Russia and Belarus begin joint army exercises near the Ukrainian border on Thursday, while NATO allies step up troop deployments amid a flurry of diplomatic activity.

To mark a flurry of talks in Europe this week about NATO and Ukraine, we take a closer look at Moscow's demands.

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Thirty polar bears have taken refuge in a derelict Soviet weather station much to the delight of marine and wildlife photographer Dmitriy Kokh who discovered the arctic predators while on an expedition along Russia’s northeastern coast

Police said the people from Turkey had been trafficked from Romania via Hungary to Austria.

The incident allegedly took place on a United Airlines flight from New York to London.

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The Pope, in his general audience Wednesday, prayed that the "threats of war be overcome through serious dialogue."

"We don't need additional troops on the territory of Hungary," said Hungary's foreign minister Péter Szijjártó.

Salah Abdeslam will be questioned for the next two days over the November 13 terror attacks.

It had been selected to be minted to celebrate Croatia joining the eurozone next year.

Gas reserves have fallen to 35-36% from 40% recently and 80% in 2020.

Thousands of people had rallied against the deal.

Her coach and father, Sergei Dolidovich, has been supportive of Belarus' opposition.

Prague wants to increase the speed limit on sections of motorway from 130 to 150 kmh.

A group of journalists covering the Beijing Winter Olympics visited the Great Wall of China on Thursday.

The 27-year-old, currently playing for West Ham United in England, is seen kicking and slapping a cat in a video released by The Sun newspaper.

Emergency services said it was "really lucky" no one was seriously injured.

Scientists in Oxford have more than doubled the previous record set for nuclear fusion. But environmental groups have reservations.

Though 300,000 Facebook users have joined a group planning the demonstration, it's unclear how many people are planning to show up.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament the last domestic restrictions could be lifted by late February if the latest encouraging trends continued.

A parliamentary committee paints a less than rosy picture of the Brexit so vaunted by Boris Johnson — and warns that new border controls risk further disruption.

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A majority of people in six out of seven EU countries surveyed thought a Russian invasion of Ukraine would happen in 2022.

"Science gave us the tools to fight COVID-19; if they are shared globally in solidarity, we can end COVID-19 as a global health emergency this year," said the World Health Organization's chief.

From Thursday, people in the Czech Republic no longer have to show COVID passes to enter bars, restaurants, cafés and hairdressers, as well sports and cultural events.

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A number of videos have shown anti-vax protesters handing out fake legal documents to medical workers and other professionals claiming that vaccines are an alleged threat to public health.

A small group of protesters set fire to excavators used by a private contractor to build a new migrant camp on Lesbos, authorities say.

Although the club condemned Zouma for his behaviour and pledged to deal with the incident internally, manager David Moyes still selected him for the Tuesday night match against Watford.

At least 13 people were killed in the blast and dozens more injured.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland has apologised to victims' families after the ombudsman report.

Hirske's position near the frontline in eastern Ukraine has shaped how it views US warnings of a Russian invasion.

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The incident was reportedly filmed and uploaded to YouTube earlier this year.

Galina Dzjucik, who's had no news of her son Viktor since 2017, says the conflict between Russian-backed separatists and the Ukrainian army has been personally devastating.

The body of a 70-year-old woman was found in her Prestino home, more than two years after her death.

Malta is the only European state that has legalised possession of small amounts of cannabis without incentivising the criminal gangs that traffic and grow the drug.

A recent report found that Pope Benedict had failed to handle cases of sexual abuse at the Munich diocese.

US government officials have reached a deal to lift a 25% tariff that former President Donald Trump imposed on imported Japanese steel.

The opposition bloc says the mandate should be suspended nationwide “until central legal and practical questions are answered”.

The US pulled out of the deal in 2018 during the presidency of Donald Trump.

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After Moscow and Kyiv, Macron landed in Berlin on Tuesday evening, where he said a challenging dialogue with the Kremlin was "the only way to make peace possible in Ukraine".

Several Conservative MPs have linked a baseless slur made by the prime minister about Starmer to an incident on Monday when the opposition leader was hounded by protesters.

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The Turkish President announced on Saturday that he and his wife were suffering from "mild" COVID-19 symptoms.

Agriculture minister Spilios Livanos has resigned after seemingly endorsing an "unacceptable" proposal, the Greek government said.

The incident occurred in the central city of Västerås on Monday afternoon.

Queen Elizabeth does not actually celebrate the anniversary of the date she became queen — known as Ascension Day — as it is also the anniversary of her father’s death.