Europe

MOSCOW, March 12. /TASS/: Moscow is keeping a close eye on developments in Myanmar and is analyzing the situation, including from the viewpoint of the continuation of military-technical cooperation, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

"We evaluate the situation as alarming, and we are concerned about the information about the growing number of civilian casualties coming from there. That gives us concern. We are keeping a close eye on what is going on there," he stressed.

MOSCOW, March 12. /TASS/: The 6th Eastern Economic Forum will be held on September 2-4, 2021, on the Far Eastern Federal University campus, the Roscongress Foundation said in a statement on Friday.

"I am confident that this year’s Forum will build on its investment capacity. Moreover, it will become an important platform for developing humanitarian ties in light of our cooperation with Asian countries in fighting COVID-19," Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation, Executive Secretary of the EEF Organizing Committee Anton Kobyakov was quoted as saying.

GENEVA, March 12. /TASS/: As of March 9, over 268 mln people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 globally, and currently, no deaths from the vaccines have been confirmed, the World Health Organization (WHO) told TASS, commenting on Denmark, Iceland, Italy and Norway suspending the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after reports of thrombosis among those vaccinated.

MOSCOW, March 12. /TASS/: The US and its allies plan a large-scale smear campaign aimed at discrediting Russian anti-Covid products amid rising demand for the Sputnik V vaccine, a high-level Kremlin source told TASS Friday.

"According to our intelligence agencies, the US and its allies intend to arrange a large-scale disinformation campaign, aimed at fueling a biased attitude against our scientific innovations in fighting the spread of coronavirus infections as demand grows for the Russian Sputnik V vaccine across the world, including in European countries," the source said.

LONDON, March 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Britain on Friday advised its citizens to flee Myanmar.

The military authorities are cracking down with increasing severity on daily protests against their Feb 1 coup, with at least 70 people killed according to the UN’s top rights expert on the country.

The turmoil prompted Britain, the former colonial ruler, to urge its citizens to get out if they could, warning that “political tension and unrest are widespread since the military takeover and levels of violence are rising”.

11 Mar 2021; MEMO: France's foreign minister said on Thursday time was running out to prevent Lebanon collapsing and that he could see no sign that the country's politicians were doing what they could to save it, reported Reuters.

LONDON (Reuters) - Exports and imports from Britain to the European Union plunged during the first month of the country’s new trade relationship with the bloc, according to data published on Friday with some heavy caveats.

Exports of goods to the EU, excluding non-monetary gold and other precious metals, slumped by 40.7% in January, the Office for National Statistics said. Imports fell by 28.8%

The ONS had previously warned that the hit to trade from the COVID-19 pandemic would make it difficult to identify a Brexit impact from new customs arrangements in January’s data.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday said Moscow would retaliate should the United States deploy ground-based missiles in Japan, the Interfax news agency reported.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Armenia’s defence ministry on Friday said military exercises involving 7,500 troops would be held in Armenia on March 16-20, the RIA news agency reported.

The ministry said the goal of the exercise was, among other things, to test the combat readiness of troops.

BERLIN (AP) — Two German states choose new legislatures on Sunday, the first major political test of a year in which a national election will determine who succeeds Chancellor Angela Merkel. The weekend votes come at a challenging time for the longtime leader’s party.

They also are expected to highlight the increased popularity of the environmentalist Green party, which could hold the key to forming Germany’s next government and is expected to make its own first bid for the chancellery.