Europe

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Police in Ukraine are investigating whether the U.S. ambassador came under illegal surveillance by an unknown party before the Trump administration recalled her from Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday.

The announcement came two days after Democratic lawmakers in the United States released documents and text messages that showed an associate of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer communicating with Rudy Giuliani about Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch’s r emoval.

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/: US President Donald Trump said that the Phase One agreement to settle bilateral trade disputes with China the US and China signed on Wednesday, is "one of the greatest deals ever made."

"One of the greatest trade deals ever made! Also good for China and our long term relationship. 250 Billion Dollars will be coming back to our Country, and we are now in a great position for a Phase Two start. There has never been anything like this in U.S. history! USMCA NEXT," he wrote on Twitter. USMCA stands for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/: A SSJ-100 airplane of the Irkutsk-based air carrier Iraero made an emergency landing on a runway under construction in the Moscow Region’s Domodedovo Airport, the air carrier’s press service told TASS on Thursday.

SAMARA, January 16. /TASS/: The launch of a Russian rocket powered by methane is expected to cost half as much as the lift-off of a Soyuz-2 carrier, Progress Space Rocket Center CEO Dmitry Baranov said at a press conference in Samara on Thursday.

"The task is to make the rocket’s cost lower than the cost of a Soyuz-2. I can cautiously say the following: this should also apply to the launch service with the lift-off of this rocket. All this should be twice as cheap compared to the Soyuz-2. This is what we are seeking to achieve," Baranov stated.

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/: The Shvabe Holding Company (part of the state hi-tech corporation Rostec) has delivered a large batch of night-imaging monoculars to an African country, the Rostec press office reported on Thursday.

"The Shvabe Holding Company of Rostec State Corporation has exported a large batch of night vision monoculars in the interests of one of the countries on the African continent. The device is equipped with second-and third-generation electro-optic converters and also with infrared illumination," the press office said.

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/: Dmitry Medvedev as Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council will remain Chairman of the United Russia political party, which he led during his tenure as Russian Prime Minister, Secretary of the party’s General Council Andrei Turchak told reporters after a meeting of the United Russia faction at the State Duma (lower house of parliament), which supported Mikhail Mishustin’s nomination for the position of prime minister.

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/: After intense fighting with militants from the Jabhat al-Nusrah terrorist group (outlawed in Russia), the Syrian armed forces liberated two villages in the east of the Idlib governorate, the Sham FM radio station reported on Thursday.

Pro-government troops resumed their offensive in the region after militants disrupted the ceasefire declared five days ago.

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/: Candidate for the position of Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin stated during a plenary session of the Russian State Duma on Thursday that Russia has sufficient funds to achieve all goals set by President Vladimir Putin.

"Due to macroeconomic stability and budget surplus, we have sufficient funds to implement all goals set by the president starting in January of this year," Mishustin said.

NOVO-OGARYOVO, January 16. /TASS/: Measures to enhance the role of parliament in Russia will not contradict the idea that Russia should remain a presidential republic, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with members of the working group commissioned to draft proposals for amendments to the Constitution.

He recalled that the amendments to the fundamental law he initiated in his Address to the Federal Assembly would enhance the responsibility of the parliament and government.

16 January 2020; AFP: A lack of information and transparency are top barriers for European companies seeking involvement in China's Belt and Road Initiative, according to a survey published Thursday by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.

Only 20 out of 132 firms polled said they have bid for projects related to the BRI, a massive global network of ports, railways, roads and industrial parks spanning Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.