria, the security and stability in the Middle East.

MUNICH, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Munich Security Conference to be held from Friday to Sunday has attracted an unprecedented number of key policymakers from around the world seeking solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing the global.

Around 500 participants, some of them heads of state and government, or political and security heavyweights, are expected to meet to discuss a wide range of issues from competition and cooperation between major countries, the European Union (EU)'s future, to transatlantic relations.

BRUSSELS, February 13; GANASHAKTI: Belgian airports cancelled almost all flights on Wednesday due to a national strike over pay and working conditions that halted activity at ports, hit public transport and led to blockades outside factories.