By Susana Vera and Guillermo Martinez VALENCIA, Spain (Reuters) -The deadliest flash floods in Spain’s modern history have killed at least 214 people and dozens were still unaccounted for, four days after torrential rains swept the eastern region of Valencia, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday. In a televised statement, Sanchez said the government was sending 5,000 more army troops to help with the searches and clean-up in addition to 2,500 soldiers already deployed. […]
Europe
Italy police arrest four over alleged illegal database access, source says
By Emilio Parodi MILAN (Reuters) – Italian police have placed four people under house arrest as part of a probe into alleged illegal access to state databases, and are investigating dozens, including Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, son of the late billionaire founder of Luxottica, a source said on Saturday. A lawyer for Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio said he was “eagerly awaiting the completion of preliminary investigations to be able to prove he has nothing to […]
Putin: We will respond if Ukraine allowed to make long-range strikes in Russia
(Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow is coming up with various ways to respond should the United States and its NATO allies allow Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons to strike deep inside Russia, according to remarks published on Sunday. “(The Russian defence ministry) is thinking about how to respond to the possible long-range strikes on Russian territory, it will offer a range of responses,” Putin told state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin in video […]
Zelenskiy says Russia to deploy N.Korean troops in combat zones Oct 27-28
(Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that Russia plans to deploy North Korean troops to the battlefield starting Oct. 27-28, citing intelligence reports. “According to intelligence, the first North Korean soldiers are expected to be deployed by Russia to combat zones as early as October 27-28. This is a clear escalation by Russia,” Zelenskiy said on X after receiving reports from his top commander. Zelenskiy did not say which frontline sector North […]
PM Chinh says Vietnam to work with BRICS as he meets with China, Russia leaders
By Francesco Guarascio and Phuong Nguyen HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam is ready to work with BRICS, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said as he attended the group’s summit for the first time this week and held meetings with Chinese and Russian leaders. Chinh fell short of stating Vietnam’s explicit interest in joining the club, a move that could bring the Communist-run southeast Asian nation closer to China and Russia but might impact relations with the […]
Putin says it is our affair if Russia uses North Korean troops
MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that it was Russia’s business whether or not it decided to use North Korean troops and said that if Ukraine wanted to join NATO then Moscow could do what it wanted to ensure its own security. The United States said on Wednesday that it had seen evidence that North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia for possible deployment in Ukraine, a move that the West […]
North Korean troops in Russia readying for combat in Ukraine war, S.Korea says
By Ju-min Park and Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea has shipped 1,500 special forces troops to Russia’s Far East for training and acclimatising at local military bases and will likely be deployed for combat in the war in Ukraine, South Korea’s spy agency said on Friday. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said it had been working with the Ukrainian intelligence service and had used facial recognition artificial intelligence technology to identify North Korean officers […]
Russia, Ukraine each bring home 95 prisoners of war in swap brokered by UAE
(Reuters) -Russia and Ukraine carried out a new exchange of prisoners of war on Friday, each side bringing home 95 prisoners in an agreement in which the United Arab Emirates acted as mediator. Russia’s Defence Ministry, in a post on the Telegram messaging app, said the returning Russian service members were undergoing medical checks in Belarus, one of Russia’s closest allies in the more than 2-1/2-year-old war. Video posted on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s Telegram […]
Russia’s Putin cements ties with Iranian president in Central Asia meeting
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia’s Vladimir Putin held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday in Turkmenistan, where the two leaders hailed their countries growing economic ties and similar views on world affairs, an entente viewed with concern by the United States. At odds with Washington and the European Union over Russia’s war in Ukraine, something he casts as part of a wider existential struggle against an arrogant and self-interested West – Putin is keen to […]
Poland to temporarily suspend right to asylum after Belarus border tensions, Tusk says
WARSAW (Reuters) -Poland plans to temporarily suspend the right to asylum as part of a strategy to limit illegal migration amidst tensions with Belarus, which Warsaw accuses of channelling migrants across its border. “One of the elements of the migration strategy will be the temporary territorial suspension of the right to asylum,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday. “I will demand this, I will demand recognition in Europe for this decision,” he told a […]
Ukraine’s Zelenskiy outlines ‘victory plan’ to allies, discusses long-range weapons
By Andrew MacAskill, Alistair Smout and John Irish LONDON/PARIS/ROME (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday discussed his proposed “victory plan” with the leaders of Britain, France and Italy, and the incoming head of NATO as he seeks to garner military support to put himself in a position for eventual peace talks. Western officials and Zelenskiy have said the war with Russia is at a critical point. With a U.S election less than a month away […]
Putin orders conscription of 133,000 servicemen in Russia’s autumn draft
(Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the conscription of 133,000 new servicemen in Russia’s autumn draft that starts Oct. 1 and goes until the end of the year, according to a Kremlin decree published on Monday. The decree, published in Russian state-run newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, calls to carry out the draft of citizens “aged 18 to 30 years, who are not in the reserve and are subject to conscription in accordance with the Federal […]