Europe

LONDON (Reuters) - The City of London’s finance industry would be worse off than rival New York under an early draft for a cooperation agreement in financial services between Britain and the European Union, a document, seen by Reuters, showed.

Britain’s financial services industry has been largely cut off from the EU, its biggest customer, since a Brexit transition period ended on Dec. 31 as the sector is not covered by the UK-EU trade deal.

Trading in EU shares and derivatives, for example, has already left Britain for continental Europe.

LONDON (Reuters) - A British-born woman who went to Syria as a schoolgirl to join Islamic State should not be allowed to return to Britain to challenge the government taking away her citizenship because she poses a security risk, the UK’s Supreme Court ruled on Friday.

Shamima Begum left London in 2015 when she was 15 and went to Syria via Turkey with two school friends where she married an IS fighter.

MOSCOW, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- A Boeing 777 flight on Friday made an emergency landing here because of engine problems, the operating Rossiya Airlines said.

The aircraft, which was en route from Hong Kong to Madrid, reported an "incorrect operation of the engine control sensor" mid-flight, and the crew members requested the landing at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.

The emergency landing caused no injuries, said Rossiya Airlines, a unit of Russia's flag and largest carrier Aeroflot, adding that the flight will continue its trip to Madrid hours later.

BRUSSELS, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the European Union (EU) called for an accelerated production and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines late on Thursday as the bloc is struggling with supply shortfalls.

"Our top priority now is speeding up the production and delivery of vaccines, and vaccinations, across the EU," European Council President Charles Michel told reporters after the first day of the virtual summit.

25 Feb 2021; MEMO: NATO encouraged democracy in Armenia on Thursday amid growing tension between the military and prime minister, Anadolu Agency reports.

"We are closely monitoring developments in our partner country Armenia. It's important to avoid words or actions that could lead to further escalation," NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said on Twitter.

25 Feb 2021; MEMO: The European Union urged Iran to reverse actions inconsistent with a 2015 nuclear deal it signed with world powers, Anadolu Agency reports.

Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed deep concerns in a statement about Tehran's decision to temporarily suspend special audit rights for International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) inspectors.

GENEVA, Feb 25 (APP): Delegates of Pakistan and India Wednesday clashed over the Kashmir dispute after Pakistani Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari highlighted the lingering issue as well as the plight of Indian Muslims at the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council, while urging an independent probe into the rights abuses in the occupied state.

MOSCOW, February 25. /TASS/: The World Health Organization (WHO) is counting on Russia to take part in the Oslo Medicines Initiative, WHO envoy to Russia Melita Vujnovic said at the expert council meeting in the Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Thursday.

MOSCOW, February 25. /TASS/: Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov refrained from commenting on remarks by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who claimed that Russian-made Iskander tactical missile systems used during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict allegedly "failed to explode or exploded in only 10% of the cases." According to the spokesman, Russian military equipment has repeatedly proven its efficiency.

MOSCOW, February 25./TASS/: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed hope for a peaceful settlement to the situation in Armenia in a phone call with his Armenian counterpart Ara Ayvazyan, emphasizing that Moscow viewed the latest developments as an internal affair of Yerevan.

"Ayvazyan reported on the latest developments in the republic. The Russian side emphasized that we consider the situation to be an internal affair of Armenia, and expect that it will be settled peacefully," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a report circulated after the phone call.