Europe

KOBLENZ, Germany (AP) — A former Syrian secret police officer was convicted by a German court Thursday of crimes against humanity for overseeing the abuse of detainees at a jail near Damascus a decade ago.

Anwar Raslan is the highest-ranking Syrian official so far convicted of the charge. The verdict was keenly anticipated by those who suffered abuse or lost relatives at the hands of President Bashar Assad’s government in Syria’s long-running conflict.

LONDON (AP) — With varying degrees of enthusiasm, senior British government ministers on Thursday expressed support for Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson and rejected demands he resign for attending a garden party during the country’s first coronavirus lockdown.

Many other Conservatives held their tongues, waiting to see whether the crisis threatening Johnson’s premiership will fade or intensify.

MOSCOW (AP) — A senior Russian diplomat warned on Thursday that a Russian military deployment to Cuba and Venezuela can’t be excluded if tensions with the United States mount.

PARIS (AP) — French teachers have walked out in a nationwide strike Thursday to express anger at the way the government is handling the virus situation in schools, denouncing confusing rules and calling for more protection.

Exhausted by the pressures of surging COVID-19 cases, a large majority of teachers were expected to support the call by 11 unions to protest virus-linked class disruptions and ever-changing isolation rules.

Unions have staged a street protest in Paris city center on Thursday afternoon.

London, Jan 13 (PTI) The UK government on Thursday announced the launch of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with India, describing it as a "golden opportunity" to put British businesses at the "front of the queue" of the Indian economy.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said an FTA would take the country's historic partnership with India to the next level, and highlighted Scotch whisky, financial services and cutting-edge renewable technology among some of the key sectors set to benefit.

CHISINAU, January 12. /TASS/: The gas distribution company Moldovagaz informed the Moldovan government about financial difficulties and a new threat of suspension of gas supplies by Gazprom due to the failure of the Moldovan side to fulfill its financial obligations, the government’s press service reported on Wednesday.

According to the press service, this issue was discussed at a meeting of the government’s Commission for Emergency Situations on Tuesday.

MINSK, January 12. /TASS/: Polish serviceman Emil Czeczko, who escaped to Belarus, informed investigators of the murder of over 240 refugees at the Polish-Belarusian border, the Belarusian Investigative Committee announced Wednesday.

"During the criminal case investigation, Emil Czeczko disclosed that he and his fellow servicemen had participated in organized murders in the border area and near the settlement of Siemianowka, Poland, starting on June 8, 2021. According to the serviceman, he is aware of murder of over 240 people," the Committee said in its Telegram channel.

MOSCOW, January 12. /TASS/: Natural gas reserves in Europe’s underground gas storages (UGS) are at their lowest level during the long-term monitoring period and withdrawals are already above a half of the volume injected last year, Gazprom said on Wednesday.

"Gas reserves in European UGS are at their lowest levels for this season throughout the long-term monitoring history," the company said.

BRUSSELS, January 12. /TASS/: The Russia-NATO Council ended a meeting in Brussels that lasted four hours, according to a TASS reporter.

NATO had expected the talks to last a little less time, as a news conference by its Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was scheduled for 1:30 pm local time, while the meeting started at 10 am local time. The news conference has now been moved back to 2:15 pm (4:15 pm in Moscow).

WARSAW, Jan 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 100,000 people have died in Poland from Covid since the start of the pandemic, the government said, as the mortality rate in the country is among the highest in the world.

“It’s another sad day but particularly so today because we have crossed the threshold of 100,000 deaths,” Health Minister Adam Niedzielski told news channel TVN24.

Niedzielski said the most recent daily data showed 493 people had died, which would bring the total toll to 100,254 deaths, and pointed out there were 18,000 people currently in hospital.