Europe

MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/: Neither Gazprom nor Russia are to blame for the energy crisis in Europe, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview with Rossiya-1 TV channel.

"Of course, I was somewhat surprised by the statement of the head of such a respected international organization as the IEA, which is trying to shift the problems that European consumers have today. Of course, neither Gazprom nor Russia, in general, are at fault here," he said.

MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/: Confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia increased by 27,179 in the past day to 10,774,304, the federal anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Saturday.

New coronavirus cases in Russia grew by 0.25% in the past 24 hours, registering the largest number since December 19, 2021, the crisis center reported.

The number of active cases, i.e. patients currently undergoing medical treatment from the novel coronavirus dropped to 617,786, the latest figures suggest.

LONDON, Jan 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) –The MI5, Britain’s domestic intelligence service, has warned MPs that a Chinese agent by the name of Christine Ching Kui Lee has infiltrated Westminster to interfere in UK politics. Beijing has denied the accusations.

The alleged spy was said to have “established ties” on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with deputies and would-be deputies and according to the BBC, she “facilitated” donations to politicians.

GENEVA, Jan 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization approved two new Covid-19 treatments on Friday, growing the arsenal of tools along with vaccines to stave off severe illness and death from the virus.
 
  The news comes as Omicron cases fill hospitals around the world with the WHO predicting half of Europe will be infected by March.
 

Jan 14 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to lift Plan B COVID restrictions in England, the Telegraph reported on Friday, as government scientists warn on dropping of Plan B prematurely.

COVID passports and work from home guidance are widely expected inside Whitehall to be lifted from Jan. 26 for England, the report said, adding that some rules on face masks may remain.

An announcement could come as soon as this week, it said.

PRISTINA, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Kosovo's parliament on Saturday passed a resolution banning ethnic Serbs from voting on Kosovan soil in Serbia's national referendum on constitutional amendments.

Serbia will hold a referendum on Sunday on amendments to the constitution that would change how judges and prosecutors are elected, a move the government says is aimed at securing an independent judiciary, a condition for EU membership.

ATHENS, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Greece's largest carrier Aegean Airlines (AGNr.AT) said on Saturday it had suspended all flights to Beirut pending the results of an investigation into the cause of damage to one of its planes that flew to the Lebanese capital.

Ground crew at Beirut's Rania Hariri International Airport found external damage to the fuselage of a plane that had flown from Athens on Jan. 10, prompting the airline a day later to suspend all flights to and from Beirut, a company statement said.

STOCKHOLM, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Sweden's military said on Thursday it was ramping up its visible activities on the Baltic Sea island of Gotland amid increased tensions between NATO and Russia and a recent deployment of Russian landing craft in the Baltic.

Moscow has spooked the West by massing troops near Ukraine, sparking fears that it is considering invading. Moscow denies any such plans, saying it can deploy forces on its territory however it chooses.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A cyberattack left a number of Ukrainian government websites temporarily unavailable Friday, officials said.

While it wasn’t immediately clear who was responsible, the disruption came amid heightened tensions with Russia and after talks between Moscow and the West failed to yield any significant progress this week.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko told The Associated Press it was too soon to say who was behind it, “but there is a long record of Russian cyber assaults against Ukraine in the past.”

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Environmental protesters demanding the cancelation of plans for lithium mining in western Serbia took to the streets again Saturday, blocking key roads and for the first time a border crossing.

Traffic on the Balkan nation’s main north-south highway was halted for more than an hour in Belgrade, the capital, along with several other roads throughout the country, including one by Serbia’s border with Bosnia.