Ukrainian official warns of ‘catastrophe’ in captured city

POKROVSK, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian regional official warned Friday of deteriorating living conditions in a city captured by Russian forces two weeks ago, saying Sievierodonetsk is without water, power or a working sewage system while the bodies of the dead decompose in hot apartment buildings. Gov. Serhiy Haidai said the Russians were unleashing indiscriminate…

Read More

Oil minister says Iraq to act to annul Kurdish oil deals

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s oil minister said on Thursday the government will take steps to enforce a recent court decision to annul oil contracts the semiautonomous northern Iraqi Kurdish region made with international companies. The minister, Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail, told The Associated Press the deals, which circumvent the government in Baghdad, are illegal and amount…

Read More

Poland, Lithuania leaders meet troops at NATO bottleneck

SZYPLISZKI, Poland (AP) — The presidents of NATO members Poland and Lithuania voiced confidence Thursday that allied troops can fully safeguard a strategically vital corridor, which links their countries, between Russian ally Belarus and a Russian Baltic Sea exclave. Concern over NATO’s ability to defend the Suwalki Gap, a 70-kilometer (43-mile) corridor between Poland and…

Read More

EU decision on natural gas could threaten climate progress

The European Union’s plan to include natural gas in a list of activities considered sustainable could derail its progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions at a time when climate scientists are calling for dramatic reductions to planet-warming releases. The plan, approved Wednesday by European lawmakers, will allow investment in natural gas infrastructure such as natural…

Read More