Europe

SOUTHAMPTON, England (Reuters) - The operator of an oil tanker stormed in the English Channel by British special forces thanked the authorities on Monday for their timely response, saying help was requested after seven stowaways who boarded in Nigeria had turned hostile.

Troops from the Special Boat Service, Britain’s elite naval special forces unit, stormed the Greek-operated Nave Andromeda near the Isle of Wight off southern England after the master of the ship said he was concerned about the safety of his crew.

26 Oct 2020; MEMO: Several Arab trade groups have announced their boycott of French products in response to incitements against the Islamic religion and insulting statements against Prophet Muhammad, Anadolu reports.

Arab activists also launched several social media campaigns for the boycott of all French products, using several hashtags as #boycottfrance #boycott_French_products #ProphetMuhammad.

VILNIUS, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Lithuania's conservative Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) party has won the second round of parliamentary elections held on Sunday, preliminary results from the Central Electoral Commission showed Monday morning.

The TS-LKD secured 50 seats in the 141-seat unicameral parliament. The ruling Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Unions secured 32 seats and its leader Ramunas Karbauskis admitted his party's defeat and congratulated the conservatives on their victory.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Buckling under the resurgence of the coronavirus in Europe, the Spanish government on Sunday declared a national state of emergency that includes an overnight curfew in hopes of not repeating the near collapse of the country’s hospitals.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the decision to restrict free movement on the streets of Spain between 11 p.m.-6 a.m. allows exceptions for commuting to work, buying medicine, and caring for elderly and young family members. He said the curfew takes effect Sunday night and would likely remain in place for six months.

PARIS (AP) — French authorities denounced Turkish “propaganda” against France that they said was aimed at fanning hate at home and abroad, and asked Sunday that calls to boycott French products cease immediately, saying such attacks were the work of a “radical minority.”

Meanwhile, the president of Turkey took a second insulting swipe at French President Emmanuel Macron for condoning caricatures of the prophet of Islam in a growing, potentially high-risk dispute.

ROME (AP) — Italy’s leader imposed at least a month of new restrictions across the country on Sunday to fight rising coronavirus infections, insisting that people outdoors wear masks, shutting down gyms, pools and movie theaters and putting an early curfew on cafes and restaurants.

Worried about crippling Italy’s stagnant economy, especially after 10 weeks of a severe lockdown earlier in the pandemic, Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte ruled against another heavy nationwide lockdown.

24 Oct 2020; MEMO: Some prominent members of the Saudi Arabian royal family are being sued by British entrepreneur Gary Arnold for their alleged failure to honour a deal that has left him facing imprisonment.

The 50 year old, who developed his fish and chips franchise to 36 branches across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other parts of the Middle East, was arrested in Dubai this week over unpaid debts which he blames on the failure of Saudi royals to keep their part of a legally-binding deal.

24 Oct 2020; MEMO: Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has called on the UAE to cancel the plans to set up an investment fund that will enable the “modernisation” of illegal Israeli-operated checkpoints for Palestinians.

“The UAE government should refrain from and immediately halt any deals with Israel that may contribute to or embolden human rights violations against the Palestinians,” the rights group said.

24 Oct 2020; MEMO: Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister has said that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will not affect Moscow’s cooperation with Turkey in Syria. Sergey Vershinin dismissed concerns that the fighting in the southern Caucasus would break down relations between the two states.

Vershinin claimed that Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan did not have any effect on Russia’s collaboration with Ankara. The focus, he insisted, should be to work on a lasting ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

New Delhi, Oct 23 (PTI) Pakistan will remain in FATF's 'grey' list till February 2021 as it has failed to fulfil six key obligations of the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog that include failure to take action against two of India's most wanted terrorists Maulana Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed, officials said on Friday.

The virtual plenary of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), held in the last three days, concluded that Pakistan will continue in its 'grey' list.