Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, Feb. 25

Heavy snowfall and avalanches have claimed the lives of 73 people across Afghanistan over the past two days, Mohammad Daem Kakar, head of the Natural Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Wednesday.

"A total of 73 people have lost their lives in snowfall and avalanches over the past two days in parts of the country, 62 of whom in Panjshir province," Kakar told Xinhua. (Afghanistan-Avalanches)

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MOSCOW -- Russian parliament's upper house, the Federation Council, ratified Wednesday a multilateral intergovernmental agreement on the founding of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB).

The agreement was signed on July 15 during the 6th summit of the alliance comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. (Russia-BRICS-Bank)

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TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been urged recently many times to clearly uphold the 1995 Murayama Statement.

The 1995 Murayama Statement offers an apology over the country' s wartime history. There are increasing concerns that Abe would use ambiguous wordings on the wrongdoings in a new statement planned to be issued this summer. (Japan-Call)

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TEHRAN -- The outcome of a potential nuclear deal between Iran and world powers over Tehran's nuclear issue should be removal of "oppressive and illegal sanctions" against the country, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday.

"We will maintain talks based on logical rationale." he said. "The negotiating party should know better. Iran will never relent in continuing its scientific progress." (Iran-Sanctions) Endi