Europe

MOSCOW, June 9. /TASS/: The world’s economy is recovering after the pandemic and returning to the structure it had before the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina said at a press conference after the Board meeting.

"The global economy is returning to the pre-COVID structure. The demand for services fell abruptly and the demand for goods surged during the pandemic; the situation is reverse now," she said.

MOSCOW, June 9. /TASS/: The Netherlands’ Supreme Court ruling on the Scythian gold was politicized, but as part of its decision, the court recognized Crimea as part of Russia, Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council (the upper house of Russia’s parliament), said on Friday.

"The Netherlands’ Supreme Court admitted Crimea’s reunification with Russia to justify its decision. Judicially, this very circumstance turned out to be pivotal in this case," the senator wrote on his Telegram channel.

SOCHI, June 9. /TASS/: The situation at the Lachin corridor and in Nagorno-Karabakh is critical after Azerbaijan set up a checkpoint in the Lachin corridor, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told Russian President Vladimir Putin at their meeting in Sochi.

STOCKHOLM, June 9 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Sweden’s Supreme Court on Wednesday approved the extradition of a supporter of the Kurdish Workers Party, (PKK) to Turkiye. The decision clears the way for the government in Stockholm to meet Turkiye’s demand that it hand over several individuals it considers “terrorists” as a prerequisite for approval of Sweden’s request to become a member of NATO military alliance.

KYIV, June 9 (Reuters) - Moscow and Kyiv both reported heavy fighting in Ukraine on Friday, with bloggers describing the first sightings of German and U.S. armour, signalling that Ukraine's long-anticipated counterattack was under way.

With virtually no independent reporting from the front lines and Kyiv saying little, it was impossible to assess whether Ukraine was penetrating Russian defences in its bid to drive out occupying forces.

KYIV, June 9 (Reuters) - Evidence was growing on Friday that there was an explosion at the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine around the time it collapsed, according to Ukrainian and U.S. intelligence reports and seismic data from Norway.

Ukraine's security service said it had intercepted a telephone call proving a Russian "sabotage group" blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric station and dam early on Tuesday in the Kherson region.

Norway's research foundation Norsar said that data collected from regional seismic stations showed clear signals of an explosion.

LONDON, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The de-dollarization process has accelerated especially after Washington imposed sweeping sanctions on Moscow following the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, the London-based The New Arab news website has reported.

"The question is about when, not if, the hegemony of the U.S. dollar will end, with more countries across the Global South seeking alternatives," said the report on Wednesday.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict and the West's response marked "a major turning point" in the movement against the U.S. dollar, it said.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow will deploy some of its tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus next month, a move that the Belarusian opposition described as an attempt to blackmail the West.

Putin said during a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that work on building facilities for the nuclear weapons will be completed by July 7-8, and they will be moved to the territory of Russia’s neighbor and ally quickly after that.

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis was “progressively improving” and sitting in an armchair working Friday, following surgery to remove intestinal scar tissue and repair a hernia in his abdominal wall, the Vatican said.

After a restful night, Francis had breakfast and read the newspapers from his armchair, spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement. He quoted doctors as saying Francis’ condition was “progressively improving and the post-operative course is smooth.”

LONDON (AP) — Several dozen allies of former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson received honors from King Charles III on Friday, a list that drew cries of cronyism from opponents of the ousted leader.

“Resignation honors,” bestowed by the monarch but chosen by the government, are an established but contentious way for departing leaders to reward loyal lieutenants.