Europe

MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/: The latest radar system Nablyudatel (Observer) has been developed in Russia, Chief of the Aerospace Force’s Radio-Technical Troops Major-General Andrei Koban said in an interview with the Defense Ministry’s Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper on Monday.

"The latest types of radar armament, such as the Nablyudatel FSR and KVP [the Observer federal reconnaissance and airspace control system] have been created and are already in service to boost the airspace control capabilities," the general said.

MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/: The number of fatalities in Russia caused by the coronavirus has increased by 450 over the past 24 hours, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told journalists on Monday. This is the lowest since November 30, when 368 deaths due to the novel infection were recorded.

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Some 27,328 cases of the coronavirus infection have been detected in Russia over the past 24 hours compared to 28,080 the day before. In all, since the beginning of the pandemic, 2,681,256 people have been infected in the country or 1.8% of its population.

MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has commented on the question to clarify what Russian President Vladimir Putin meant when he recently said that it is "generally clear" who ordered the assassination of Russian politician Boris Nemtsov in 2015, suggesting that this question can be asked directly at Putin’s upcoming annual press conference on December 17.

"No, I cannot [clarify that]," he told reporters Monday. "The large press conference is coming, you are free to ask that."

MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/: The number of confirmed COVID-19 infections in Russia over the past 24 hours has increased by 27,328, bringing the total to 2,681,256, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told journalists on Monday.

According to the crisis center, the relative daily growth decreased to 1%.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany is unlikely to lift its coronavirus lockdown early next year, a top aide to Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday, signalling Europe’s biggest economy will have to contend with the crippling restrictions well into the winter months.

Merkel and German state leaders agreed to shut most stores from Wednesday until Jan. 10 to reverse a tide of COVID-19 infections that lighter restrictions introduced last month had failed to tame.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU competition regulators cleared on Monday a 30-billion-euro ($36.5 billion) Dutch scheme to support projects reducing greenhouse gas emissions, saying it would contribute to the EU’s environmental objectives without hurting competition.

The scheme Stimulering Duurzame Energieproductie (SDE++) will run until 2025. Beneficiaries will be selected, the support level set, and the aid allocated, through competitive bidding processes, the European Commission said in a statement.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is “fully dedicated” to clinching a post-Brexit trade deal before Britain’s transition out of the bloc ends on Dec. 31, the European Commission said on Monday.

“We’re of course aware that time is short. The more time that goes by the less likely it is that we will have a deal in place on the first of January, that’s just a statement of fact,” Commission spokesman Daniel Ferrie told a news briefing.

LONDON (Reuters) - London is likely to be placed into the toughest tier of COVID-19 restrictions following a sharp rise in coronavirus infection rates, the BBC reported on Monday, as one of the world’s richest cities struggles to contain the disease.

Earlier this month, the government implemented a three-tiered system of restrictions in England to try to keep a second wave of the virus under control following a month-long lockdown. More than 40% of citizens were placed in the highest risk category.

ROME (AP) — Italy on Sunday eclipsed Britain to become the nation with the worst official coronavirus death toll in Europe.

Italy, where the continent’s pandemic began, registered 484 COVID-19 deaths in one day, one of its lowest one-day death counts in about a month.

Still, those latest deaths pushed Italy’s official toll up to 64,520, while Britain’s stood at 64,267, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Teetering on the brink of a no-deal Brexit departure, Britain and the European Union stepped back from the void Sunday and agreed to continue trade talks, although both downplayed the chances of success.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ditched a self-imposed deadline and promised to “go the extra mile” to clinch a post-Brexit trade agreement that would avert New Year’s chaos and costs for cross-border commerce.