Europe

19 Jan 2021; MEMO: The British government is "seriously concerned" about Israel's approval for the construction of 800 new settler housing units in the occupied West Bank.

19 Jan 2021; MEMO: Britain's Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer hired a former Israel spy to work in his social media team, The Electronic Intifada has revealed. Assaf Kaplan was hired as a "social media listener", and worked formerly for the infamous 8200 cyber unit of the Israeli intelligence services. In a profile of Kaplan on an ex-employer's website, he is described as a "Unit 8200 veteran".

MOSCOW, January 20. /TASS/: Russian Su-57 fifth generation fighter jet should be able to win over the US-made F-35 in case of a one-on-one dogfight, thanks to its maneuverability, says Magomed Tolboyev, a renowned test pilot who celebrates his 70th anniversary Wednesday.

"Su-57 will kill [a F-35] easily, should they meet one on one. The F-35 cannot maneuver, it’s simply incapable. But it does has electronic might," Tolboyev said, adding that electronics could be disrupted even by Solar flares.

"This is why I oppose everything electronic," the pilot disclosed.

MOSCOW, January 20. /TASS/: Russia confirmed 21,152 COVID-19 cases in the past day, a new low since November 18, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Wednesday.

The total case tally hit 3,633,952. The average growth rate reached 0.6%.

The lowest growth rates were registered in the past day in the Kostroma Region (0.1%), the Republics of Tuva and Altai (0.2%), the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, the Magadan Region and the Jewish Autonomous Region (0.3%).

GENEVA, Jan 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UK coronavirus strain has been detected in at least 60 countries, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, 10 more than a week ago.

With the global death toll now well past two million, and new variants of the virus causing deep concern, countries across the world are grappling with how to slow infections until vaccines become widely available.

The South African strain, which like the UK one is believed to be more infectious, has now been reported in 23 countries and territories, the WHO also announced in its weekly update.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union’s chief executive hailed on Wednesday as a new dawn Joe Biden’s term as U.S. president but warned that the bloc would strive to regulate American technology companies, calling for global standards.

“After four long years, Europe has a friend in the White House,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, who welcomed outgoing President Donald Trump’s ban on Twitter.

But she added: “This kind of decision must be taken in accordance with laws and rules ...not by an arbitrary decision in the power of Silicon Valley CEOs.”

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose above $56 a barrel on Wednesday, supported by expectations the new U.S. administration will deliver massive stimulus spending that would lift demand, OPEC curbs and forecasts of a drop in U.S. crude inventories.

U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen on Tuesday urged lawmakers to “act big” on pandemic relief spending. A fall in the dollar after the comments helped oil to rally, analysts said.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union hailed Joe Biden’s inauguration later on Wednesday as U.S. president as a “new dawn” for Europe and the United States, while insisting U.S. technology companies should be regulated to stop the “dark forces” of hate speech online.

The EU and the United States are the world’s top trading powers, along with China, and have close cultural, historical, business and defence ties, but Donald Trump sought to sideline the EU, championing Britain’s departure from the bloc.

KIEV, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held talks regarding the conflict resolution and the security situation in the East of Ukraine with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Chairperson-in-Office Ann Linde during her working visit to Ukraine, the press service of Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

Kuleba noted the importance of the OSCE's effective involvement in responding to security challenges in Europe, including the ongoing conflict in the East of Ukraine.

LONDON, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- The number of people who have died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test has surpassed the grim milestone of 90,000 in Britain after another 1,610 were confirmed, according to official figures released Tuesday.

The latest daily death toll, the highest since the pandemic began in the country, brought the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain to 91,470, the data showed.