Europe

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/: The number of coronavirus cases in Russia per day increased by 24,092. The total number of cases reached 3,544,623, the operational headquarters for the fight against coronavirus told reporters on Saturday.

In relative terms, according to the headquarters, the increase in new cases does not exceed 0.7%.

The lowest growth rates were recorded per day in the Republic of Tyva (0.2%), Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, Jewish Autonomous District (0.3%), Magadan Region, Kemerovo Region, Chukotka Autonomous District and Ingushetia (0.4%).

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/: The United States’ future administration may leave in effect the trade restrictions against China, although President-elect Joe Biden’s election rhetoric was far more peaceful than statements by his rival in the race Donald Trump, the deputy chief of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, wrote in his op-ed published by tass.com on Saturday.

DONETSK/LUGANSK, January 16. /TASS/: The People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (DPR and LPR respectively) will unilateral hand over a group of detainees to Ukraine with the mediation of Viktor Medvedchuk, the head of the Political Council of Ukraine’s Opposition Platform - For Life party, the Donbass republics said in a joint statement released on Saturday.

MINSK, January 16. /TASS/: Maria Kolesnikova, a member of the Coordination Council of the Belarusian opposition, was remanded in custody after a hearing at the Minsk district court had rejected her complaint, former Belarusian presidential candidate Viktor Babariko’s Telegram channel reported on Saturday.

Under the Minsk district court ruling, Kolesnikova will remand in custody at Minsk’s pre-trial detention center No.1, where she was transferred to from the Zhodino pre-trial detention center on January 8. Earlier, the investigation extended Kolesnikova’s custody until March 8.

LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister Rishi Sunak has proposed giving a one-off 500 pound ($679) grant to recipients of the country’s main unemployment and wage support benefit instead of extending a temporary increase on the welfare payments, The Times reported on Saturday.

British welfare benefits for working-age adults are low compared with elsewhere in Europe, and the government temporarily increased them by 20 pounds per week last year at the start of the coronavirus pandemic as job openings dried up.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian authorities said on Saturday that flights between Moscow and the capitals of Finland, Vietnam, India and Qatar, suspended since the early weeks of the pandemic, would restart from Jan 27, after certain epidemiological criteria were met.

A statement shared following a meeting of the government’s coronavirus HQ said that the four countries were seeing fewer than 40 new cases per fortnight per 100,000 people.

MILAN (Reuters) - At least five people have died at a nursing home in Italy from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, local media and officials said on Saturday.

The incident happened at the Villa dei Diamanti care home in Lanuvio, a town near Rome, Italian firefighters said in a post on Twitter. “Some residents have [been] killed, while others have been hospitalised,” it said.

Seven people, including two health workers, are being treated in hospital for symptoms related to carbon monoxide poisoning, the ANSA news agency said.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s Christian Democrats elected Armin Laschet as chairman on Saturday, aiming to unify their divided party behind a centrist who they hope can succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor when she steps down after federal elections in September.

Laschet, premier of Germany’s most populous state and the self-styled Merkel continuity candidate, won a runoff ballot of party delegates against arch-conservative Friedrich Merz.

PARIS (Reuters) - Three European powers on Saturday warned Iran against starting work on uranium metal-based fuel for a research reactor, saying it contravened the 2015 nuclear deal and stressing that it had no civilian use but serious military implications.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog and Tehran said on Wednesday that Iran had started the work, in the latest breach of its nuclear deal with six major powers as the country presses for a lifting of U.S. sanctions.

MOSCOW, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- It is "a lie" that Cuba supports terrorism, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday, commenting on the U.S. recent decision to add the island nation to its list of "State Sponsor of Terrorism."

"When Washington accuses Havana of sponsoring terrorists, isn't it the very fake news that the United States is collectively fighting against? This is a lie that has been granted the official state status," said Maria Zakharova, the ministry's spokesperson.