Europe

GORKI, January 27. /TASS/: Russia is interested in good and mutually beneficial relations with the European Union, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said this in an interview with Russian media outlets, including TASS.

According to him, there are no disputes between Moscow and Brussels that cannot be resolved.

"Overall, I think we are interested in good relations with Europe, no doubt about that," he stressed.

OSLO, Jan 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The fate of two missing women’s rights activists in Afghanistan was raised in talks with the Taliban in Oslo on Monday.

In comments to the Norwegian broadcaster NRK, a Taliban representative said the Islamists had not arrested the women and were not holding them captive.

The UN mission in Afghanistan had expressed concern on Twitter on Saturday about the disappearance of the activists, who were reportedly abducted from their homes in the middle of the week.

COPENHAGEN, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Denmark will start pulling its troops out of Mali, after the African country's transitional junta government this week insisted on an immediate withdrawal, Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said on Thursday.

"We can see that the Malian transitional government, or the coup generals, last night sent out a public statement where they again reiterated that Denmark is not welcome in Mali, and we of course will not put up with that, so therefore we have decided to withdraw our soldiers home," Kofod told journalist at a press briefing in Copenhagen.

Jan 27 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will meet U.S. President Joe Biden on Feb. 7 at the White House to discuss tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Washington said on Thursday.

The leaders would "discuss their shared commitment to both ongoing diplomacy and joint efforts to deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

MADRID, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Spain's government handed over a list of almost 1,000 properties claimed by the Catholic Church on contested legal grounds to a federation of local authorities on Thursday, taking a first step towards resolving long-running feuds over ownership.

The conflict stems from a law introduced by former conservative Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar in 1998 that allowed the Church to register properties linked to religious practice as possessions, even without proof of ownership.

ATHENS, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Greece will allow music in restaurants and bars again and extend their operating hours as it lifts some of the restrictions imposed last month now that coronavirus infections and the pressure on hospitals are easing, authorities said on Thursday.

The country last month forced bars, nightclubs and restaurants to close at midnight, with no standing customers and no music, following a surge of cases over the Christmas holidays due to the fast-spreading Omicron variant.

MOSCOW, Jan 27 (Reuters) - An activist ally of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny told Reuters on Thursday she had fled Russia to avoid arrest, while two of his top aides said they had received letters with threats to themselves and their families.

Violetta Grudina, who was barred from standing for election last year in the Arctic port city of Murmansk, did not say where she had gone, when she had left or how.

"There wasn't much choice. I'm on a wanted list in Russia and prison lies in store for me," Grudina said in a short message sent via the Telegram app.

LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has not been interviewed by the police about their investigation into alleged parties in his Downing Street residence during coronavirus lockdowns, his spokesman said on Thursday.

Asked if Johnson had been interviewed, the spokesman said: "No."

Johnson's office has not yet received civil servant Sue Gray's report into the possible lockdown breaches, he added.

KIEV, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The police detained a Ukrainian National Guard serviceman who shot five people dead and wounded five others at a military factory in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky wrote on Facebook Thursday.

The 21-year-old soldier opened fire at people inside a guard house of the Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant at about 4 a.m. local time (GMT 0200) for unknown reasons.

Four servicemen and one civilian woman were killed in the incident and five other people were severely injured.

LONDON, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The British business community hopes that Britain and China will continue efforts to strengthen trade ties to benefit the peoples of both countries, as the two mark the 50th anniversary of ambassadorial diplomatic relations this year.

The remarks were made Wednesday during the "Icebreakers" 2022 Chinese New Year celebration jointly hosted online by the 48 Group Club, China Chamber of Commerce in the UK and China-Britain Business Council.