Europe

Italy changed under Mario Draghi, so did its relations with India

Rome [Italy], December 30 (ANI): Italy has spent the last decade cosying up to China, but Rome has changed under its Prime Minister Mario Draghi, and so did its relations with India.

2021-12-30T14:49:09.668075+00:00 IST

Ex-Austrian Chancellor Kurz to join US Company owned by Trump supporter - reports

Moscow [Russia], December 30 (ANI/ Sputnik): Former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz confirmed on Thursday that he will join an investment company of Peter Thiel, US billionaire businessman and supporter of ex-President Donald Trump, media reported.

2021-12-30T12:53:59.318555+00:00 IST

Biden, Putin phone call on Moscow's Initiative: Kremlin

Moscow[Russia], December 30(ANI/Sputnik): Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Moscow was the initiator of the phone talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden which will be held later today and mentioned it will be an ordinary phone call without a public part.

2021-12-30T11:40:06.873109+00:00 IST

No talks with Taliban held on recognition of Afghan govt, says Russian Foreign Ministry

Moscow [Russia], December 30 (ANI): Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Thursday said that Moscow has not received any information from the Taliban side on their decision to send an envoy to Russia and mentioned that country's recognition of the Taliban's government is out of the question for now.

2021-12-30T11:12:04.749313+00:00 IST

EU actions increase tensions in Europe: Russian Foreign Ministry

Moscow [Russia], December 30 (ANI/Sputnik): The European Union has done a lot to increase tensions in Europe, including by creating the Eastern Partnership initiative, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

2021-12-30T08:58:57.379830+00:00 IST

Italy cancels quarantine for those vaccinated with 3 doses after contacts with patients

Rome [Italy], December 30 (ANI/Sputnik): Italy has revised anti-coronavirus measures in light of the spread of the Omicron strain of COVID-19, among others cancelling the quarantine for people inoculated with three doses of vaccines after contacts with COVID-19 patients.

2021-12-30T01:16:29.485851+00:00 IST

Vaccines still effective against Omicron as T cell immunity holds up better against new variant: WHO Chief Scientist

Geneva [Switzerland], December 30 (ANI): Emphasising that the Omicron variant is infecting both vaccinated and unvaccinated people worldwide, WHO Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan has said that it appears that vaccines are still proving to be effective because even though the numbers are going up exponentially in many countries, severity of the disease has not surged to a new level.

2021-12-29T22:33:53.803224+00:00 IST

Omicron variant leading to tsunami of COVID cases: WHO chief

Geneva [Switzerland], December 30 (ANI): The World Health Organisation's chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that the Omicron variant is very transmissible and is leading to a tsunami of COVID cases.

2021-12-29T18:58:39.448759+00:00 IST

France reports over 200,000 new COVID-19 cases

Paris [France], December 29 (ANI/Xinhua): France has recorded more than 200,000 COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour span, the country's Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Wednesday.

2021-12-29T16:51:39.342123+00:00 IST

Russia conducts tests of S-500 Anti-Missile defense systems in Arctic region - source

Moscow [Russia], December 29 (ANI/ Sputnik): Russia has recently conducted routine tests of S-500 anti-missile defense systems in its Arctic region, but prototypes of S-550 have yet to be developed, a source told Sputnik on Wednesday.

2021-12-29T13:46:06.994618+00:00 IST

Chief Executive Carrie Lam terminating press freedom in Hong Kong: NGO after Stand News raid

Paris [France], December 29 (ANI): Condemning the recent raid on the office of Hong Kong independent media Stand News, Paris-based NGO Reporters Without Borders said that Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam is terminating press freedom in the territory and called on authorities to release all journalists detained.

2021-12-29T13:33:33.192817+00:00 IST

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says, won't attend 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing

Berlin [Germany], December 29 (ANI): German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday announced that she would not attend the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

2021-12-29T08:47:51.802581+00:00 IST

Former Afghan President Ghani listed among 'most corrupt' people of 2021 by OCCRP

Sarajevo [Bosnia and Herzegovina], December 29 (ANI): Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has been named as one of the most corrupt officials of the year by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a nonprofit investigative news reporting platform for independent media outlets around the world.

2021-12-29T05:31:09.436284+00:00 IST

Borrell calls Russia's demand to stop EU, NATO eastward expansion unacceptable

Brussels [Belgium], December 29 (ANI/Sputnik): EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called Russia's demands about security guarantees and about stopping the EU and NATO's eastward expansion unacceptable.

2021-12-29T04:49:36.581592+00:00 IST

Europe faces massive surges in COVID infections, France records nearly 1,80,000 new coronavirus cases

Paris [France], December 29 (ANI): The number of COVID infections has surged to a new level in Europe as France has logged a record of nearly 1,80,000 coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours.

2021-12-28T21:56:13.954394+00:00 IST

Omicron becomes dominant COVID-19 variant in Netherlands

The Hague [Netherlands], December 28 (ANI/Xinhua): The Omicron variant of COVID-19 caused more than 50 percent of infections in the Netherlands over the past week, replacing Delta as the dominant variant, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) announced on Tuesday.

2021-12-28T17:38:14.075639+00:00 IST

Russia wants serious security guarantees from talks with US, NATO

Moscow [Russia], December 28 (ANI/Sputnik): Russia will be looking for serious guarantees at security talks with the United States and NATO in January, Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy said on Tuesday.

2021-12-28T17:10:16.175311+00:00 IST

Germany to buy 1 million packages of Paxlovid pills against COVID-19

Berlin [Germany], December 28 (ANI/Sputnik): Germany will purchase a million packages of the Paxlovid antiviral drug against COVID-19 by Pfizer, and the first batches are expected in January, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told the German dpa news agency on Tuesday.

2021-12-28T15:45:12.586305+00:00 IST

UK based NGO says two staff members killed in violence in Myanmar

London [UK], December 28 (ANI): UK-based international NGO "Save the Children" has said that two of its staff members who had been missing, had been killed in eastern Myanmar in an attack carried out by the country's military.

2021-12-28T15:43:15.147764+00:00 IST

Lavrov suggests more Russian regions should be opened for resettlement from abroad

Moscow [Russia], December 28 (ANI/Sputnik): Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that the government should consider expanding the number of regions accepting compatriots moving from abroad and reduce the number of "unmotivated" rejections of resettlement applications.

2021-12-28T12:04:37.875542+00:00 IST

France tightens COVID-19 measures but no curfew for New Year's Eve

Paris [France], December 28 (ANI/Xinhua): France's Prime Minister Jean Castex and Health Minister Olivier Veran announced a series of new measures on Monday to curb the spread of COVID-19 during the New Year festivities and urged their countrymen to respect the preventive measures during the celebrations.

2021-12-28T05:09:23.116685+00:00 IST