Europe

GENEVA (AP) — The rights situation in Russia has “significantly deteriorated” since President Vladimir Putin launched his war against Ukraine in February last year, an expert commissioned by the U.N.’s top human rights body said in her first report on the country on Monday.

Mariana Katzarova, the special rapporteur on Russia’s rights situation mandated by the Human Rights Council, chronicled the domestic crackdown that has largely targeted critics of Putin’s war as well as other opposition voices in Russia.

MICHALOVCE, Slovakia (AP) — A populist former prime minister whose party is favored to win Slovakia’s early parliamentary election plans to reverse the country’s military and political support for neighboring Ukraine, in a direct challenge to the European Union and NATO, if he returns to power.

Robert Fico, who led Slovakia from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2018, is the frontrunner to occupy the prime minister’s office after the Sept. 30 election. He and his left-wing Direction, or Smer, party have campaigned on a clear pro-Russian and anti-American message.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Russia on Monday called a Ukrainian case alleging that Moscow abused the Genocide Convention to justify its invasion last year an “abuse of process,” as lawyers for Moscow sought to have judges at the United Nation’s highest court throw it out.

FRANKFURT/SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde seized the mobile phones of her fellow policymakers at this week's meeting and rebuked them for leaking crucial information ahead of a policy decision, two sources told Reuters.

The unprecedented move is the boldest step that Lagarde has taken to stop information leaking out from the Governing Council, an issue that has plagued her presidency as well as that of her predecessor, Mario Draghi.

OSLO, Sept 16 (Reuters) - A top NATO military official warned on Saturday that a drastic rise in ammunition prices means that allies' higher defence spending does not automatically translate into greater security and called for more private investment in defence companies.

"Prices for equipment and ammunition are shooting up. Right now, we are paying more and more for exactly the same," Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, the chair of NATO's military committee, said on Saturday after a meeting of the alliance's chiefs of defence in Oslo.

KYIV, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Two cargo vessels were bound for Ukrainian ports on Saturday, becoming the first ships to use a temporary corridor to sail into Black Sea ports and load grain for African and Asian markets, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said.

Ukraine last month announced a "humanitarian corridor" in the Black Sea to release ships trapped in its ports since the start of the war in February 2022 and to circumvent a de facto blockade after Russia abandoned a deal to let Kyiv export grain.

Sept 16 (Reuters) - Russian-installed authorities in Crimea said on Saturday they planned to sell about 100 Ukrainian properties, including one belonging to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Vladimir Konstantinov, speaker of the Crimean parliament, said the nationalised properties would be sold "soon" and the authorities had held the first eight auctions for the properties of Ukrainian business figures.

The sale contracts amounted to more than 815 million roubles ($8.51 million), Konstantinov said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

PRAGUE, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Thousands of supporters of a pro-Russian Czech opposition party gathered in Prague on Saturday to protest against the country's centre-right government, criticising its economic management and military support for Ukraine.

The protest was called by the PRO movement, which is not represented in parliament and has taken a nationalist, pro-Moscow and anti-Western line.

News agency CTK estimated the turnout at about 10,000 people, smaller than a similar event a year ago which took place at the height of Europe's energy price surge.

BRUSSELS/WARSAW, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Poland, Slovakia and Hungary announced their own restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports on Friday after the European Commission decided not to extend its ban on imports into Ukraine's five EU neighbours.

Ukraine was one of the world's top grain exporters before Russia's 2022 invasion reduced its ability to ship agricultural produce to global markets. Ukrainian farmers have relied on grain exports through neighbouring countries since the conflict began as it has been unable to use the favoured routes through Black Sea ports.

ROME, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Data show that the trade volume between China and Italy has increased for three consecutive years in 2022. Bilateral cooperation in various fields has been fruitful and has a broad prospect, experts said.

Vito Petrocelli, former chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Italian Senate, told Xinhua that Italy and China have highly complementary economies, whose bilateral relationship, especially in the economic and trade fields, has made a "leap forward."