Europe

BRUSSELS, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday that the European Union (EU) and UK negotiating teams have been mandated to continue the post-Brexit trade talks.

After a "constructive and useful phone call" with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, von der Leyen said it remains to be seen if an agreement can be reached even "at this late stage."

On Wednesday, both EU and UK leaders have set the deadline for a trade deal decision by the end of this weekend.

MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. Washington’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara could hamper UN efforts aimed at resolving the conflict and trigger a new spiral of violence in the region, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. Moscow reserves the right to take tit-for-tat measures in response to the UK’s new anti-Russian sanctions, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry was bewildered over the UK government’s decision announced on December 10 on imposing national sanctions against three Russian citizens and a unit of the National Guard for allegedly abusing human rights in the Chechen Republic, the diplomat said.

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian nuclear submarine on Saturday successfully test-fired four intercontinental ballistic missiles in a show of readiness of Moscow’s nuclear forces amid tension with the U.S.

PARIS (AP) — Paris police took nearly 150 people into custody at what quickly became a tense and sometimes ill-tempered protest Saturday against proposed security laws, with officers wading into the crowds of several thousand to haul away suspected trouble-makers.

Police targeted protesters they suspected might coalesce together into violent groups like those who vandalized stores and vehicles and attacked officers at previous demonstrations.

BERLIN (AP) — Most stores shut, tight limits on social contacts, no singing in church and a ban on fireworks sales: Germany is ratcheting up its pandemic restrictions in an effort to cut the stubbornly high rate of coronavirus infections.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said she and the governors of Germany’s 16 states agreed Sunday to step up the country’s lockdown measures from Dec. 16 to Jan. 10 to stop the exponential rise of COVID-19 cases.

BOULOGNE-SUR-MER, France (AP) — Long lines of trucks carrying stockpiles for British companies jam the highways leading to France’s northern port of Calais, while in the coastal town of Boulogne-sur-Mer, French fishermen pull in their lines and fear that battles over fishing rights will soon erupt.

Up and down France’s northern coast, the uncertainty of Brexit is causing ripples of chaos and frustration.

12 Dec 2020; MEMO:  The European Union (EU) council has decided to impose sanctions on Turkish officials and entities involved in gas drillings in the East Mediterranean, and has deferred arms embargos and tariffs after discussions with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the US, news agencies reported on Friday.

The Guardian divulged that the decision came after heated discussions during the two-day summit of the leaders of the 27 EU member states.

12 Dec 2020; MEMO:  Turkey's unmanned aerial vehicle, the Bayraktar TB2, has been responsible for the destruction of hundreds of armored vehicles and even air defense systems in Syria, Libya, and elsewhere, the UK's defense secretary said on Friday, reports Anadolu Agency.

"The roots of these drones are born out of Turkish innovation," Ben Wallace said in a webinar organized by the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies (RUSI), a British security think tank.

MOSCOW, December 11. /TASS/: Global pharmaceutical companies are using disreputable methods to undermine Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.