Europe

KIEV, January 2. /TASS/: Transit of Russian gas to Europe through the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (Gas TSO of Ukraine) amounted to 55.8 bln cubic meters in 2020, which is 38% lower than the previous year, press service of the operator reported on Saturday.

"In 2020, Gas TSO of Ukraine allocated 55.8 bln cubic meters of gas in transit to Europe, which is 38% less than in 2019. The volume of gas transported from Europe to Ukraine for the same period amounted to 15.9 bln cubic meters, which is 12% more compared to 2019," the company’s statement said.

MOSCOW, January 2. /TASS/: Bitcoin rose by 13% to $33,006, updating the historical high, CoinDesk reported on Saturday.

Earlier on Saturday, Bitcoin rose by 9.8% to $32,054.

Bitcoin is a decentralized system of the eponymous cryptocurrency based on blockchain technology. It can be issued by any user who is a member of the system. The system concept was published in November 2008, but has exploded in popularity in recent years.

MOSCOW, January 3. /TASS/: Three Russians and one Ukrainian, who were earlier released in Libya, have arrived in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, a member of the Russian Civic Chamber, Alexander Malkevich, told reporters on Sunday.

"The plane has landed, it is now on the runway. I’m on the airfield, I’m meeting them," Malkevich said.

According to him, those who arrived from Libya don’t have any documents, including passports.

Earlier, Malkevich said a group of Russians and one Ukrainian citizen, who had been kidnapped in Libya several weeks ago, were released.

MOSCOW, January 3./TASS/: The number of new coronavirus cases across Russia grew by 24,150 in the past 24 hours, which is the lowest figure since November 25, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told journalists on Sunday.

The overall number of infections has amounted to 3,236,787, it said. The growth does not exceed 0.8% in relative terms, it said.

The lowest pace of growth in coronavirus cases was reported in the Tuva Region, the Nenets autonomous region (0.1%) and in the Jewish autonomous region (0.4%).

DUBLIN, Jan 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ireland plans to end a ban on travel to the country from Britain on Jan 6 and replace it with stricter COVID-19 testing measures as it seeks to stop the spread of a highly infectious new variant of the virus, Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said.

Ireland banned passenger flights and ferries on Dec 21. Some 30,000 people had travelled to Ireland from Britain in the previous two weeks, during which time the new variant was spreading rapidly in parts of Britain.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will have 530,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine ready to administer on Monday and hopes to provide “tens of millions” of vaccinations over the next three months, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday.

“We do hope that ... we’ll be able to do tens of millions in the course of the next three months,” he told the BBC.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Boris Johnson said on Sunday he intended to carry on as prime minister after Brexit.

Asked in a BBC interview if he intended to continue in the role, Johnson said: “Yes.”

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said referendums should only happen once in a generation, when asked about the possibility of a fresh vote on Scottish independence.

“The only point I would make is that referendums, (in) my ... direct experience in this country, are not particularly jolly events,” Johnson told the BBC.

“They don’t have a, notably unifying force on the national mood, they should be only once in a generation.”

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany is likely to extend a national lockdown beyond Jan. 10 to curb coronavirus infection rates that are still running high and putting huge strains on hospitals and health workers, politicians said at the weekend.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and regional leaders are expected to agree to extend the restrictions when they convene on Tuesday. It is not yet clear how long the extension would last.

PARIS, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Over 1,200 revelers attending an illegal rave party in northwest France on New Year's Eve were sanctioned for defying anti-coronavirus sanitary rules, the Interior Ministry and local authorities said on Saturday.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Twitter that more than 1,200 party-goers were issued with penalty notices as they left the site, adding that the event's organizers were being identified and would be prosecuted.