World

Romania has recorded its first case of the British variant of the coronavirus in a 27yearold woman from the southern county of Giurgiu who had not travelled abroad recently, the spokesman of a Bucharest hospital said on Friday.

Tests carried out have shown that antibodies from people who have received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine effectively neutralise SARS-CoV-2 with a key mutation that is also found in two highly transmissible strains, said the German company.

The eastern French city of Strasbourg, home to one of the European Union parliament buildings, will have a 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) evening curfew imposed on it from Sunday onwards, as part of French plans to curb the spread of the COVID virus, reported BFM TV.

Some participants in the violent breach of the U.S. Capitol will face charges on Thursday, and federal authorities will continue to assess evidence and make arrests as they investigate, Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said.

Senegal is trying to acquire coronavirus vaccines to complement those it will get through the World Health Organizationbacked global COVAX scheme, Health Minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr told reporters on Thursday.

A Turkish court accepted an indictment against jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas on Thursday, state media reported, rebuffing demands by the European Court of Human Rights for his release.

South Africa's health minister on Thursday detailed plans to vaccinate 40 million people or twothirds of its population against COVID19 in order to achieve herd immunity, as a mutant variant drove daily new cases above 21,000 for the first time.

Credit for the Georgia election results is also being given to Democrat Stacey Abrams, who worked tirelessly to flip the state.

Oil prices extended gains on Wednesday, rising to their highest since late February, after Saudi Arabia announced a big voluntary production cut, and as U.S. crude inventories declined in the latest week.

Britain, France and Germany warned Iran on Wednesday that its decision to restart uranium enrichment at 20 percent risked undermining hopes of reviving diplomacy when a new United States administration takes over later in January.

Schoolchildren in England will not sit formal exams this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, education minister Gavin Williamson said on Wednesday, with teachers to assess students and decide their grades instead.

Russia has inoculated one million people against COVID19 with its Sputnik V vaccine, according to a statement on the Sputnik V Twitter account on Wednesday.

A judge has banned the leader of the Proud Boys from the nations capital after he was accused of vandalizing a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic black church and found with highcapacity firearm magazines when he was arrested.

Saudi Arabia pledged additional, voluntary oil output cuts of one million barrels per day (bpd) in February and March as part of a deal under which most OPEC+ producers will hold production steady in the face of new coronavirus lockdowns.

Spain on Tuesday increased the pace of its campaign to inoculate people against COVID19, with close to 140,000 people vaccinated, but only 18.7% of the doses received had been administered and disparities between regions remained.

Oil prices climbed more than 4% on Tuesday as OPEC+ was nearing a compromise to hold crude production steady in February, while tension simmered following Iran's seizure of a South Korean vessel.