Europe

MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/: The West has not yet provided an official response to Moscow's request concerning blogger Alexey Navalny’s alleged poisoning, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday, adding that an article published in The Lancet journal could not be viewed as a response.

"We don’t read medical journals," Peskov said, when asked if the Kremlin believed that the article was reason enough to open an investigation. "It is a journal for health professionals and we are not medical workers," he emphasized.

ZURICH, Dec 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — FIFA has increased Africa’s slots at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand from three to six.

The decision was one of the major decisions the Bureau of FIFA Council took on Thursday, Dec 24, when it met to discuss the fate of upcoming FIFA competitions.

Africa in time past had three direct slots, which were given to the top three performing teams at the Africa Women’s Championship.

Athens, Dec 25 (AP-PTI) It's been a while since visitors to Greece sought out souvenirs in Athens' oldest neighbourhood.

The winding streets of Plaka, laid out long before the city imported a grid system, are lined with closed stores behind aluminum shutters.

London, Dec 25 (AP-PTI) The last-minute trade deal between the UK and the European Union means businesses will be spared new tariffs and border disruption at the start of the new year - an economic shock that would have compounded the employment and financial troubles inflicted by the pandemic.

News of the agreement Thursday brought sighs of relief from the offices of corporate bosses and politicians, as well as from consumers anticipating produce shortages and transport workers facing the potential of long backups at border crossings.

MOSCOW, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- The expanded sanctions list published by the U.S. authorities in relation to Russian companies allegedly classified as "military end users" is a destructive move for bilateral ties, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

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.

MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/: The General Staff of Russia’s armed forces has noted the outspoken anti-Russian nature of NATO’s training activities and growing provocations near Russia’s borders, the chief of the General Staff of Russia’s armed forces, First Deputy Defense Minister Valery Gerasimov told a news briefing for foreign military attaches.

"The training of the alliance’s forces is developing an outspokenly anti-Russian bias, with non-NATO countries getting increasingly involved. Provocative activities near Russia’s borders are growing," Gerasimov said.

MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/: Moscow has nothing to do with cyberattacks on the US and has no intention to interfere in the situation, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, commenting on reports that US President-elect Joe Biden wanted incumbent President Donald Trump to blame Moscow for the attacks.

MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/: The Russian Defense Ministry will send two medical units to Simferopol and Yalta to help combat the coronavirus in Crimea, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

"Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu has handed down instructions to set up two hospitals in Crimea in accordance with Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin’s order," the statement reads.

"The hospitals will be equipped with ventilators, X-ray, blood analyzer and ultrasound machines and a PCR laboratory," the ministry added.

MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/: The concern Kalashnikov (an affiliate of Rostec) has launched batch production of a new guided missile 9M333 for the air defense systems of the Strela-10M family, the concern’s press service said on Thursday.

"Onsite testing of the missile at the Donguz test site in the Orenburg Region has been completed successfully. The missile’s batch production has begun under a contract with the Defense Ministry," the news release runs.

Kalashnikov stressed that the newly-developed missile was a fire-and-forget weapon.