Europe

MOSCOW (AP) — Belarus’ authoritarian president said Tuesday he has no intention of sending troops to Syria to serve alongside Russian forces in the country but held the door open for a potential deployment of military medics there.

President Alexander Lukashenko’s comment followed the publication of a draft agreement between Russia and Belarus that envisages the deployment of up to 200 Belarusian military personnel to Syria.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union announced a $48 billion plan Tuesday to become a major semiconductor producer, seeking to curb its dependency on Asian markets for the component that powers everything from cars to hospital ventilators and game consoles.

At a time when natural gas shortages and Europe’s reliance on Russia for energy shows the political risks of economic dependency, the 27-nation bloc is moving to boost its economic independence in the critical semiconductor sector with its Chips Act.

BERLIN (AP) — Jennifer Morgan, who heads the environmental group Greenpeace International, is to become Germany’s new climate envoy, officials said Tuesday.

She will be taking on a key role in the new center-left government that has pledged to ramp up Germany’s efforts to curb global warming, including through its presidency of the Group of Seven major economies.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him he would not further escalate the Ukraine crisis in their marathon talks in the Kremlin a day earlier.

Macron’s remarks on a visit to Kyiv came after the Kremlin denied reports that he and Putin struck a deal on de-escalating the crisis. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “in the current situation, Moscow and Paris can’t be reaching any deals.”

07 Feb 2022; MEMO: Secular France is doubling its funding for Christian schools in the Middle East while pursuing a wide-scale crackdown against French Muslim communities which has led to Muslim schools being shut down by the authorities.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced the funding during an event at the Élysée Palace in Paris last week. "Supporting Christians in the Middle East is an age-old commitment in France, a historic mission," Macron is reported as saying by France 24.

MOSCOW, February 7. /TASS/: The dialogue with Russia is the chief means of achieving stability and security in Europe, France’s visiting President Emanuel Macron said at the open part of the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday.

"We laid the basis for a full-scale and open dialogue in 2019," Macron said. Also, he recalled the talks he had with Putin at Fort de Bregancon and in St. Petersburg. "I believe that such a dialogue today is more relevant than ever. This dialogue is necessary: it is the sole way of ensuring security and stability in Europe."

MOSCOW, February 7. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin will not take part in the Munich Security Conference either in person or via video link, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Monday.

"Putin has no plans to participate in the Munich conference in any format," the spokesman said in reply to a question.

MINSK, February 7. /TASS/: The Belarusian authorities are considering arming some of their Emergencies Ministry’s staff to brace for a potential conflict or hostilities, the state-run BelTA news agency reported on Monday, referring to a meeting chaired by the republic’s head of state on improving the ministry’s structure.

These measures are underway to enable the Emergencies Ministry’s staff to engage in military operations along with the republic’s army in the event of a conflict or hostilities, the news agency reported.

LONDON, February 7. /TASS/: London is willing to cooperate with Moscow and provides its assurances that NATO poses no threat to Russia, Spokesman of British Prime Minister told journalists on Monday.

PARIS, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Emmanuel Picot says he and two friends were beaten up one summer night in 2019 near the river Seine in central Paris by men of apparent African origin - an unprovoked attack that has hardened his political views, driving him further to the right.

The engineering student, now aged 23, says he suffered a broken knee cap and bruised face in the assault. He shows photos he said were taken after the incident of his black eye and his knee in a brace. Reuters could not verify his account.