Europe

BRUSSELS, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Heads of the European Council and the European Commission on Friday signed on Britain's exit from the European Union (EU) later this month.

".@eucopresident Charles Michel and I have just signed the Agreement on the Withdrawal of the UK from the EU, opening the way for its ratification by the European Parliament," President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter.

MOSCOW, January 23. /TASS/: The teams of Orlan-10 drones of Russia’s 201st military base reconnoitered notional militants’ camps during drills in the mountains of Tajikistan, the press office of Russia’s Central Military District reported on Thursday.

SEVASTOPOL, January 23. /TASS/: The crew of the Black Sea Fleet’s small missile ship Vyshny Volochyok held drills to practice employing the Kalibr-NK cruise missile system, the Fleet’s press office reported on Thursday.

"During the training exercise, the personnel of the missile and artillery combat unit of the small missile ship Vyshny Volochyok practiced the algorithm of operations to conduct electronic launches against a surface target," the press office said in a statement.

MOSCOW, January 23. /TASS/: Russia’s State Duma on Thursday adopted in the first reading Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bill on amendments to the Constitution envisaging, among other things, an expansion of the rights of parliament and the Constitutional Court, a ban prohibiting top officials from having other countries’ residence permits, a restriction on the number of presidential terms, priority of national legislation over international agreements and greater social responsibilities of the state.

23 January 2020; AFP: The death toll from a storm that has lashed Spain with strong winds and heavy snow has risen to seven, while four people were missing, officials said.

Gale-force winds and huge waves have smashed into seafront towns, damaging many shops and restaurants, wrecking beach facilities and flooding some streets in the east of the country since Sunday.

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire is optimistic of reaching a deal on a global tax on digital companies, despite an initial failure to agree one with the United States.

“We are moving in the right direction,” Le Maire told Reuters TV at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos on Thursday, adding that he thought France was close to striking an agreement with the United States.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s tax policy is a matter for the British government, not the United States or the European Union, trade minister Liz Truss said on Thursday when asked about pressure from the U.S. administration over a planned digital tax.

“Let me be absolutely clear, UK tax policy is a matter for the UK Chancellor, it’s not a matter for the U.S. it’s not a matter for the EU, it’s not a matter for anybody else, and we will make the decisions that are right for Britain,” Truss said.

LONDON (Reuters) - Financial firms in Britain should be ready in case no trade agreement is struck with the European Union by December, a senior UK regulator said on Thursday.

Britain leaves the EU next week, followed by a “business as usual” transition that ends in December. Britain and the EU will formally begin trade talks in coming weeks.

“Firms still need to ensure they are prepared for a range of scenarios that may happen at the end of 2020,” said Nausicaa Delfas, executive director of international at the Financial Conduct Authority.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Thursday on concern that the spread of a respiratory virus from China could lower fuel demand if it stunts economic growth in an echo of the SARS epidemic nearly 20 years ago.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 76 cents, or 1.2%, at $62.45 a barrel by 0950 GMT, having earlier touched their lowest since Dec. 4 after losing 2.1% in the previous session.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures CLc1 fell 85 cents, or 1.5%, to $55.89 a barrel after earlier falling to the lowest since Dec. 3. The contract declined 2.7% on Wednesday.

BRUSSELS, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on Wednesday updated its assessment for the risks of the further spreading of a novel coronavirus that has infected hundreds in China and the adjacent area.

It said that Chinese health authorities have confirmed human-to-human transmission and 15 healthcare workers have been reported to have infected with the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Wuhan, central China.