18 Feb 2019; DW: Poland has downgraded its delegation to the Visegrad Group summit in Israel after premier Benjamin Netanyahu suggested "Poles cooperated with the Nazis." The four-state group is a key element in Israel's diplomacy.

A dispute between Israel and Poland about alleged Polish collaboration with the Nazis in World War II is threatening to overshadow a two-day meeting of central European countries in Jerusalem.

18 Feb 2019; DW:  Authorities in Paris have opened an investigation into anti-Semitic insults by French "yellow vests" against Jewish philosopher and writer Alain Finkielkraut. Anti-Jewish incidents have been on the rise across France.

Paris prosecutors on Sunday announced an investigation over the anti-Jewish insults against Finkielkraut on the sidelines of a yellow vest demonstration in Paris.

TASS, February 17. Syria remains committed to dialogue to find a solution to the crisis, but will not allow its constitution to become a bargaining chip, Syrian President Bashar Assad said at a meeting with heads of local councils on Sunday.

"We will not allow the hostile states to achieve any of their objectives through their agents who hold the Syrian nationality," Syria’s SANA news agency said citing the president.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said in an interview that aired Sunday that a “crime may have been committed” when President Donald Trump fired the head of the FBI and tried to publicly undermine an investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia.

McCabe also said in the interview with “60 Minutes” that the FBI had good reason to open a counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump was in league with Russia, and therefore a possible national security threat, following the May 2017 firing of then-FBI Director James Comey.

AURORA, Ill. (AP) — More than 1,500 people braved snow and freezing drizzle to attend a prayer vigil for five slain co-workers Sunday, two days after they were fatally shot at a suburban Chicago manufacturing plant by a longtime employee who was fired moments earlier.

The Rev. Dan Haas told those who gathered near five white crosses erected for the shooting victims outside Henry Pratt Co. in Aurora that Friday’s “senseless killings” left their families brokenhearted in the city about 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Chicago.

18 Feb 2019; DW: A gunbattle with militants in disputed Kashmir has left four Indian troops dead. It comes just days after the worst attack on government forces in the region's history, to which India promised a "jaw-dropping" response.

At least four Indian soldiers were killed in a shootout with rebels in India-administered Kashmir on Monday.

MOSCOW, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Sunday that the upcoming new round of U.S. sanctions against Russia will be senseless like previous ones.

"I did not warn. I just said that this is senseless. Nothing else. I said that the goal of this move is unclear. If they did not understand that the sanctions are not working, I feel sorry for them," Lavrov said in an interview with the program "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin." that aired on state TV channel Rossiya-1, when answering a question if Russia can counter new U.S. sanctions.

LONDON, February 18. /TASS/. Russia’s embassy in London labels as a provocation the appearance of a Russian flag on the Salisbury Cathedral, the embassy’s spokesperson said.

"We have no official information on that. Should it be true that a Russian flag was flown on the cathedral, we believe it looks like a well-thought-out provocation," the diplomat said.

MOSCOW, February 17. /TASS/. Moscow will consider retaliatory measures in response to new US anti-Russian sanctions, depending on the manner of those restrictive measures, Kremlin Aide Yuri Ushakov said on Sunday.

Speaking in the Moscow. Kremlin. Putin television program, Ushakov said that no prospects for better relations with Washington could be seen.

"In my opinion, things are bad enough and prospects [for better relations] cannot be expected. Let us see what the sanctions will be like and then we will decide how to respond," he said.

WASHINGTON, February 18. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump did not believe a report by the US intelligence officials claiming that North Korea is in possession of missiles able to reach the US territory due to Russian President Vladimir Putin claiming the opposite, former Acting Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe said in an interview with the CBS channel, published on Sunday.

Tehran, Feb 17 : Iran on Sunday launched a new locally-made submarine capable of firing cruise missiles, state TV said, in the country's latest show of military might at a time of heightened tensions with the US.

The launch ceremony, led by President Hassan Rouhani, took place in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas.

"Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran is fully self-reliant on land, air and sea," Rouhani said.

"Our defensive power is meant to defend our interests and we have never sought to attack any country," he added.

MOSCOW, February 17. /TASS/. Russia’s Economic Development Ministry develops macroeconomic institutions to prevent sudden and deep economic crises, Russian Economic Development Minister Maksim Oreshkin said on Rossiya’24 television channel on Sunday.

Oreshkin added that there are no systemic prerequisites for an economic crisis in the Russian economy.