Europe

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country’s military needs more time to prepare an anticipated counteroffensive aimed at pushing back Russian occupying forces and opening a new chapter in the war more than 14 months after the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion.

Zelenskyy said in an interview broadcast Thursday by the BBC that it would be “unacceptable” to launch the assault now because too many lives would be lost.

“With (what we have) we can go forward and be successful,” Zelenskyy said in the interview, according to the BBC.

MOSCOW, May 10. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday extended best wishes to Turkey for successful presidential and parliamentary elections slated for May 14, and expressed confidence that they would be fair and transparent.

MOSCOW, May 10. /TASS/: A four-party meeting between the foreign ministers of Russia, Syria, Turkey and Iran, Sergey Lavrov, Faisal Mekdad, Mevlut Cavusoglu and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, kicked off in Moscow on Wednesday, a TASS correspondent reports.

Before this meeting, Cavusoglu said that he was hoping to discuss with his colleagues, among other issues, the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland as well as the war on terrorism.

May 10 (Reuters) - Russian forces are planning to evacuate more than 3,000 workers from the town that serves the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, resulting in a "catastrophic lack" of personnel, Ukraine's state-owned Energoatom company said on Wednesday.

SANCTIONS DEBATE

* European Union states hold a first discussion on Wednesday on proposed new sanctions over Russia's war in Ukraine that would target Chinese and Iranian firms and allow export curbs on third countries for busting existing trade restrictions.

May 9 (Reuters) - Britain is set to formally classify Russian mercenary force Wagner Group as a terrorist organisation as a way of increasing pressure on Russia, The Times newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Wagner mercenaries have spearheaded Russia's months-long assault on the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

The Home Office has been building a case for two months and proscription was due within weeks, the newspaper reported, citing a government source.

The British government declined to comment on its plans.

LONDON, May 10 (Reuters) - Some of Britain's top finance executives, fearful London is losing out to New York and rival European cities, are pressing the government to broaden an array of reforms aimed at attracting big-ticket corporate listings.

London has seen a 40% decline in publicly-listed companies since 2008 and has struggled to match growth in rival markets in Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt, while Amsterdam overtook London as a share trading venue soon after Brexit in 2021.

BRUSSELS, May 10 (Reuters) - European Union states hold a first discussion on Wednesday on proposed new sanctions over Russia's war in Ukraine that would target Chinese and Iranian firms and allow export curbs on third countries for busting existing trade restrictions.

Talks among EU envoys start at 0800 GMT and are set to be heated, according to one diplomat, with Russia hawks upset the plan doesn't go far enough but others wary of damaging their international ties.

Widely differing perspectives mean a quick deal is not expected, several diplomats said.

WARSAW, May 10 (Xinhua) -- A knife attack at an orphanage in central Poland has left one teenage girl dead and nine others injured, local media reported Wednesday.

The tragic incident took place in the village of Tomislawice after 11 p.m. (2100 GMT) at night. Five of the injured were sent to hospital, and the rest received medical treatment at the scene, the Polish Press Agency quoted local police and the prosecutor's office as saying.

The 19-year-old perpetrator had been detained by the police, it said.

PARIS (AP) — The 22 women mostly met violent deaths. Their bodies, some dismembered, were found in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands over a span of 43 years — the most recent in 2019. Police say some showed signs of abuse or starvation.

But who they were is unknown, frustrating detectives’ hunts for their killers.

MOSCOW (AP) — The death toll from wildfires in Russia’s Ural Mountains rose to 21 Tuesday, Russian state news agency Tass reported, citing local emergency service agencies.

Wildfires have raged in the Kurgan region of the Urals and in Siberia all week. A resident of western Siberia’s Tyumen province died while attempting to extinguish a fire.

According to local authorities, most of the deaths occurred Sunday in the Kurgan province village of Yuldus, which is located on the border between the Ural Mountains and Siberia.