Europe

LISBON, Nov 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Portugal extended until Dec 8 the state of emergency it imposed to bring down the coronavirus infection rate as the second wave of the disease spreads.

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced he had signed the decree extending the emergency measures which had been due to lapse on Monday, warning that a further extension remains a possibility.

“The state of emergency will last as long as is necessary to fight against the pandemic” he said in a televised address.

London, Nov 22, IRNA - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in its latest statement that it has access to Iranian nuclear sites to verify Iran Safeguards commitments.

"This report of the Director General to the Board of Governors and, in parallel, to the United Nations Security Council, is on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s implementation of its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in relation to its enrichment related activities," the statement reads.

ZURICH (Reuters) - A World Health Organization (WHO) special COVID-19 envoy predicted a third wave of the pandemic in Europe in early 2021, if governments repeat what he said was a failure to do what was needed to prevent the second wave of infections.

“They missed building up the necessary infrastructure during the summer months, after they brought the first wave under the control,” the WHO’s David Nabarro said in an interview with Swiss newspapers.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britons will not be able to enjoy a normal Christmas this year due to the second wave of COVID-19, but the government is looking at ways to enable families to get together, Finance Minster Rishi Sunak said on Sunday.

“Frustrating as it is for all of us, Christmas is not going to be normal this year,” he told Sky’s Sophie Ridge on Sunday.

“But that said, the Prime Minister is, for example, looking at ways to see how families can spend time with each other.”

PARIS (Reuters) - France will start easing coronavirus lockdown rules in coming weeks, carrying out the process in three stages so as to avoid a new flareup in the pandemic, the government said on Sunday.

On Tuesday, President Emmanuel Macron will give a speech to the nation about the virus situation and may announce a partial relaxation of restrictions which have been in place since Oct. 30.

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. signed an interim trade deal with Canada on Saturday, giving it more time to negotiate future trading rules as the British government prepares the country for business life outside the European Union.

The stopgap agreement allows trade between the two countries to continue under the same terms as Canada’s existing treaty with the EU while negotiators begin work on a new bilateral deal between the U.K. and Canada, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement. Canada is the U.K.’s eighth-biggest non-EU trading partner.

(AP) --- As coronavirus cases surge globally, the COVID-19 deaths of two senior Serbian Orthodox Church clerics — one who died weeks after presiding over the funeral of the other — are raising questions about whether some religious institutions are doing enough to slow the spread of the virus.

NOVO-OGARYOVO, November 21. /TASS/: The coronavirus pandemic has triggered a systemic economic crisis, unprecedented since the Great Depression, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, addressing the G20 summit on Saturday.

"The scale of problems that mankind faced in 2020 is indeed unprecedented. The coronavirus pandemic, a global lockdown and suspended economic activities triggered a systemic economic crisis, the likes of which the world has not seen since the Great Depression," Putin pointed out.

MOSCOW, November 21. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree extending certain special economic measures against countries that have imposed sanctions on the Russian Federation until December 31, 2021. The document was published on Saturday on the official website of legal information.

The government has been instructed to ensure the implementation of the decree and, if necessary, make proposals to change the period of validity of these counter-sanctions.

MOSCOW, November 21. /TASS/: Russia introduced a ban on entry into its territory for 25 representatives of the United Kingdom in connection with London’s sanctions on the so-called "Magnitsky case", official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.

"In response to unfriendly actions of the UK authorities and on the basis of the principle of reciprocity, the Russian side made a decision to impose personal sanctions against 25 UK representatives who are barred from entering the Russian Federation," the statement said.