MOSCOW, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Russia does not intend to be the first to place missiles in Europe but will develop its defense capacities and take reciprocal measures if the United States deploys missiles, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday in his address to Russia's Federal Assembly.

"Russia will be forced to create and deploy weapons that can be used not only against areas, from which a direct threat will emanate, but also against the centers making decisions on the use of missile systems that threaten us," Putin said.

BRUSSELS, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and British Prime Minister Theresa May made fresh efforts on Wednesday to unlock the Brexit stalemate. Without a breakthrough, as expected, they pledged to talk again before the end of the month.

The two leaders talked about "which guarantees could be given with regard to the backstop that underlines once again its temporary nature and give the appropriate legal assurance to both sides", said a joint statement published on European Commission website.

CARACAS, February 21. /TASS/. The US government plans to use the territory of Caribbean countries to stage illegal operations aimed at overthrowing the Venezuelan government, the Latin American country's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/. Russian military ships and submarines equipped with Tsircon hypersonic missiles will be capable of destroying command centers on the United States territory in five minutes, Retired Counter Admiral Vsevolov Khmyrov told reporters on Thursday.

Geneva, Feb 21 (PTI) China and the US may be the largest producers of coal power, but power plants in India take the highest toll in the world when it comes to health, a global study claims.

Coal-fired power plants produce more than just carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming, said researchers from ETH Zurich in Switzerland.

Coal burning also releases particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury -- thus damaging the health of many people around the world, they said.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- A recent study showed that TV remained the most used media device of young children in the United States other than smart devices nowadays.

"Our findings were surprising as it feels like mobile devices are omnipresent, but televisions are still the most common way for young children to consume media," said Weiwei Chen, one of the authors of the study.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Activists in Poland pulled down a statue of a priest early Thursday after increasing allegations that he sexually abused minors, a stunt they said was to protest the failure of the Polish Catholic Church to resolve the problem of clergy sex abuse.

The protest comes as Pope Francis gathered church leaders from around the world at the Vatican to grapple with the church’s sex abuse crisis.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, on Wednesday was granted a two-month delay to surrender himself to federal prison.

Federal Judge William Pauley has approved Cohen's request to adjourn his surrender to prison from March 6 to May 6, a court document revealed.

Cohen recently had "a serious surgical procedure" and needs more time for recovery, according to his lawyer Michael Monico.

BANGALORE /India/, February 21. /TASS/. The Russian Helicopters company (part of the Rostec State Corporation) plans to begin the delivery of the Mil Mi-171A2 helicopters to India in late 2019, the company’s CEO Andrei Bogisnky told TASS on the sidelines of the Aero India Show 2019.

"We expect that India will validate the certificate for the helicopter’s civilian version in the first half of the year so that we can start the delivery process in the fourth quarter," he said.

CARACAS, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said Wednesday that the country's internal order and proper protection of its borders are guaranteed.

Rodriguez made the remarks at a press conference when she was asked about whether incidents will occur during political and social activities slated for Feb. 23 on the border with Colombia.

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese spacecraft began its approach Thursday toward a distant asteroid on a mission to collect material that could provide clues to the origin of the solar system and life on Earth.

Hayabusa2′s descent was delayed for about five hours for a safety check, but the unmanned craft is still due to touch down as scheduled on Friday morning, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said.

21 Feb 2019; DW: During talks with the US president, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said he wanted to prevent an escalation in the trade war between the US and the EU. However, Trump said he isn't taking car tariffs off the table.