Reuters World News Summary

French coronavirus hospitalisations fall third day in a row France reported 22,139 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Friday, down from 23,448 on Thursday and 22,858 last Friday, as the trend remained steady, but the number of patients in hospital fell for the third day in a row.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. New Libya interim government agreed in U.N. talks

U.N. sponsored talks produced a new interim government for Libya on Friday aimed at resolving a decade of chaos, division and violence by holding national elections later this year. Mohammed al-Menfi, a former diplomat from Benghazi, will head a three-man presidency council, while Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, from the western city of Misrata, will head the government as prime minister. UK's Metropolitan police investigate incidents in South London, including fatal stabbing

British Police said late on Friday they were investigating incidents of violence in South London, including a fatal stabbing. The police said they will be investigating the circumstances surrounding all these incidents, adding that at this stage there was no information that the incidents are linked. International Criminal Court says it has jurisdiction in Palestinian territories

Judges at the International Criminal Court on Friday found the court has jurisdiction over war crimes committed in the Palestinian territories, paving the way for a possible criminal investigation, despite Israeli objections. The decision prompted swift reactions from both Israel, which is not a member of the court and rejects its jurisdiction, and the Palestinian Authority, which welcomed the ruling. Blinken to discuss COVID-19, Iran, Russia, China, Myanmar with Europeans

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss Iran and other issues including Russia, China and Myanmar in a Friday online meeting with his British, French and German counterparts, a U.S. official said. The high-level conversation would be the latest step by new U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to seek a way to revive the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran signed with world powers but was abandoned in 2018 by then-U.S. President Donald Trump. Myanmar military rulers order block on Twitter, Instagram 'until further notice'

The new military rulers of Myanmar on Friday ordered mobile operators and internet service providers to block access to Twitter and Instagram in the country until further notice, Norwegian telecom Telenor said. The government had already ordered internet providers on Thursday to block Facebook, which counts half of the population of 54 million as users, until Feb. 7. All travellers to UK be tested twice for COVID upon arrival: The Telegraph

Britain will test all travellers arriving in the country twice for COVID-19, in an attempt to control the spread of new variants of the virus, the Telegraph reported on Friday. The government previously announced quarantine measures starting Feb. 15 for people entering the country from COVID-19 hot spots. Nigerian woman poised to lead WTO after rival withdraws, Washington offers support

Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was poised to become the first African and first woman to lead the embattled World Trade Organization, after a South Korean rival withdrew on Friday and the United States reversed its previous opposition. The government of President Joe Biden expressed its strong support for Okonjo-Iweala in a statement late Friday, lauding her experience at the World Bank and leading Nigeria's finance ministry, and pledging to work with her on needed reforms. French coronavirus hospitalisations fall third day in a row

France reported 22,139 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Friday, down from 23,448 on Thursday and 22,858 last Friday, as the trend remained steady, but the number of patients in hospital fell for the third day in a row. The cumulative number of cases increased to 3.29 million. Myanmar anti-junta protests spread, social media disrupted

The lawyer for Myanmar's elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and ousted President Win Myint said they were being held in their homes after being detained on Monday when the army seized power and that he was unable to meet them. Lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said he was seeking their unconditional release but had been told they were still under investigation. U.N. official warns of high risk of atrocities in Ethiopia

A senior United Nations official warned on Friday that "the risk of atrocity crimes in Ethiopia remains high and likely to get worse" if the country does not urgently combat ethnic violence, stigmatization, hate speech and religious tensions. U.N. Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, said she had received reports of serious human rights violations and abuses by the parties to the conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region and their allies.