Europe

04 Mar 2021; MEMO: Amnesty International has welcomed the International Criminal Court (ICC) decision to open an investigation into serious crimes under international law alleged to have been committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/: Flu vaccination reduces the risk of death for coronavirus patients by 23%, Director General of the Russian Health Ministry’s National Cardiology Research Center Sergei Boitsov said during a scientific conference on the prevention of infectious diseases amid the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday.

MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/: A Tsirkon hypersonic missile will be test-launched from an underwater carrier for the first time no sooner than June, a high-placed source in the domestic defense industry told TASS on Thursday.

"The Tsirkon may be test-launched for the first time from the [Northern Fleet’s nuclear-powered submarine] Severodvinsk in June as the earliest date. There is no exact date for the start of trials so far," he said.

VIENNA, March 4. /TASS/: All signs point to the fact that the E3 (France, Germany and the UK) have decided to refrain from approving a resolution criticizing Iran at the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), diplomatic sources in Vienna told TASS on Thursday.

"The acute conflict situation in the IAEA Board of Governors is close to being regulated. It seems that the UK, France and Germany have decided to abstain from pushing forward their draft resolution criticizing Tehran," diplomatic sources suggest.

MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/: The European Union’s internal processes have put progress in easing EU visa requirements for Russian youth out of reach for the time being, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in an interview with the Govorit Moskva radio station on Thursday.

MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/: Russia strictly adheres to the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention and expects reciprocity from its counterparts, Russian presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov commented on the US conditions for the cancellation of sanctions against Russia to the media on Thursday.

"Many years ago, Russia declared and verified elimination of all chemical weapons in its territory. It has strictly complied with the provisions of the corresponding convention," Peskov said, adding that "there are no chemical weapons in Russia’s territory."

LYON (France), March 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Security officials in China and South Africa seized thousands of counterfeit doses of the coronavirus vaccine, the global police agency Interpol revealed.

The international police force said in a statement that 400 vials, equivalent to about 2,400 doses, containing the fake vaccine were found at a warehouse in Germiston outside Johannesburg in South Africa, where officers also recovered fake masks and arrested three Chinese citizens and a Zambian national.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission on Thursday announced goals for the 27-nation bloc to reduce poverty, inequality and boost training and jobs by 2030 as part of a post-pandemic economic overhaul financed by jointly borrowed funds.

The EU executive arm said the European Union should boost employment to 78% in 2030 from 73% in 2019, halve the gap between the number of employed women and men and cut the number of young people neither working nor studying to 9% from 12.6%

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s vaccine authority will recommend AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for over-65s, the Frankfurter Allgemeine reported, news that promises an easing of the supply constraints that have slowed the country’s vaccine roll-out.

The newspaper reported on Thursday that the Permanent Vaccine Commission’s (STIKO) recommendation had already been written, but was still being discussed internally before being made public.

STIKO could not immediately be reached for comment.

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations’ human rights chief asked Ethiopia on Thursday to allow monitors into Tigray to investigate reports of killings and sexual violence that may amount to war crimes in the northern region since late 2020.

“Victims and survivors of these violations must not be denied their rights to the truth and to justice,” Michelle Bachelet said in a statement, expressing her fear that violations could continue with impunity.