Ukraine's peace summit may take
place on Feb 24: ambassador
KIEV: Ukraine's Ambassador to Türkiye Vasyl Bodnar said that a summit to discuss the peace plan for Ukraine may take place on Feb. 24, the Ukrainian government-run Ukrinform news agency reported Thursday. The summit, which is due to be held under the mediation of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, is expected to be held at the UN headquarters in New York, Bodnar said. He thanked Türkiye for the support for a Kiev-proposed plan on establishing peace in Ukraine, and its readiness to assist in its implementation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky put forward a 10-point peace plan for ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict at the G20 summit in Indonesia in November 2022. — XINHUA
Cosmonauts not opposed to staying longer on board ISS
MOSCOW: The Russian crew of the International Space Station (ISS), whose mission will be extended by several months due to the breakdown of the Soyuz spacecraft, do not mind staying in orbit a bit longer, Roscosmos said on Thursday. Earlier it was expected that the astronauts, who arrived at the station on September 21, would return to Earth at the end of March. —TASS
US and Cuba to renew talks
on law enforcement issues
WASHINGTON: A high-level US delegation will visit Cuba soon to revive discussions with the communist-ruled island on police and law enforcement issues, the State Department said Thursday. "US and Cuban officials will meet this month... in Havana to discuss topics of bilateral interest on international law enforcement matters," including transnational crime, a State Department spokesman said on condition of anonymity. The official did not give dates for the meeting but said the delegation will include officials from the departments of State, Justice and Homeland Security. The talks are designed to pursue "constructive discussions... to advance US interests," the spokesman said, but will not come "at the expense of human rights." —AFP
Japan to start releasing treated water from Fukushima this year
TOKYO, Jan 13: Japan plans to start releasing more than a million tonnes of treated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean this year, a top government spokesman said Friday. The plan has been endorsed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but the government will wait for "a comprehensive report" by the UN watchdog before the release, chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. Cooling systems at the plant were overwhelmed when a massive undersea earthquake triggered a tsunami in 2011, causing the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. Decommissioning work is under way and expected to take around four decades. —AFP
US west coast girds for
more damaging storms
LOS ANGELES: Western US states were bracing for yet more torrid weather Friday and into the weekend as so-called atmospheric rivers lined up to dump heavy rain and snow across the already soaked region. California has been battered by weeks of downpours that have killed at least 19 people, flooding communities, toppling power lines and threatening deadly mudslides. —AFP
