The United Kingdom says it has frozen assets worth 18 billion pounds ($20.5bn) purportedly owned by Russian oligarchs, and other individuals and entities subjected to sanctions by London over the Russian offensive against Ukraine.

Moscow says it can seize Russian-based assets of countries it deems hostile.

The United States has moved to cut off Russia from the global economy by blocking transactions with the country’s central bank.

The UN Children's Fund says children in Afghanistan ‘cannot be held hostage to politics.’

Here are Press TV's Latest top stories, 1600 GMT on February 13, 2022.

International lawyer and political analyst Barry Grossman says the US move to block Afghan assets is an illegal act and an example of what he calls American piracy. 

The EU adopts a legal framework for targeted restrictive measures against Lebanon, which has already been grappling with an economic crisis and a political turmoil amid Western interference in the country’s domestic affairs.