Europe

ZURICH, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The head of the World Health Organization said on Saturday he had discussed with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang the need for stronger collaboration on the origins of COVID-19, a subject of controversy that has strained Beijing's relations with the West.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has previously pressed China to be more forthcoming with data and information related to the origin of the virus. 

BUDAPEST, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) recommends sending a larger team to observe Hungary's April 3 parliamentary elections including monitoring the media, OSCE said late on Friday.

PARIS, Feb 5 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the Ukraine crisis by phone with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and underlined the need "to maintain dialogue to de-escalate (the situation)," the French presidency said on Saturday.

Macron is due next week to visit Russia, which has massed troops near Ukraine, stoking Western fears of an invasion. Moscow denies planning to invade Ukraine.

RZESZOW, Poland, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The first U.S. troops reinforcing NATO allies in Eastern Europe amid a Russian military build-up on Ukraine's border arrived on Saturday at Rzeszow military base in southeastern Poland.

A small plane carrying what a Polish military source said were U.S. chain of command personnel landed in the morning at Rzeszow-Jasionka airport as preparations continued at the base, which is near Poland's border with Ukraine.

04 Feb 2022; MEMO: France said today it had agreed to participate in the reinforcement of the United Arab Emirates' defence system, including the deployment of Rafale jets, following Houthi attacks, Reuters reports.

NICE, France (AP) — The French government on Saturday forged ahead with efforts to reshape Islam in France and rid it of extremism, introducing a new body made up of clergy and laymen — and women — to help lead the largest Muslim community in western Europe.

04 Feb 2022; MEMO: The UN Refugee Agency said, on Friday, it was "shocked and deeply distressed" by reports that 19 migrants died on Wednesday on the Greek-Turkish border, Anadolu News Agency reports.

"We have seen reports in the media. And we are shocked and deeply distressed by these reports," UN High Commission for Refugees spokesman, Boris Cheshirkov, told a news conference.

He said they have reports that people have died near the border between Greece and Turkiye.

MOSCOW, Feb. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund) announces that the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus has been granted full permanent approval by Russia's Health Ministry. It had previously held temporary emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Russian regulator.

BERLIN, February 4. /TASS/: The German government decisively condemns Russia’s measures against Deutsche Welle and hopes that they will be cancelled, Cabinet Deputy Spokesman Wolfgang Buchner said Friday.

"The German Government decisively condemns the measures announced against Deutsche Welle. They are completely groundless and they violate the right to freedom of the press," he stated.

He claimed that German authorities are in no way involved in the issuing of licenses and the situation around RT DE.

MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/: It is necessary to fulfill some previous agreements in order to hold new meetings of the leaders of the Normandy format, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Friday.

"We wanted this meeting to take place several years ago, and we believe that it should have been held a long time ago and that [such meetings] need to take place on a regular basis," the Kremlin spokesman noted.