Europe

GENEVA (AP) — The United States and Russia sought to lower the temperature in a heated standoff over Ukraine, even as they reported no breakthroughs in high-stakes talks on Friday aimed at preventing a feared Russian invasion.

Armed with seemingly intractable and diametrically opposed demands, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Geneva for roughly 90 minutes at what the American said was a “critical moment.”

20 Jan 2022; MEMO: Britain's leading Charity aimed at tackling food poverty and waste, FareShare has struck an agreement with the Moroccan government to redistribute surplus food from Moroccan businesses trading in the country.

20 Jan 2022; MEMO: Interpol has asked authorities in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, to detain the Spanish-Lebanese arms dealer Abdul Rahman El Assir, who has been seen there in the company of Spain's former monarch Juan Carlos I, police sources told El País.

The newspaper said El Assir, 71, is wanted by Spain and France over tax fraud and other crimes; his whereabouts had been a mystery since 2018, when he failed to show up for trial in Madrid. Two international warrants were issued for his arrest in 2019.

VORONEZH, January 20. /TASS/: It is planned to increase the Russian fleet of Sukhoi Superjet 100 to 192 jets by the end of the year, Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Oleg Bocharov said at a meeting headed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin devoted to the development of civil aircraft construction on Thursday.

"It should be noted that Russian aircraft producers have started working with carriers more closely, which is a surprising experience, thanks for the support. We plan to increase the fleet of demanded Superjet aircraft to 192 jets by the end of the year," he said.

MOSCOW, January 20. /TASS/: Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine have been stepping up their military presence along the Union State’s borders, forcing Russia and Belarus to respond appropriately to such incendiary acts, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Thursday.

VIENNA, January 20. /TASS/: Russia finds worrisome the reports NATO countries have been moving weapons and military personnel to Ukraine, Russia’s permanent representative to the OSCE, Alexander Lukashevich, said at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna.

"We are alarmed by reports some member-countries of NATO have stepped up the deployment of lethal weapons and military personnel to Ukraine. This week alone several British military planes carrying guided missile systems have landed in Kiev," Lukashevich said.

GENEVA, Jan 20 (NNN-TASS) — The COVID-19 total caseload all over the world has surpassed 330 mln, while the death toll has reached 5.55 mln, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated.

   According to the latest data, as many as 332,617,707 people were infected with COVID-19 and some 5,551,314 others died. The COVID-19 incidence rose by 3,156,986 in the last 24 hours and the number of fatalities climbed by 6,889.

   On Jan 12, there was registered a new high of 3,519,158 COVID-19 daily cases. The WHO counts only officially confirmed data provided by the countries.   

BRUSSELS, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The European Parliament on Thursday signed off on a proposal for new rules aimed at U.S. tech giants, paving the way for talks on the plan with member countries and the European Commission.

The Digital Services Act, a proposal from EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, would force Amazon , Apple (AAPL.O), Alphabet (GOOGL.O) unit Google and Facebook owner Meta (FB.O) to do more to tackle illegal content on their platforms or risk fines up to 6% of global turnover.

HELSINKI, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland says she and her fellow young female ministers have been targeted with extensive hate speech for their gender and appearance while in office.

"We can see that when you are young and female the hate speech that we are facing is often sexualised," Marin told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday, a little more than two years into her term as Finland's state leader.

MADRID, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Spain has sent warships to join NATO naval forces in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea as tension in the region rises over the Russian military build-up on the Ukrainian border, Defence Minister Margarita Robles said on Thursday.

A mine-sweeper is already en route and a frigate will sail within three or four days, Robles told reporters. The Madrid government is also considering sending fighter jets to Bulgaria, she said.