Europe

MOSCOW, March 13. /TASS/: Bitcoin during the trading session rose by 6.07% to $60,005 and again updated its historical maximum.

At 14:51 Moscow time, bitcoin was trading at $59,897 (+5.69%).

Bitcoin is a decentralized system of the eponymous cryptocurrency based on blockchain technology. It can be issued by any user who is a member of the system. The system concept was published in November 2008, but has exploded in popularity in recent years.

MOSCOW, March 13. /TASS/: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia per day increased by 9,908 to 4,380,525, the federal operational headquarters for the fight against coronavirus told reporters on Saturday.

In relative terms, growth in the number of cases was 0.23%. In absolute terms, it did not surpass 10,000 for the fifth day in a row.

The lowest growth rates were recorded per day in the Republic of Tyva (0.03%), Magadan Region (0.04%), Jewish Autonomous Region (0.05%).

PARIS, March 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in France rose above four million on Friday, as the health ministry reported 25,229 new infections.

Friday’s increase was lower than the 23,507 new cases reported last Friday, and took the total number of confirmed infections since the start of the pandemic to 4.01 million.

France has the world’s sixth-highest total of COVID-19 cases, just behind Britain, which has had more than 4.24 million infections.

13 Mar 2021; MEMO: Western countries today called on Egypt to end the prosecution of activists, journalists and perceived political opponents under counter-terrorism laws and to unconditionally release them, Reuters reported.

The United States, which has observer status at the UN Human Rights Council, was among 31 signatories of the joint statement on Egypt, the first since 2014, which called on the government to lift curbs on freedoms of expression and assembly.

LONDON (Reuters) - Foreign ministers in the G7 group of nations including the United States have expressed grave concerns at what they said was China’s decision to fundamentally erode democratic elements of the electoral system in Hong Kong.

The G7 released a statement that was tweeted by British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, saying the recent decision to change Hong Kong’s electoral system indicated that authorities in China were determined to eliminate dissenting voices and opinions in Hong Kong.

LONDON (Reuters) - Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney said on Saturday that Britain was demonstrating “perverse nationalism” by seeking to reach a trade deal with the United States before the European Union and questioned whether it was a trustworthy partner.

“This idea that Britain can get there first is narrow minded thinking, frankly. It’s a perverse nationalism when actually Britain and the EU should work together as partners,” he said in an interview with The Times newspaper.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Saturday accused the United States of using IT opportunities to engage in unfair competition and of social media platforms arbitrarily and indiscriminately censoring content.

Russia this week said it was slowing down the speed of Twitter in retaliation for what it described as a failure to remove banned content. It threatened to block the U.S. platform outright, a move which escalating a row between Moscow and U.S. social media firms.

LONDON, March 12 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday that the decision to suspend parts of the Northern Irish Brexit protocol was lawful and right.

"What we're doing is taking some lawful, some technical measures to build up confidence in the east-west operation (of the protocol)," Johnson was quoted as saying by Reuters on a visit to Northern Ireland.

GENEVA, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Cuba on Friday delivered a joint statement on behalf of 64 countries at the ongoing 46th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), calling on some forces to stop making unfounded allegations against China out of political motivations.

All sides should promote and protect human rights through constructive dialogue and cooperation, and firmly oppose politicization of human rights and double standards, said the joint statement.

MOSCOW, March 12. /TASS/: Russia is ready for holding negotiations with Turkey on the possible delivery of Su-35 and Su-57 fighter aircraft, if it receives the corresponding request, Spokesperson for Russia’s Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation Valeria Reshetnikova said on Friday.