Europe

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.

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.

GENEVA, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Cuba and China have many things to do together to play a role in making the world a better place, a senior Cuban diplomat highlighted here on Wednesday.

Permanent Representative of Cuba to the UN Office at Geneva, Pedro Pedroso, told Xinhua after his speech on Cuba's foreign policy at the University of Geneva Wednesday evening that the two countries share the same objective of liberating the potential of the people to build a better society.

MOSCOW, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his annual address to the parliament Wednesday that the government will boost expenditures on national projects concerning social development and beef up its military might to protect the country against external threat.

The 90-minute state-of-the-nation speech at the Federal Assembly, Putin's 15th appearance of this kind, touched upon a wide range of issues from economic and demographic challenges to foreign and defense policies.

IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE

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.

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.

JERUSALEM; 20 Feb 2019; AA: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday that Hungary has decided to open a "diplomatic office" in Jerusalem, one of only a handful of countries moving towards the U.S. position on seeing the city as the nation’s capital.

"After months of efforts, we have made a very important achievement as Hungary has decided to open a diplomatic office in Jerusalem," Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office.

MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin says in a state-of-the-nation address that Russia needs to focus on raising living standards.

Speaking on Wednesday before lawmakers and top officials, Putin said the government will increase social payments to support young families. He promised tax breaks, lower mortgage rates and housing subsidies for families with several children.

He said that the tax burden on developers will be eased to encourage them to expand housing construction.

BRUSSELS, Feb 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — British Prime Minister Theresa May makes another trip to Brussels on Wednesday, hoping European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker may prove more yielding than of late to salvage her Brexit deal.

With Britain set to jolt out of the world’s biggest trading bloc in 37 days unless May can either persuade the British parliament or the European Union to budge, officials were cautious on the chances of a breakthrough.

MOSCOW, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- A 10-day state of emergency imposed on the Arctic Novaya Zemlya Archipelago in Russia over an invasion of polar bears has been lifted, the press office of the governor of the Arkhangelsk Region said Tuesday.

"The situation has stabilized and the state of emergency has been lifted," it said in a statement.