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It was the puddles of green sludge left by the tires of massive tractors in western Belgium’s industrial farmlands that drew the attention of biological engineer Ineke Maes. The slime was destructive algae, the result of the excess of chemicals used by farmers to boost their crops, but at a high cost to nature. Maes had hoped the European Union’s environmental policies would start to make a fundamental difference by improving exhausted soils. In recent weeks, some of those tractors moved off the land and onto the roads, blocking major cities and economic lifelines from Warsaw to Madrid and from Athens to Brussels. Farmers were demanding the reversal of some of the most progressive measures in the world to counter climate change and protect biodiversity, arguing that the rules were harming their livelihoods and strangling them with red tape. And the impact has been stunning. The farmers' protests affected the daily lives of people across the 27-nation bloc, costing businesses tens of millions of euros in transportation delays. The disruption triggered knee jerk reactions from politicians at national and EU level: they committed to rolling back policies, some of them years in the making, on everything from the use of pesticides to limiting the amount of manure that could be spread on fields. To environmentalists like Maes, who works for the Belgian Better Environment Federation umbrella group, it would almost be laughable if it were not so depressing. Read: Farmers from 10 EU countries protest agricultural policies “In the environmental movement, we joke that we should get tractors ourselves to make a point. Then we would be competing fair and square. The purpose should be that we get negotiations, and that we get a deal through democratic process — the rules, you know," she said. Reasoned arguments, she says, have been drowned out by the rumble of tractor engines. And there's no end in sight. After hundreds of tractors disrupted the EU summit in Brussels early this month at a volume that kept some leaders awake at night, farmers plan to return on Monday. They intend to be there when agriculture ministers discuss an emergency item on the agenda — the simplification of agricultural rules and a decrease in checks at farms that environmentalists fear could amount to a further weakening of standards. The political noise level from the tractors — not to mention the loads of manure dumped outside official buildings — does get through, officials said. “That puts a bit more pressure on the ministers inside. So I would believe that ministers will be a bit more — insisting to have concrete results,” said a high-level EU official, who asked not to be identified because the meeting has yet to take place. It is this attitude that drives the environmental lobby and NGOs to distraction: knowing that scientific arguments are too often no match for the rule of the street. As a result, the EU's flagship Green Deal, that aims to make the continent carbon-neutral by 2050, is under threat. “You really should not lose that long-term view, that vision of the future when you are working on policy,” said Maes. “You should not respond to the issues of the day by simply scrapping very important rules that have been seriously discussed, considered, that have been included in environmental impact reports and so on — and that have also been democratically approved in that way.” Read: Indian farmers reject government offer and say they will carry on marching to New Delhi Yet ahead of Monday's farm protest and meeting of agriculture ministers, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, for many the most powerful EU politician, insisted that she “remains fully committed to delivering solutions to ease the pressure currently felt by our hard-working farming women and men.” Von der Leyen's change in emphasis comes ahead of the June 6-9 elections, when a good showing by her Christian Democrat group, the European People's Party, will be key to keeping her at the helm of the all-powerful Commission. As her party has swayed toward putting farmers and industry first, so has she. “It is a bit difficult putting a pin on Mrs. von der Leyen,” said Jutta Paulus, a Green member of the European Parliament. "She started off in 2019 being a climate and environment champion, more or less saying, ‘We don’t need the Greens anymore, we are green ourselves.’ And now she says: ‘Well industry called me and they are worried. So I have to do something.’” In the wake of the tractor protests, action came fast and furious. Early this month, von der Leyen's Commission shelved an important anti-pesticide proposal, insisting “a different approach is needed.” She also allowed farmers to continue using some land they had been required to keep fallow to promote biodiversity. And the proposals on the table for Monday's meeting about simplifying paperwork go in the same direction. At the same time, a nature restoration law which was seen as another element in the Green Deal aspiration has already been watered down to appease farmers before it goes to a final legislative vote next Tuesday. And at a national level, politicians have been bending the same way, from France to Spain and Belgium. Read more: Protesting Indian farmers clash with police for a second day as they march toward the capital Flanders, in northern Belgium, has already relaxed its policy on the use of manure which was intended to limit emissions of nitrates that can harm water quality. Under pressure from multinational food manufacturers, whose processing plants dwarf even the biggest family farms in western Belgium, farmers are likely to stick with the industrial methods that exhaust soils and pollute waterways, Maes fears. “It is mind-boggling that this whole process is now grinding to a halt,” she said.

A fire engulfed two residential buildings in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia on Thursday, killing four people and leaving 19 others missing hours after the blaze started, authorities said. The fire sent fleeing residents onto balconies where some were rescued by firefighters, officials said. Spain at risk of political gridlock after conservative win falls short of toppling PM Sánchez Firefighters rushed to the scene on the outskirts of the city center as flames burst from windows of the 14-story residential building where the blaze apparently started. Residents could be seen waiting for rescue on balconies, and firefighters used a crane to lift two residents from one of the balconies. Valencia's assisetant emergency services director, Jorge Suárez told reporters that four people were confirmed dead and that some six hours hours after the blaze started firefighters were trying to cool down the outside of the building before attempting to go inside. Soldiers from Spain’s Military Emergency Unit also were deployed and medics set up a large tent to tend to the injured on the scene. Anti-Muslim Twitter feed in Spain: 'A recipe for disaster' The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but news reports said it might have spread rapidly owing to materials used in the building's structure. The fire sent clouds of black smoke billowing skyward that could be seen from afar. Spain's weather agency, Aemet, reported winds of up to 60 kph (40 mph) at the time. The fire began in the early evening and spread to an adjacent building, state news agency Efe reported. Emergency service reports said that besides the four people killed, at least 13 were injured, most with fractures, burns and smoke inhalation. The 13 included six firefighters. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the buildings or how many were rescued. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez posted a tweet on the X platform saying he was “shocked by the terrible fire in a building in Valencia,” adding that he had offered the city “all the help that is necessary.” “I want to convey my solidarity to all the people affected and recognition to all the emergency personnel already deployed at the scene,” Sánchez said.

The Canadian government said Monday it will dispatch more than 800 drones to Ukraine starting as early as this spring. The Department of National Defence said in a statement that drones have become a critical capability for Ukraine in its war with Russia. It said the drones are important for surveillance and intelligence gathering, and can also be used to move supplies, including munitions. They will cost more than $95 million Canadian ($70 million) and are part of a previously announced $500 million Canadian ($370 million) in military help for Ukraine. Read: Russia launches barrage of 45 drones over Ukraine as Kyiv changes more military leaders The SkyRanger R70 multi-mission Unmanned Aerial Systems are manufactured by Teledyne in Waterloo, Ontario. The announcement comes days ahead of the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Canada previously donated 100 high-resolution drone cameras to Ukraine, and in the past two years has pledged $2.4 billion Canadian ($1.8 billion) in military assistance. Read more: 3 commercial ships hit by missiles in Houthi attack in Red Sea, US warship downs 3 drones

Dwindling ammunition threatens Ukraine’s hold on the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line under withering assault by Russian artillery. Defensive lines are in jeopardy. Ukrainian forces withdrew from the city of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region on Saturday after daily Russian onslaughts from three directions for the last four months. Avdiivka was a stronghold for Ukrainian positions deeper inside the country, away from Russia. A frontline city ever since Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, the fortified settlement with a maze of trenches and tunnels served to protect important — less strengthened — logistical hubs further west. Its seizure boosts Russian morale and confirms that the Kremlin’s troops are now setting the pace in the fight, to the dismay of Ukrainian forces who have managed only incremental gains since their counteroffensive last year. CONGRESSIONAL INACTION The Biden administration linked the loss of Avdiivka to Congressional inaction on $60 billion in military aid for Ukraine. President Joe Biden said he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a Saturday phone call after Ukraine announced it was withdrawing troops from Avdiivka that he remained confident that the U.S. funding would eventually come through. But, when reporters asked if he was confident a deal could be struck before Ukraine loses more territory, Biden responded: “I’m not.” DWINDLING SUPPLIES The Associated Press interviewed over a dozen commanders, including heads of artillery units, in the war’s most intense combat zones in the weeks ahead of Avdiivka’s fall. They said shortages, which have always plagued Ukrainian forces since the full-scale invasion, grew acute last autumn. Dwindling supplies of Western-supplied long-range artillery in particular means Ukrainian forces are inhibited from striking high-value targets deep behind Russian lines, where heavy equipment and personnel are accumulated. Read: US military's expanded combat training for Ukrainian forces begins in Germany For weeks, Ukrainian forces across the frontline have complained about critical shortages in ammunition, with some artillery batteries fighting with only 10 percent of supply they need. Desperate to economize shells, military leaders ordered units to fire at only precise targets. But commanders on the ground say this is barely enough to restrain their better supplied enemy. Concerns are growing that without military aid the fall of Avdiivka may be repeated in other parts of the frontline. A VICTORY FOR MOSCOW The withdrawal of Ukrainian soldiers from the heavily fortified town handed Russia its biggest victory since the battle of Bakhmut last year. It will allow the Kremlin’s troops to push their offensive further west, deeper into Ukrainian-held territory over less-fortified areas. Pokrovsk, a railway junction further east, could be the next Russian objective, military bloggers said. Russian military officials and war bloggers said that the capture of Avdiivka reduced the threat to the Russian-held city of Donetsk. ECONOMIZING SHELLS “Currently the ammunition deficit is quite serious. We are constantly promised that more is coming, but we don’t see it coming,” said Khorobryi, commander of an artillery battery. Their battery has only 5-10% of ammunition needed, he said. That, he said, robs forces of their ability to effectively attack and regain territories. Even worse, Ukraine loses fighters because it cannot give infantry covering infantry fire. He, like other officers interviewed for this story, spoke on condition that only their first names be used for security reasons. Read: Ukrainian forces strike key bridge in Russian-occupied south “We have nothing to fight with, we have nothing to cover our frontlines,” said Valerie, who commands a howitzer unit that uses NATO-standard 155 mm rounds. To repel a Russian attack, he said they needed 100-120 shells per unit per day. Today, they have a tenth of that, he said. RUSSIA CHANGES TACTICS Ukrainian soldiers positioned in Avdiivka said that before the fall of the city Russia had switched tactics to capitalize on dire ammunition shortages. Instead of sending columns of armed vehicles, Moscow’s forces began dispatching waves of smaller infantry groups to engage Ukrainian forces in close quarters. It meant Ukrainian forces had to expel “five times” more ammunition to keep them at bay. “The enemy also understands and feels our capabilities, and with that, they manage to succeed,” said Chaklun, a soldier in the 110th Brigade. A FRAGILE NORTH Concerns abound about how the ammunition shortage will impact Ukrainian forces in other sectors of the frontline. The Kupiansk line, in Ukraine’s northeast, is fragile. Russia has been intensifying attacks in the direction for months in a bid to recapture the important logistics hub it had lost in the fall of 2022. Yuri, the commander of the 44th Brigade in Kupiansk, said his aerial reconnaissance units spot many long-range targets, including Russian mortars and grenade launchers, but because they don’t have enough ammunition they can’t hit them. Instead, he has no choice but to watch how his enemy accumulates reserves at a distance. Oleksandr, the commander of a battalion of the 32nd Brigade in Kupiansk said he had just enough shells - for now. Read more: Ukrainian forces retake areas near Kyiv amid fear of traps “But it depends on the intensity from the Russian side. If they increase it, it won’t be enough to hold this line,” he said.

As outrage over the death of chief Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny reverberates across the world, Russian President Vladimir Putin is turning a deaf ear to Western anger as he prepares to extend his 24-year rule in an election next month and police across Russia continue to squelch any protest attempts. The U.S. and its allies are pondering new sanctions against Russia over Navalny’s death and the Kremlin’s recent actions in Ukraine. But as U.S. aid for Ukraine remains stuck in Congress and NATO allies in Europe struggle to fill the gap, many wonder what the West can actually do to stop the ruthless Kremlin leader, given that multiple previous rounds of penalties have failed to. “There isn’t really the room for any great value in additional sanctions” against Russia, already one of the most sanctioned countries in the world, Mark Galeotti, head of the London-based Mayak Intelligence consultancy firm noted in a YouTube commentary. Instead, Galeotti said, the West should focus more on working with Navalny’s allies and helping ordinary Russians get access to information channels that counter Kremlin propaganda. Such efforts are key especially now, according to Galeotti, who described Navalny’s death as yet another step in Putin's transition from “hybrid authoritarianism” to “brutal thuggish despotism.” The U.S. and NATO allies have been weighing more actions to bolster support for Ukraine, where the Russian military has just forced Ukrainian troops to retreat from the key eastern stronghold of Avdiivka after a four-month ferocious battle. The allies discussed ways to increase the cost of war to Russia to force Putin to back down. But the 71-year-old leader has vowed to press on, refusing to relinquish any of his gains and declaring in an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson last week that the West will “sooner or later” be forced to negotiate a deal — on his terms. Read: Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russia’s Putin, has died in a Russian prison Navalny's death shows Putin’s “complete ruthlessness and disdain … for both Western and international opinion,” said Nigel Gould-Davies, a former British ambassador to Belarus and senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. Russia announced Navalny's death on Friday, just as Western leaders gathered at a security conference in Munich. Putin is “throwing down a gauntlet to the West,” Gould-Davies said. “As we come up to the second anniversary of the (Ukraine) war, he is again testing Western resolve.” Navalny’s death should serve as a “wake-up call” to U.S. Republicans opposing aid for Ukraine in Congress and also encourage European NATO allies to bolster their assistance to Ukraine, Gould-Davies said. “Ultimately it depends on the lessons that the West draws,” he said. But Navalny’s death didn't appear to move the U.S. House speaker Friday to commit to a proposed $61 billion aid package for Ukraine, seen as crucial to a Ukrainian victory. Meanwhile, Putin, the longest-serving Russian leader since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, is steamrolling toward another six years in power in a campaign involving three token rivals nominated by Kremlin-friendly parties. Boris Nadezhdin, a liberal politician who made ending the war in Ukraine his chief campaign slogan, was barred from running by election officials. Yet, while there was little doubt that Putin would prevail in the election, Navalny's death still demonstrated "how much he saw Navalny as a threat,” Gould-Davies said. Read: Protests, poisoning and prison: A look at the life of Kremlin opposition leader Alexei Navalny “The way the Kremlin has conducted that election campaign so far suggests that they are not confident,” he said, adding that “even from prison, Navalny managed to get his voice out.” Navalny's death just weeks before the March 15-17 presidential election possibly marked “the final act of the dismantling and crushing of any semblance of Russian organized opposition” ahead of the vote, Gould-Davies said. Despite his assured victory next month, Putin still fears Western interference in the election and viewed Navalny as “an adversary manipulated by the West to undermine national and state interests,” said Tatiana Stanovaya, senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. “He sincerely believes that the West would and will use the moment to undermine the stability and to afflict political damage to his campaign,” she wrote in a commentary. “That will push him to take an even more hawkish, more repressive approach to any hostile manifestation, which he may link to external attempts to interfere. This may specifically create a more restrictive approach to the media and social networks.” Navalny, who died at age 47, emerged as a major threat more than a decade ago, playing a key role in galvanizing massive street protests against Putin's rule in Moscow in 2011-2012 and running a successful campaign to expose government corruption. For many Russians, Navalny was a powerful symbol of hope, Galeotti said, conveying even from his remote Arctic prison a vision of the “beautiful Russia of the future” — a slogan in defiance of the Kremlin’s message to Russians to “just survive, just keep your head down.” In 2020, Navalny narrowly survived nerve agent poisoning in Siberia that he blamed on the Kremlin. He recovered in Germany but was immediately arrested upon his return in January 2021. He remained in custody after that, convicted three times and handed a 19-year prison term on charges of extremism. Putin didn’t comment on Navalny’s death and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed statements by Western leaders holding the Kremlin responsible as “outrageous and inadmissible.” But Western leaders view any such comments from the Kremlin with the same suspicion they cast toward the death of mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash two months after his troops staged a brief rebellion against the Kremlin. The crash last August was widely seen as the Kremlin’s revenge for the mutiny, which marked the most serious challenge to Putin’s rule since his first election in 2000. Just as with Prigozhin's demise, Navalny's death “shows how completely ruthless” Putin is, Gould-Davies said.

Russia said its forces took complete control Saturday of a city in eastern Ukraine that was the focus of intense combat for months, a development that Moscow could use to boost morale as the second anniversary of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches with the war largely at a stalemate. The Russian Defense Ministry's announcement came the same day Ukraine’s military chief said he was withdrawing troops from the city of Avdiivka, where the outnumbered defenders had battled a Russian assault for four months. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told the Kremlin that Russian forces were working to clear final pockets of resistance at the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant, officials said in a statement. Videos on social media Saturday appeared to show soldiers raising the Russian flag over one of the plant’s buildings. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a personal message of congratulating to his troops in the city, state news agency Tass reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Avdiivka’s capture as an “important victory.” Along with the invasion's upcoming anniversary on Feb. 24, Russia also is preparing for a March presidential election that is all but guaranteed to give Putin another six-year term. The Kremlin has cracked down heavily on dissent during the war, and the death Friday of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has silenced the voice of Putin's most formidable foe. Ukraine is back on the defensive against Russia in the nearly 2-year-old war, hindered by low ammunition supplies and a shortage of personnel. Speaking at the Munich SecurityConference on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned his country's allies that an “artificial deficit” of arms for Ukraine risked giving Russia breathing space and allowing "Putin to adapt to the current intensity of the war.” Read: Greece legalizes same-sex marriage as first Orthodox Christian country “Our actions are limited only by ... our strength,” Zelenskyy said, pointing to the situation in Avdiivka after the commander of Ukraine's armed forces said he was withdrawing troops from the city to prevent their encirclement and to save soldiers’ lives. President Joe Biden said he told Zelenskyy in their Saturday phone call that he remains confident Congress will ultimately approve additional funding for Ukraine. But asked if he was confident more U.S. funding would come through before Ukraine loses more territory, Biden acknowledged, “I’m not.” “Look Ukrainians have fought so bravely, ” Biden said “There is so much on the line. The idea now when they are running out of ammunition that we’re going to walk away. I find it absurd.” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson called the withdrawal “the cost of Congressional inaction.” In a short statement posted on Facebook, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said the Ukrainian troops were moving to “more favorable lines." “Our soldiers performed their military duty with dignity, did everything possible to destroy the best Russian military units, inflicted significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment. “We are taking measures to stabilize the situation and maintain our positions,” the statement read. The withdrawal was Syrskyi’s first major test since his appointment this month as Ukraine’s new army chief. In his previous position as commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, he faced criticism for holding on to the city of Bakhmut for nine months, a siege that became the war’s longest and bloodiest battle and cost Ukraine dearly, but also served to sap Russia’s forces. In recent days, reports emerged that Ukrainian troops in Avdiivka faced a deteriorating situation. Rodion Kudriashov, deputy commander of the 3rd Assault Brigade, said Friday that Ukrainian troops were still holding out against the onslaught of about 15,000 Russian soldiers, but he expected the situation would “soon become critical.” Read: Russia tightens the noose on Ukraine's city of Avdiivka where outnumbered defenders are holding out “The enemy is trying to penetrate our defense and in some places to bypass our positions,” he told The Associated Press. The 3rd Brigade said on its social media account Friday that its soldiers were at the huge Avdiivka Coke Plant. Russian warplanes have been dropping about 60 bombs a day, relentlessly shelling the area and launching assaults with armor and infantry, the brigade said. A video showed dense black smoke over the factory, said to be caused by burning fuel oil reservoirs. The post said: “Poisonous smog spreads all over the plant.” Russian media reported the Kremlin’s forces were making extensive use of plane-launched glide bombs, which fly at a shallower angle, to batter Ukrainian positions. Heavily fortified with a web of tunnels and concrete fortifications, Avdiivka lies in the northern suburbs of Donetsk, a city in a region of the same name that Russian forces partially occupy. Capturing Avdiivka could be a timely boost for Moscow and serve as a possible springboard for Russia to drive deeper into the region. Fewer than 1,000 people remain in the city, according to the Donetsk regional governor, Vadym Filashkin. The city, with a prewar population of about 31,000, is today a bombed-out shell of what it once was. Read more: Ukraine’s Zelenskyy tells top general it’s time for someone new to lead the army Aerial footage of Avdiivka obtained by The Associated Press in December showed an apocalyptic scene and hinted at Russia’s staggering losses, with the bodies of about 150 soldiers — most wearing Russian uniforms — lying scattered along tree lines where they sought cover. However, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said Thursday that taking Avdiivka would be more of a symbolic win for the Kremlin and would not bring significant changes to the 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line that has barely budged in recent months. “The potential Russian capture of Avdiivka would not be operationally significant and would likely only offer the Kremlin immediate informational and political victories,” the institute said in an assessment. Also read: A look at events surrounding the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria a year ago “Russian forces would be highly unlikely to make rapid operationally significant advances from Avdiivka if they captured the settlement, and the potential Russian capture of Avdiivka at most would set conditions for further limited tactical gains,” it added.

Greece on Thursday became the first Orthodox Christian country to legalize same-sex civil marriage, despite opposition from the influential, socially conservative Greek Church. A cross-party majority of 176 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament voted late Thursday in favor of the landmark bill drafted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ' center-right government. Another 76 rejected the reform while two abstained from the vote and 46 were not present in the house. Mitsotakis tweeted after the vote that Greece "is proud to become the 16th (European Union) country to legislate marriage equality." "This is a milestone for human rights, reflecting today's Greece — a progressive, and democratic country, passionately committed to European values," he wrote. Scores of supporters of the reform who had gathered outside parliament and were watching the debate on a screen cheered loudly and hugged as the vote result was announced. "This took a long time to be adopted in our country … but at least it happened and that's what is important," said a man who only gave his first name, Nikolas. "We are no longer invisible." Earlier, people opposed to the bill had also protested nearby, holding prayer books and religious icons. Opinion polls suggest that most Greeks support the reform by a narrow margin, and the issue has failed to trigger deep divisions in a country more worried about the high cost of living. The bill was backed by four left-wing parties, including the main opposition Syriza. "This law doesn't solve every problem, but it is a beginning," said Spiros Bibilas, a lawmaker from the small left-wing Passage to Freedom party, who is openly gay. It was approved despite several majority and left-wing lawmakers abstaining or voting against the reform. Three small far-right parties and the Stalinist-rooted Communist Party rejected the draft law from the start of the two-day debate. "People who have been invisible will finally be made visible around us. And with them, many children (will) finally find their rightful place," Mitsotakis told lawmakers ahead of the evening vote. "Both parents of same-sex couples do not yet have the same legal opportunities to provide their children with what they need," he added. "To be able to pick them up from school, to be able to travel, to go to the doctor, or take them to the hospital. ... That is what we are fixing." The bill confers full parental rights on married same-sex partners with children. But it precludes gay couples from parenthood through surrogate mothers in Greece — an option currently available to women who can't have children for health reasons. Many LGBTQ+ rights advocates have criticized that limitation, as well as the absence of any provision for transgender people. Psychologist Nancy Papathanasiou, scientific co-director of Orlando LGBT+, which advocates for LGBTQI mental health, echoed that concern but said the new law confers a very important sense of equality. "Discrimination is the most pervasive risk factor for mental health," she said. "So just knowing that there is less discrimination is protective and promotive for LGBTQI mental health." Maria Syrengela, a lawmaker from the governing New Democracy, or ND, said the reform redresses a long-standing injustice for same-sex couples and their children. "And let's reflect on what these people have been through, spending so many years in the shadows, entangled in bureaucratic procedures," she said. Dissidents among the governing party included former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, from ND's conservative wing. "Same-sex marriage is not a human right … and it's not an international obligation for our country," he told parliament. "Children have a right to have parents from both sexes." Polls show that while most Greeks agree to same-sex weddings they also reject extending parenthood through surrogacy to male couples. Same-sex civil partnerships have been allowed in Greece since 2015. But that only conferred legal guardianship to the biological parents of children in those relationships, leaving their partners in a bureaucratic limbo. The main opposition to the new bill has come from the traditionalist Church of Greece — which also disapproves of heterosexual civil marriage. Church officials have centered their criticism on the bill's implications for traditional family values, and argue that potential legal challenges could lead to a future extension of surrogacy rights to gay couples. Church supporters and conservative organizations have staged small protests against the proposed law. Far-right lawmaker Vassilis Stigas, head of the small Spartans party, described the legislation Thursday as "sick" and claimed that its adoption would "open the gates of Hell and perversion." Politically, the same-sex marriage law is not expected to harm Mitsotakis' government, which won easy re-election last year after capturing much of the centrist vote. A stronger challenge comes from ongoing protests by farmers angry at high production costs, and intense opposition from many students to the planned scrapping of a state monopoly on university education. Nevertheless, parliament is expected to approve the university bill later this month, and opinion polls indicate that most Greeks support it.  

Ukrainian troops in Avdiivka struggled Friday with severe ammunition shortages as Russian forces tightened the noose around the strategic eastern city in an intense Kremlin push for a battlefield win. The timing is critical as Russia is looking for a morale boost ahead of the second anniversary on Feb. 24 of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the March presidential election in Russia. The four-month battle in Avdiivka appeared to be coming to a head as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday made another trip to Europe, hoping to press his country’s Western allies to keep providing military support. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday that Russian forces are beginning to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses in the eastern city. He said Avdiivka is at risk of falling to Russia, a development he blamed “in very large part” on the fact that Ukrainian forces are running out of artillery ammunition. The United States is Ukraine’s biggest single supporter but some $60 billion for Kyiv is being held up by political disagreements among American lawmakers. Street fighting was underway in the bombed-out city, where Ukrainian troops are outnumbered 7-to-1, according to Oleksandr Borodin, press officer of the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Ukraine Armed Forces. The 3rd Brigade said on its social media account Friday that its soldiers are holding out at the huge Avdiivka Coke Plant. Russian warplanes have been dropping about 60 bombs a day, relentlessly shelling the area and launching assaults with armor and infantry, the brigade said. Read: Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russia's Putin, has died, Russian authorities say A video showed dense black smoke over the factory, said to be caused by burning fuel oil reservoirs. The post said: “Poisonous smog spreads all over the plant.” Russian troops conducted 33 assaults in Avdiivka over the previous 24 hours, Ukraine’s General Staff said Friday. The Russians have been trying to capture the city since last October but made only incremental progress before a recent push. The Ukrainian defenders prepared for “any possible scenarios,” according to Brig. Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, head of the Ukrainian forces in Avdiivka. Ukrainian officials have not ruled out a withdrawal from the city. Heavily fortified with a web of tunnels and concrete fortifications, Avdiivka lies in the northern suburbs of Donetsk, a city in a region of the same name that Russian forces partially occupy. Capturing Avdiivka could be a timely boost for Moscow and serve as a possible springboard for Russia to drive deeper into the region. Fewer than 1,000 people remain in the city, according to the Donetsk regional governor, Vadym Filashkin. The city, with a prewar population of about 31,000, is today a bombed-out shell of what it once was. Read: Russia's imprisoned opposition leader Navalny has died: prison service Aerial footage of Avdiivka obtained by The Associated Press last December showed an apocalyptic scene and hinted at Russia’s staggering losses, with the bodies of about 150 soldiers — most wearing Russian uniforms — lying scattered along tree lines where they sought cover. However, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said that taking Avdiivka would be more of a symbolic win for the Kremlin and would not bring significant changes to the 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line that has barely budged in recent months. “The potential Russian capture of Avdiivka would not be operationally significant and would likely only offer the Kremlin immediate informational and political victories,” the institute said in an assessment late Thursday. “Russian forces would be highly unlikely to make rapid operationally significant advances from Avdiivka if they captured the settlement, and the potential Russian capture of Avdiivka at most would set conditions for further limited tactical gains,” it added. Read more: Russia launches barrage of 45 drones over Ukraine as Kyiv changes more military leaders

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Ukraine’s top general on Friday and told him it’s time for someone new to lead the army. In a post on X, Zelenskyy said he thanks Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi for his two years of service and discussed possible replacements for the top military job. “The time for such a renewal is now,” Zelenskyy said. The statement followed days of speculation spurred by local media reports that Zelenskyy would sack Zaluzhnyi, a move that would amount to the most serious shakeup of the top military brass since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces claimed to have shot down a Russian attack helicopter in eastern Ukraine near the city of Avdiivka, where soldiers are fighting from street to street as Russia’s army steps up its four-month campaign to surround Kyiv’s defending troops. Ukrainian soldiers used a portable anti-aircraft missile to take down the Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopter, one of the Russian air force’s deadliest weapons, according to Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of Ukrainian units fighting on the southeastern front line. The roughly 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) line of contact has shifted little during recent months of wintry weather. But as the war in Ukraine nears its two-year anniversary, Avdiivka has become “a primary focus” of Moscow’s forces, the U.K. Defense Ministry said in an assessment Thursday. Street-to-street combat is taking place in the city as Ukrainian troops seek to keep open their main supply route amid intense bombardment, the ministry said on X, formerly known as Twitter. The General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces reported Thursday that its troops had fended off 40 enemy assaults around Avdiivka over the previous 24 hours. That is roughly double the number of daily Russian assaults at other points along the front line. Russia’s Pravda newspaper reported Thursday that the Russian army was attempting to cut a key logistics supply route for Ukraine in the village of Lastochkyne, about 6 kilometers (4 miles) west of Avdiivka. The Russian military has used electronic warfare to take out the Starlink communications system which Ukrainian troops use to communicate, Pravda said. Ukraine has built multiple defenses in Avdiivka, complete with concrete fortifications and a network of tunnels. Despite massive losses of personnel and equipment, Russian troops have slowly advanced since October. The fight has evolved into a gruesome effort for both sides. It has been compared to the nine months of fighting for Bakhmut, the Ukraine war’s longest and bloodiest battle. It ended with Russia capturing the bombed-out, deserted city last May in what Moscow hailed as a major triumph. Both Bakhmut and Avdiivka are located in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. Moscow-backed rebels seized part of the region in 2014 and Russia illegally annexed all of it in 2022 with three other Ukrainian regions. Russia wants to capture the entire Donetsk region, where it currently holds just over half of the territory.  

King Charles III has been diagnosed with an unspecified type of cancer. Buckingham Palace says the 75-year-old king has begun outpatient treatment. Some key dates in Charles' life: Nov. 14, 1948 — Charles is born on the royal estate at Sandringham, the first child of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Feb. 6, 1952 — Princess Elizabeth becomes Queen Elizabeth II upon the death of her father, King George VI. July 1, 1969 — Charles is formally invested as the Prince of Wales. July 29, 1981 — He marries Lady Diana Spencer to become the first royal heir since 1660 to marry an Englishwoman. June 21, 1982 — Birth of first son, William Arthur Philip Louis. Sept. 15, 1984 — Birth of second son, Harry (Henry Charles Albert David). June 15, 1992 — Andrew Morton’s book “Diana: Her True Story” says Charles has had a long-term affair with a married woman, Camilla Parker Bowles. Dec. 9, 1992 — He separates from Princess Diana. Aug. 28, 1996 — Charles and Diana divorce. Aug. 31, 1997 — Diana is killed in a Paris automobile crash. Feb. 10, 2004 — Charles announces his engagement to marry Camilla Parker Bowles. April 8, 2005 — He marries Camilla in a civil ceremony; she takes title of Duchess of Cornwall. April 29, 2011 — His son, Prince William, is married to Kate Middleton. December 2011 — Charles is hospitalized for treatment for a blocked coronary artery. June 2013 — He is admitted to a hospital for an exploratory operation on his abdomen. July 22, 2013 — He becomes a grandfather for the first time with the birth of Prince George, William and Kate’s oldest child. Two more children — Charlotte and Louis — follow for the couple. May 19, 2018 — His second son, Harry, marries American actor Meghan Markle. April 9, 2021 — Charles' father, Prince Philip, dies at 99. May 10, 2022 — Charles stands in for Queen Elizabeth II for the first time during the state opening of Parliament, after she had to pull out of the event, citing mobility problems. The delegation of the role, one of the queen’s most important duties, was seen by many as the clearest sign that a transition of the monarchy was underway. Sept. 8, 2022 — Charles becomes king upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. May 6, 2023 — He is crowned alongside Queen Camilla in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey. March 29, 2023 — Charles travels to Berlin on his first state visit as king. Nov. 7, 2023 — He delivers the King's Speech for the first time at the state opening of Parliament. Jan. 26, 2024 — Charles enters a London hospital for a three-day stay for treatment of a benign enlarged prostate. Feb. 5, 2024 — Buckingham Palace announces that Charles has cancer and will receive outpatient treatment.