Europe

BRUSSELS, Apr 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) – European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, yesterday brought forward the expected date for the European Union (EU) to vaccinate its 70 percent of adult population by nearly two months.

Speaking after visiting Pfizer’s vaccine plant in Puurs, Belgium, where the main vaccine used so far in the EU has been produced, von der Leyen said, the goal could be achieved by the end of July, instead of late Sept, as had been previously predicted.

(Reuters) --- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Saturday that he would sign a decree allowing the transfer of presidential power to the Belarusian security council if he became unable work as president, the state Belta news agency reported.

The prime minister would head the security council, if the president is absent, Lukashenko added.

(Reuters) --- Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday called on Germans to stick to tighter coronavirus restrictions imposed in areas with high infection rates over the weekend, saying the step was needed to break a third wave of infections.

Both chambers of parliament approved the amendments to the Infection Protection Act earlier this week to give the federal government more powers to fight the third wave in the pandemic.

(Reuters) --- The European Union on Saturday rejected Russia's labelling of independent news site Meduza as a "foreign agent" media organisation, saying its media restrictions contravene its international obligations and human rights commitments.

The designation issued on Friday requires Meduza to label itself as such, subjecting it to increased government scrutiny.

(Reuters) --- Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis breached conflict of interest rules over his control of trust funds linked to his Agrofert business empire, according to a European Commission audit, piling pressure on the billionaire ahead of fall elections.

It means all European Union subsidies awarded to the company after February 2017 -- when a local conflict of interest law came into force -- are considered irregular and should be returned, the auditors said in a final report.

(Reuters) --- Britain's opposition Labour Party on Saturday called for an independent commission on ethics and standards in government after Prime Minister Boris Johnson's former top adviser criticised the UK leader's integrity.

On Friday Dominic Cummings, who left Johnson's staff suddenly late last year having previously been his most influential adviser over Brexit and the 2019 election campaign, denied reports he leaked Johnson's private communications over the sourcing of COVID-19 ventilators. 

23 Apr 2021; MEMO: Labour leader Kier Starmer has come under sharp criticism for withdrawing from a virtual Ramadan interfaith event after a pro-Israel lobby group alerted him to the organiser's support for the boycott of Israeli dates produced in territories occupied by the Zionist state.

23 Apr 2021; MEMO: Human rights groups have accused Oxford University of "celebrating" a military occupation for politicising figures collated on its website tracking coronavirus vaccine delivery, which excludes Palestinians on Israel's vaccine rollout.

MOSCOW, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a decree on countermeasures to "unfriendly actions" of foreign states amid an intensified diplomatic row with the United States and some European countries.

In accordance with the decree published by the Kremlin, Putin ordered the government to make a list of foreign countries "committing unfriendly actions" toward the Russian Federation, Russian citizens or legal entities.

BUCHAREST, April 23 (Xinhua) -- The foreign ministers of Romania, Poland and Turkey met here on Friday for a trilateral meeting on security issues, which also included a special meeting with their counterparts in Georgia and Ukraine.

During the trilateral meeting, issues related to the security situation in the Eastern Neighborhood, as well as the preparation of the NATO Summit on June 14, 2021, were discussed.