TEHRAN, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran pledged on Tuesday full support to Syria facing threats from terrorists and Israel.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday that Israel does not favor the establishment of peace and security in Syria and in the region, official IRNA news agency reported.

Regional countries should boost convergence and cooperation to counter any plots against them, Zarif said in a meeting with his visiting Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem.

MOSCOW, February 6. /TASS/. The government does not practice media censorship in Russia, and regarding the curtailment of foreign ownership of media outlets, this is a universal practice, which is appropriate and legitimate, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at the Media Day forum organized by the Kommersant publishing house.

ROME, February 6. /TASS/. Vatican is ready to mediate the Venezuelan crisis if it receives requests from both sides, Pope Francis said during a news briefing aboard the papal plane flying from the United Arab Emirates to Rome, Italy’s ANSA news agency has reported.

When asked about a letter sent to him by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the pontiff admitted not reading it yet.

"We’ll see what can be done," he said, adding that he viewed the Holy See’s mediation as a last resort, when all other means of settling the crisis have proven to be futile.

5 Feb 2019; DW:Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Tuesday that coup suspects are "not welcome" in Greece, but the case regarding eight Turkish servicemen who fled the country after a failed 2016 coup attempt on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a judiciary matter.

"On the thorny issue of the eight soldiers, Greece respects the decisions delivered by the judiciary," Tsipras said in Ankara after meeting with Erdogan.

ANKARA; 06 Feb 2019; AA: Turkey Wednesday strongly condemned French President Emmanuel Macron’s declaration of April 24 as a national day marking the so-called Armenian genocide.

“Allegations of a so-called Armenian genocide are political lies lacking any legal basis, contrary to historical facts. They are null and void for Turkey,” Ibrahim Kalin, Turkish presidential spokesman, said in a statement.

5 Feb 2019; DW: A study published Tuesday by consultancy EY shows that China's mergers and acquisitions in Europe dipped by 21 percent last year with a total of 196 M&A deals registered in 2018.

In Germany alone, the number of investment deals sank from 54 to 35 last year.

BUENOS AIRES; 06 Feb 2019; AA: Hundreds of Argentinians held a demonstration Tuesday in the capital Buenos Aires against U.S. intervention in Venezuela.

Non-governmental organizations, trade unions and student clubs gathered at the University of Buenos Aires and marched to the U.S. embassy.

The crowd chanted slogans such as "End U.S. pressure on Latin America!” and “Establish dialogue and peace in Venezuela!”

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the panel’s first act since Democrats took the majority, the House Intelligence Committee is expected to vote to send more than 50 interview transcripts to special counsel Robert Mueller.

The panel is meeting Wednesday for the first time since California Rep. Adam Schiff became chairman. Schiff has long said that sending Mueller the transcripts from the panel’s now-closed investigation into Russian election interference would be one of his top priorities.

MOSCOW, February 5. /TASS/. Moscow and Tehran have given up the dollar in settlement payments and plan to shift completely to national currencies, with euro to be used if there are no other options, Russia’s Ambassador to Iran Levan Dzhagaryan said in an interview with TASS.

05 Feb 2019; AFP: US officials are fanning out across Europe to warn about the security risks of allowing Chinese telecoms giant Huawei to help build 5G mobile networks, a US diplomat said Tuesday.

Washington considers the matter urgent as European Union countries prepare to roll out fifth-generation networks that will bring near-instantaneous connectivity, vast data capacity and futuristic technologies.

MOSCOW, February 6. /TASS/. Russia has successfully test-fired an RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from the Plesetsk spaceport in the Arkhangelsk Region in the country’s north, the Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate’s top Republican on Tuesday pushed congressional bargainers to reach a border security deal without first getting President Donald Trump’s approval, a month after the impulsive president scuttled an apparent bipartisan deal and triggered a historically long federal shutdown.