Europe

MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/: Russia has taken fitting diplomatic demarches in Moscow and Riga after ‘blatant disrespectful’ actions by the Latvian capital’s authorities, who swapped Russian flags around Latvia’s capital with those of the Russian Olympic Committee, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a commentary on Wednesday.

MINSK, May 26. /TASS/: Roman Protasevich detained at Minsk Airport is giving confessionary statements and disclosing information on the sponsors of subversive activity in Belarus, Chairman of the republic’s State Security Committee (KGB) Ivan Tertel said at a meeting of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko with lawmakers in the national parliament on Wednesday.

GENEVA, May 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The coronavirus variant first detected in India has now been officially recorded in 53 territories, a World Health Organization report showed Wednesday.

Additionally, the WHO has received information from unofficial sources that the B.1.617 variant has been found in seven other territories, figures in the UN health agency’s weekly epidemiological update showed, taking the total to 60.

The report said B.1.617 had shown increased transmissibility, while disease severity and risk of infection were under investigation.

(Reuters) --- Hungary on Wednesday approved a bill essential to the European Union's massive recovery fund, bringing the bloc a step closer to putting the deal into operation and hopefully ending Europe's coronavirus-induced slump.

The 27 EU nations made an unprecedented agreement last year to jointly borrow 750 billion euros ($918 billion) for the fund. But all 27 must ratify a decision to raise the upper limit for national contributions for the plan to go ahead.

Until Wednesday, Hungary was one of a handful yet to do so.

(Reuters) --- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejected criticism from his former adviser Dominic Cummings on Wednesday, saying he did not accept Cummings' accusation that government inaction led to unnecessary deaths.

Asked by opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer whether he accepted the central allegations of Cummings' testimony to a parliamentary committee, Johnson said "No."

(Reuters) --- France will impose self-isolation measures for people coming from the United Kingdom due to the presence of COVID-19 variants in the country, French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday.

"France will set up compulsory isolation for people coming from the UK," Attal told a news briefing after a cabinet meeting, adding that details would be given in "the coming hours".

(Reuters) --- The mayor of Nordenham, one of the German towns hardest hit by losses on funds with the failed Greensill Bank, said on Wednesday that he would not run for re-election as he takes political responsibility for the investments.

German towns and cities had parked around 500 million euros ($611.40 million) of their savings with Greensill Bank, which collapsed earlier this year as part of financier Lex Greensill's insolvent Greensill Capital. 

VIENNA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Tuesday urged all parties concerned to show political decisiveness in the ongoing negotiations to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, made the remarks after the JCPOA Joint Commission started a new round of talks on Tuesday.

LONDON (AP) — European Union officials unveiled plans Wednesday to beef up the bloc’s code of practice on online disinformation, with the aim of preventing digital ad companies from profiting off of “fake news.”

EU officials said they were strengthening the three-year-old voluntary code to make it more effective at fighting the false information flooding tech platforms.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium on Wednesday suspended the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for people under age 41 following the death of a person who had received the shot.

The government said in a statement it was asking for urgent advice from the European Medicines Agency, the European Union’s drug regulator, before it would consider lifting the suspension. It added that the impact on the national vaccination drive would be very limited.