Europe

LONDON, March 13 (Xinhua) -- British stocks plunged on Monday, and the pound climbed against the U.S. dollar as the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse spooked financial markets and raised expectations that U.S. rate hikes would slow down.

The FTSE 100 index, the leading benchmark for blue chip companies listed in the United Kingdom (UK), ended the session down 2.58 percent, or 199.72 points, at 7,548.63. Standard Chartered and Barclays were among the worst performers.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian missile struck an apartment building in the center of Kramatorsk on Tuesday, killing at least one person and wounding three others in one of Ukraine’s major city strongholds in its eastern Donetsk region as it fights against Moscow’s invasion, officials said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that six apartment buildings were damaged in the blast and rescue efforts were continuing. He posted a video showing gaping holes in the facade of the low-rise building that bore the brunt of the strike.

HELSINKI (AP) — Sweden’s prime minister acknowledged Tuesday that it is likely that neighbor Finland will join NATO before his country does, due to Turkey’s opposition to the Swedish bid.

Ulf Kristersson said during a news conference in Stockholm on Tuesday that it has been clear since NATO’s Madrid summit in June that Finland’s road into membership has been smoother than Sweden’s, and that it is now increasingly likely that Finland will enter NATO first.

13 Mar 2023; MEMO: Further pressure has been piled on former footballer and BBC Sports presenter, Gary Lineker, over a tweet last year in which he deplored the killing of a Palestinian footballer, with UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) slamming it as misleading.

13 Mar 2023; MEMO: Russia does not object to another extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative "but only for 60 days", the deputy Foreign Minister said on Monday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The deal was set to complete its second term on 18 March.

14 Mar 2023; MEMO: The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders said yesterday that she is following the prison sentences issued against lawyers and human rights activists in Egypt with concern. Mary Lawlor also called for their release.

"We have not received any responses to any of the detainees' cases, and I ask the Egyptian authorities to release them all," Lawlor told Al Jazeera. "We are receiving complaints about bad conditions, torture and physical abuse in Egyptian prisons."

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — There are sandbags around the statues and anti-tank obstacles by the side of the streets, trenches in the nearby forests and land mine warnings in the woods. Signs painted on walls point to the nearest shelter, while air raid sirens occasionally wail across the city, which still sometimes comes under missile attack.

But against this backdrop of war, residents of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, are living their lives as normally as they can while Russia’s invasion of their country continues into its second year.

MOSCOW, March 13. /TASS/: Russian air defense forces shot down 12 rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, a HARM anti-radiation missile and destroyed 16 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Monday.

GENEVA, March 13. /TASS/: On Monday, a Russian delegation and UN representatives entered into consultations in Geneva on progress in implementing the package of documents signed in July last year in Istanbul on the supply of food and fertilizers to the world market. The Russian delegation is led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin. The UN is represented by the head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths and Secretary-General of the Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Rebeca Grynspan.

BERLIN, March 13. /TASS/: Crude oil imports from Russia plummeted by 99.9% year-on-year in January 2023, the Federal Statistical Office of Germany said on Monday.

"In January, Germany imported 3,500 metric tons of Russian oil," the Office said, adding that such volumes were imported by the EU before January 1, 2023. In January 2022, Germany imported 2.8 mln metric tons of Russian crude oil.

To substitute the Russian oil, Germany scaled up supplies from Norway (plus 44%), the United Kingdom (+42%), and Kazakhstan (+34.6%).