Europe

MOSCOW (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations vowed that the U.N. Security Council will press Russia hard in a Monday session to discuss Moscow’s massing of troops near Ukraine and rising fears it is planning an invasion.

“Our voices are unified in calling for the Russians to explain themselves,” Ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield said of the U.S. and the other council members on ABC’s “This Week” program on Sunday. ”We’re going into the room prepared to listen to them, but we’re not going to be distracted by their propaganda.”

29 Jan 2022; MEMO: Morocco has filed a lawsuit before the Criminal Court in Paris against Amnesty International and the Forbidden Stories NGO for defamation. However, the Judiciary of France has refused to examine the complaint filed by Morocco against the French organisations, who accused the kingdom of spying on them via Israeli Pegasus software. Morocco has not yet issued a formal response.

KIEV, January 29. /TASS/: The West is using Ukraine as a foothold in its standoff with Russia, Chairman of the Political Council of Ukraine’s Opposition Platform - For Life party Viktor Medvedchuk told the UkrLive TV channel on Saturday.

ROSTOV-ON-DON, January 29. /TASS/: Russian citizens permanently residing in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR, LPR) can join the Russian Armed Forces if they so wish, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma (the lower house of parliament) Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Viktor Vodolatsky told TASS on Saturday.

MADRID, January 29. /TASS/: European Union members are divided over the scale of sanctions that could be imposed on Russia in the event of an attack on Ukraine, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in an interview with Spain’s El Mundo newspaper.

"All EU member states agree that Ukraine needs to maintain its sovereignty," he pointed out. "Disagreements concern the scale of sanctions on Russia and military assistance to Ukraine, which should be agreed by the union or NATO," he specified.

MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/: Russia’s coronavirus cases rose by 113,122 to 11,615,779 in the past 24 hours, the anti-coronavirus crisis center said on Saturday.

Russia’s coronavirus growth rate was 0.98%.

The country recorded 14,570 coronavirus hospitalizations in the past 24 hours, a 3.7% rise from the day before. A total of 14,046 coronavirus hospitalizations were reported in Russia on Friday. The number of hospitalizations grew in 46 regions of the country and declined in 37 regions, according to data from the crisis center.

MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has handed down instructions to analyze the country’s foreign agent legislation by May 1, according to a document published on the Kremlin website on Saturday.

"The Russian Justice Ministry, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights should analyze Russian laws regulating the activities of non-profit organizations acting as foreign agents, including ways to remove them from the foreign agent list," the document reads.

MOSCOW, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his administration to consider an apparent new system to ban "toxic" internet content, although details were not released.

The new system, contained in a list of presidential orders on the Kremlin website, was described as a "self-regulated register of toxic content" which would be used "to protect minors". The Kremlin would review it by June 1.

The order, with Thursday's date, was first reported by Russian media on Saturday.

LISBON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Portuguese election organisers were taking extra safety precautions on Saturday after the government decided to allow voters who are infected with the coronavirus to leave isolation and cast ballots in person along with everyone else.

With around a tenth of Portugal's 10 million-strong population now thought to be isolating due to COVID-19, the government decided last week to lift restrictions for Sunday's vote.

DUBLIN, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Russia will not conduct naval exercises in international waters in the Irish Sea next week following a request from the Irish government to relocate the manoeuvres, Moscow's ambassador to Ireland said on Saturday.

Ireland was notified last week that the exercises would take place around 240 kilometres off the south west coast within its exclusive economic zone but not its territorial waters, meaning it was permitted under international law.