Vienna:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his outgoing US counterpart Antony Blinken are due to face off over the war in Ukraine on Thursday at an annual meeting of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Malta.

While Ukraine will be the dominant political issue, the meeting is due to formally approve last-minute agreements reached on issues including senior staff positions at the security and rights body where Western powers often accuse Russia of flouting human rights and other international norms.

The gathering of foreign ministers and other officials from 57 participating states in North America, Europe and Central Asia is overshadowed this year by the return of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, whose advisers are floating proposals to end the war that would cede large parts of Ukraine to Russia.

With Trump due to take office in just over a month, Western powers plan to reiterate their support for Ukraine while Russia is likely to renew its criticism of the organisation. Lavrov said last year the OSCE was “essentially being turned into an appendage of NATO and the European Union”.

It is Lavrov’s first trip to the European Union since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The OSCE is the successor to a body set up during the Cold War for the east and west to engage with each other. In recent years, however, and especially since it invaded Ukraine, Russia has used what is effectively a veto each country has to block many key decisions, often crippling the organization.

This year, however, the countries blocking agreement on the OSCE budget are Armenia and Azerbaijan rather than Russia, diplomats say, over issues related to their conflict in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Diplomats say a deal was reached this week to fill four senior OSCE positions including that of secretary general, which will be taken up by Turkey’s Feridun Sinirlioglu, who was foreign minister in a caretaker government in 2015.

The most important annual decision at the OSCE – which country will next hold its annually rotating chairmanship – has long been settled, since Finland will hold it for the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act that lay the foundation for the current OSCE.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A Tunisian beauty influencer, 36, died after suffering a suspected heart attack while onboard a yacht in Malta. According to the Times Of Malta, Farah El Kadhi died on Monday at the Mater Dei Hospital. She was on vacation in the European country, promoting companies through posts on her Instagram Stories. But after suffering from a heart attack, the 36-year-old was rushed to the hospital, where she passed away. Her sudden death has shocked her fans and her online community. 

Ms Kadhi has more than 1 million followers on Instagram. According to her social media bio, she was also an architect with a private firm and the owner of the fashion brand Bazar by Faf. She described herself as a “travel addict” and a bathroom singer. Her last post on Instagram was on June 7, from a restaurant in Mykonos, Greece.

The Times of Malta reported that the social media star appeared to have no visible injuries when she was admitted to the hospital. However, a post-mortem will be conducted. 

Soulayma Hneynia, a fellow influencer and close friend, confirmed Ms Kadhi’s death, stating in an Instagram story that her friend died “peacefully in her sleep”. Ms Hneynia described the 36-year-old as a “truly wonderful person, known for her kindness, generosity, and warmth”. “Her positive spirit touched everyone who had the privilege of knowing her,” she said. 

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Tributes also poured in for Ms Kadhi in the comments section of her most recent Instagram post. “I can’t believe it! I’m in shock, we’ll miss you babe! I will never forget you RIP my darling,” wrote one person.

“It’s true I know you only through Instagram but the pain is deep since you left! You exude an energy full of joy and life! You lived this life as it should be and you kept a trail of love for the people who know you and those who don’t!” added another.

“A beautiful soul left peacefully. may God love you,” commented a third person. “May God have mercy on you and bless you in heaven, God willing,” wrote one user.