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BRUSSELS, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that the bloc has reached a fair and balanced agreement with the United Kingdom, after a prolonged last-minute negotiation over the sticking points regarding the future relationship.

"We have finally found an agreement," she told a press conference at the headquarters of the European Commission.

"It was a long and winding road, but we have got a good deal to show for it," she added.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — With rich countries snapping up supplies of COVID-19 vaccines, some parts of the world may have to rely on Chinese-developed shots to try to conquer the outbreak. The question: Will they work?

There is no outward reason to believe they won’t, but China has a history of vaccine scandals, and its drugmakers have revealed little about their final human trials and the more than 1 million emergency-use inoculations they say have been carried out inside the country already.

24 Dec 2020; MEMO: Qatari Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani reiterated on Wednesday that there is an initial deal for reconciliation among Gulf States, Reuters reported.

Al-Thani, who is also the Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs, called for de-escalating tension in the Gulf area through talks between the Gulf states and Iran.

24 Dec 2020; MEMO: Speaker of the Algerian People's National Assembly Slimane Chenine reaffirmed his country's firm position on the Western Sahara issue and "the people's right to determine their fate."

Chenine pointed out: "The right to self-determination is guaranteed in the Charter of the United Nations and other human rights accords."

24 Dec 2020; MEMO: Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita has confirmed that Morocco is committed to an agreement with Israel that stipulates normalising relations between the two countries.

In an interview with Israeli news website Walla! on Wednesday in Rabat, Bourita stressed that the ties with Israel: "Will be entirely normalised, and we intend to go the whole way in this regard."

24 Dec 2020; MEMO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Wednesday that his country would open a new page of dialogue with EU countries and the US, Anadolu Agency reported.

Speaking to Justice and Development Party lawmakers, Erdoğan confirmed: "Turkey has no luxury of turning its back on either the West or the East. While maintaining good ties with the US and Europe, we cannot ignore Africa and Asia."

23 Dec 2020; MEMO: Germany opposes a request submitted by Greece to impose an arms embargo on Turkey over tensions between the two countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said yesterday.

In remarks to Germany's DPA news agency, Maas said Greece's request to the European Union (EU) to impose an arms embargo on Turkey was "strategically incorrect".

23 Dec 2020; MEMO: Egypt plans to file an international lawsuit in an effort to protect Egyptian investments in Ethiopia which have been negatively affected by the unrest in the Tigray region of the country, an official has said.

23 Dec 2020; MEMO: US President Donald Trump criticised a draft resolution approved by Congress that includes aid to foreign countries while accusing the Egyptian army of using US aid to buy military equipment from Russia.

New Delhi, Dec 22 (PTI) Social commerce in the country is poised to touch up to USD 7 billion (around Rs 51,703 cr) in GMV by 2025 as the number of online shoppers - especially from tier II cities and beyond - continues to rise, a report by RedSeer Consulting said on Tuesday.

Social commerce refers to e-commerce transactions where buyers and sellers have more direct connection with each other before concluding a purchase, compared to a traditional e-commerce where buyers are choosing by searching or browsing from a digital catalogue.