Europe

MOSCOW, December 10. /TASS/: The United States has rather significantly damaged relations with China, it will be difficult to shift this tendency with the new administration, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said at a meeting chaired by Adalbi Shkhagoshev, first deputy head of the United Russia faction in the State Duma upper parliament house held in a video format on Thursday.

MOSCOW, December 10. /TASS/: Russia's Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova expressed hope that the new US president will exercise his right to pardon Russian citizens jailed in the United States.

"I hope, regardless of who the new US president will be, that he will use his right to pardon Russian citizens who are behind bars in the US," Moskalkova said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel on Thursday.

MURMANSK, December 10. /TASS/: The Northern Fleet’s large anti-submarine warfare ship Vice-Admiral Kulakov has returned to its home base of Severomorsk after 5-month deployment in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the Fleet’s press office reported on Thursday.

MOSCOW, December 10. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to meet with members of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights on Thursday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov informed, adding that the meeting will last for about two hours and that all information about it will be published on the Kremlin website.

"In total, about two hours will be allocated for the practically live transmission of this event. If it is held longer than that, a full transcript of the meeting will be published on the presidential website," he assured.

MOSCOW, December 10. /TASS/: The preliminary data obtained in the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine trials show that the efficiency of the jab stands at 69.3% after the first component is administered and 96.2% after the second, member of the independent monitoring committee examining the results of the vaccine’s clinical trials Ramil Khabriyev said Thursday.

Earlier, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) reported that the coronavirus vaccine is 95% effective.

ROME, Dec 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Italy reported yesterday, 12,756 new COVID-19 cases, bringing its tally to 1,770,149, according to the country’s health authorities.

The health ministry also confirmed 499 new fatalities from the virus, over the past day.

Italy’s total COVID-19 death toll now stands at 61,739, the second highest in Europe after Britain.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -The European Central Bank rolled out yet more stimulus measures on Thursday to lift the currency bloc out of a double-dip recession and provide support to the economy while its 350 million people wait for coronavirus vaccines to be deployed.

With many businesses shuttered, unemployment surging and debt hitting record highs, central bank cash has thrown governments and firms a lifeline this year but much of 2021 will pass before significant relief is likely.

OSLO (Reuters) - Some 270 million people worldwide - equivalent to the combined populations of Germany, Britain, France and Italy - stand on the brink of starvation, the head of the United Nations’ World Food Programme said on Thursday upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

The WFP, which has coordinated medical logistics during the coronavirus pandemic, was announced winner of the award for 2020 in October.

ROME, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Helping provide greater access to coronavirus vaccines as they become available and taking steps to spark worldwide economic growth will be among the main priorities during Italy's 2021 presidency of the Group of 20 (G20), a government official said Wednesday, confirming local media reports.

The Italian G20 Presidency -- Italy's first turn in that role -- formally began this month, though all of the discussions related to Italy's presidency will take place in 2021. The main summit is scheduled to take place in Rome on Oct. 30-31 next year.

LONDON, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday that "a good deal is there to be done" with the European Union (EU) on the post-Brexit trade relations, but he could not accept the terms the regional bloc is currently insisting.

Johnson made the remarks at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, lower part of the British Parliament, before heading to Brussels later Wednesday for a crunch meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to seek a breakthrough in the deadlocked post-Brexit trade talks.