France sends Germany gas for first time amid Russia energy crisis
France has sent gas to Germany for the first time in "European solidarity" amid increasing energy pressures, BBC reported.
The gas, delivered via a pipeline, is part of a deal between the countries to ease energy shortfalls after Russian turned off the taps to Europe.
Though the new flow is less than 2% of Germany's daily needs, it is welcome as Berlin battles to diversify its energy.
Russia has been accused of using gas supplies as a weapon against the West since the invasion of Ukraine.
French grid operator, GRTgaz, said it would initially deliver 31 gigawatt hours (GWh) per day, via a pipeline from the French border village of Obergailbach.
Kherson: Russia to evacuate civilians from occupied region as Ukraine advances
The Russian-installed leader of Ukraine's southern Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, has called on civilians to evacuate - citing daily rocket attacks by advancing Ukrainian forces, BBC reported.
He urged them to "save themselves" by going to Russia for "leisure and study", and asked for Moscow's help.
His call was later backed up by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin in a message on state television.
Ukraine rejects accusations that it targets its own civilians.
Its troops have recently retaken some areas of north-western Kherson, closing in on the regional capital, Kherson city.
"The government took the decision to organise assistance for the departure of residents of the [Kherson] region to other regions of the country," said Mr Khusnullin, who has special responsibility for southern Russia and Crimea.
"We will provide everyone with free accommodation and everything necessary."The first group of people from Kherson would arrive on Friday in Russia's Rostov region, said its governor Vasily Golubev according to Russian state news agency, Tass.
"The Rostov region will accept and accommodate everyone who wants to come to us from the Kherson region," he added.
They have targeted key Russian-held military targets and threatened to cut off the bulk of the occupying forces on the west bank of the Dnieper river (known as Dnipro in Ukraine).
Kherson is the only regional capital seized by Russian forces since Moscow's invasion began on 24 February.
In other major developments on Thursday:
- All of Ukraine - with the exception of Crimea - was for some time under air raid alert, and Russian missile strikes were reported on energy and military targets in the Kyiv region and Lviv, in the west
- Two people were killed in shelling in the southern city of Mykolaiv, and dramatic footage showed a young boy being rescued from the rubble of a destroyed house, although he later died, officials said
- Both Kyiv and Moscow confirmed that 20 Ukrainian service personnel were exchanged for 20 Russian soldiers - in the latest such swap
- Russia accused Ukraine of hitting a residential building in the Russian border city of Belgorod
- Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and proposed building a gas hub in Turkey as an alternative supply route to Europe following problems with the Nord Stream pipelines
- Nato said it would provide Ukraine with dozens of jammers - transmitters used to disrupt signals - to counteract Russian and Iranian drones. The head of the military alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, also said members had agreed to increase protection of critical infrastructure after what he called the "sabotage" of the Nord Stream pipelines
Speaking on Thursday, Mr Saldo said many towns in the region - including the two major cities of Kherson and Nova Kakhovka - were now under daily rocket attacks by Ukrainian troops.
"Such strikes are causing serious damage," he said, urging residents across the whole region - and especially those on the west bank of the Dnieper river - to evacuate to Russia or Crimea, BBC reported.
And he appealed to the government in Moscow to help organise the process. "Russia is not abandoning its people," he stressed, using a popular saying.
Nepal votes in favor of Ukraine
The UN General Assembly has passed a resolution with a large majority, condemning the barbaric and brutal attack by Russia on Ukraine, with 143 member-states voting in favor of it. Nepal has also voted in favor of the resolution. In the voting held on Wednesday, 143 countries voted in favor and while five countries voted against it. The countries who voted against were Belarus, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria. Similarly, 35 countries abstained from the vote. A majority of those countries abstaining were African nations, alongside China and India. "We condemn the Russia's illegal so-called referendum within Ukraine's internationally-recognized borders and demand it reverses its annexation declaration", reads the resolution.
Finance Minister Sharma attends World Bank meeting
Finance Minister Janardan Sharma attended the 53rd Governors' Session of the World Bank Group and the South East Asian Group of the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday. In the session held at the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, various problems faced by the member states were discussed. On the occasion, the participants emphasized that the problems of countries like Nepal should be addressed by providing financial aid to address the problems created globally. Likewise, Finance Minister Sharma participated in the sideline executive dialogue session and discussed the steps taken by the member states to address the problems brought by climate change. Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Mahaprasad Adhikari, Finance Secretary Krishnahari Pushkar, Ambassador of Nepal to the US Sridhar Khatri and other high-ranking officials participated in the event. Also on Wednesday, Finance Minister Janardhan Sharma met Samantha Power, the chief administrator of the USAID at its headquarters and discussed establishing a strong foundation for promotion of bilateral interests and cooperation between Nepal and the US. In the meeting, Finance Minister Sharma lauded the support provided by the US to the socio-economic development endeavors of Nepal. According to the Nepali Embassy in the US, Finance Minister Sharma sought support for Nepal to resolve the problems brought by climate change. Finance Secretary Krishnahari Pushkar, Ambassador of Nepal to the US Sridhar Khatri and members of the visiting delegation were also present in the meeting.
