Europe

PARIS, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday expressed condolences over the death of the country's former president, Valery Giscard d'Estaing.

"The direction he set for France still guides our way ... his death has plunged the French nation into mourning," Macron said in a statement, describing his predecessor as "a servant of the state, a politician of progress and freedom."

MOSCOW, December 2. /TASS/: Russian peacekeepers are controlling the ceasefire and the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh with the help of Orlan-10 drones, mobile video transmitting and secure video conferencing systems at observation posts, Defense Ministry Spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, December 2. /TASS/: The latest simulator facility with artificial intelligence elements has come into operation in Yeisk in southern Russia to train naval pilots, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.

The facility comprises the latest system of simulators for full-fledged training of the flight and ground personnel of the Russian Navy’s fighter, anti-submarine and deck-based aviation, the ministry said in a statement.

VLADIVOSTOK, December 2. /TASS/: The Project 20380 latest corvette Aldar Tsydenzhapov built for Russia’s Pacific Fleet delivered artillery fire against coastal targets and checked its air defense weapons during state trials in the Sea of Japan, the Fleet’s press office reported on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, December 2. /TASS/: Russian citizens will be provided with vaccines against the coronavirus on a priority basis, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.

"Naturally, Russians are an absolute priority," Peskov said. According to him, domestic production in Russia, which is being developed now, will meet Russians’ demands in the first place.

BRUSSELS, December 2. /TASS/: The EU countries have negotiated a sanctions regime, similar to the US Magnitsky act, which will enable the EU to impose sanctions against those the Union deems responsible for violation of human rights in any country of the world, a diplomatic source in one of the delegations to the European Council told TASS Wednesday.

"The general decision to introduce the sanctions regime for serious violations and abuses in the human rights field has been made. The EU Ambassadors will adopt a formal decision without discussion today," the source said.

TRIER (Reuters) - A 51-year old German man suspected of murdering five people, including a baby, by ploughing a speeding car into a pedestrian zone in Trier on Tuesday, is to be held in prison after a judge decided he did not need to be sent to a psychiatric institution.

The man, who had been drunk, had shown psychological abnormalities during and after his arrest on Tuesday, said the Trier prosecutor, adding an expert would examine him and issue an official opinion.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union and the United States should resolve their trade disputes after U.S. President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January in a “new transatlantic agenda”, the EU executive said on Wednesday, laying out its wish-list for better ties.

After four years of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda during which Washington imposed tariffs on Brussels on national security grounds, the EU is now looking for close cooperation with Biden on almost all issues.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Wednesday as the market awaited a pact from producers on output, although Britain’s approval of a COVID-19 vaccine gave hopes for a demand recovery a boost.

Prices were hit by a surprise build in oil inventories in the United States and as OPEC and its allies created uncertainty with a two-day delay to a formal meeting to decide whether to increase production in January.

Brent crude oil futures were down 13 cents, or 0.3%, at $47.29 a barrel by 1332 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate crude was down 16 cents, or 0.4%, at $44.39.

PARIS (Reuters) - Ryanair is close to placing an order for dozens of additional Boeing 737 MAX jets in a commercial boost to the U.S. planemaker after regulators lifted a 20-month safety grounding, industry sources said.

Europe’s largest low-fare carrier, which has an option to expand its current order by 75 jets to 210 aircraft, declined to comment. Boeing could not immediately be reached for comment.