Europe

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sought to tone down an independent report that found one of his most senior ministers had bullied staff, two media reports said on Saturday.

Johnson on Friday backed his Home Secretary Priti Patel, despite an inquiry finding she had broken the ministerial code by shouting and swearing at staff. The author of the report, the government’s ethics adviser Alex Allan, resigned.

21 Nov 2020; MEMO: A human rights group has accused Austrian security authorities of committing "politically-motivated" human rights violations against Muslims, a statement issued on Wednesday revealed.

21 Nov 2020; MEMO: High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell has pledged to use all possible means to continue improving human rights in Bahrain, The New Khalij news website reported on Friday.

Borrell's remarks came in a statement in which he replied to a letter sent by MEPs regarding the "dire condition" of human rights in Bahrain.

MINSK, November 20. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said that the foreign intelligence services of Belarus and Russia disclosed the centers of the US intelligence agencies operating outside Warsaw and Kiev, the Belarusian news agency BelTA reported on Friday.

MOSCOW, November 20. /TASS/: The Russian Armed Forces received 11% more armament and military hardware in 2020 than the previous year, Chief of Russia’s National Defense Control Center Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev reported on Friday.

"In close inter-agency cooperation at the country’s shipyards, 35 submarines and surface ships were laid down, floated out and accepted for service in the Navy this year, which increased the share of the Navy’s advanced hardware by a third compared to 2019," the general stressed.

MOSCOW, November 20. /TASS/: Russian army specialists have created secure cyberspace with the help of the Portal system to discuss defense issues with state authorities, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday.

"An information exchange with regions of the Russian Federation has been established through the Portal system. This has made it possible to create the first ever confidential single information space between various levels of state power," the defense chief said at an inter-agency scientific and practical conference.

MOSCOW, November 20. /TASS/: The number of confirmed COVID-19 infections in Russia over the past 24 hours has increased by 24,318, a record high nationwide since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the data of the anti-coronavirus crisis center published on Friday.

The previous record high of 23,610 detected daily cases was documented on Thursday.

In all, according to the crisis center, 2,039,926 people got infected in Russia.

LONDON, Nov 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — China, the global oil market’s lifeline this year, has stepped up purchases from exporters like Russia, the United States and Angola in recent weeks, while buyers elsewhere pare orders as coronavirus infections surge and fresh lockdowns are put in place.

China, the world’s largest importer of crude, is the only major buyer expected to see increased oil demand this year as the pandemic destroyed consumption globally.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union and Britain have made better progress towards a trade deal in the last few days but there is still a lot of work to do for an agreement to be in place by the end-year deadline, the bloc’s chief executive said on Friday.

Diplomats briefed earlier by the EU’s executive, which is negotiating with Britain on behalf of the 27 member states, said Brussels and London remained at odds over fishing rights, fair competition guarantees and ways to solve future disputes.

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday backed one of his most senior ministers after a damning inquiry into allegations that she bullied her staff concluded she had broken rules, including shouting and swearing at them.

Johnson’s defence of Home Secretary Priti Patel prompted the author of the report, independent adviser Alex Allan, to resign.