Europe

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s economy grew by a slower than expected 1.1% in September from August, lagging other rich nations as it struggled to recover from the shock of the pandemic even before the latest COVID-19 lockdown.

The slowdown in Thursday’s official data cemented expectations that the economy will shrink again as 2020 ends, with uncertainty about the Dec. 31 deadline for a post-Brexit European Union trade deal adding to the coronavirus drag.

ATHENS, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrived here on Wednesday to start his two-day visit to Greece, during which the prospects of further bilateral cooperation and regional issues are expected to be discussed by the leaders of the two sides.

MILAN (AP) — Dr. Luca Cabrini was certain his hospital in the heart of Lombardy‘s lake district would reach its breaking point caring for 300 COVID-19 patients. So far, virus patients fill 500 beds and counting.

Italy, which shocked the world and itself when hospitals in the wealthy north were overwhelmed with coronavirus cases last spring, is again facing a systemic crisis, as confirmed positives pass the symbolic threshold of 1 million.

MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/: Russia’s Almaz-Antey defense manufacturer delivered the final regiment set of S-400 ‘Triumf’ medium-to long-range anti-aircraft missile systems this year, fulfilling its annual delivery plan ahead of schedule, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Almaz-Antey Group delivered the next and final regiment set of S-400 ‘Triumf’ surface-to-air missile systems to the Defense Ministry this year ahead of schedule as part of its commitments under the defense procurement plan," the statement says.

MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/: Russia’s coronavirus cases grew by 19,851 in the past day and for the first time since November 5 the daily case tally was less than 20,000, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Wednesday.

Russia’s total COVID-19 case count rose to 1,836,960. The average growth rate dropped from 1.2% to 1.1%.

LONDON, Nov 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Another 532 people died in Britain, marking the highest daily COVID-19 death toll since mid-May. The new deaths bring the total fatalities in Britain to 49,770, figures showed.

Another 20,412 people tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 1,233,775, the data showed.

BRUSSELS, Nov 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) – The European Union (EU), will authorise a contract for the purchase of up to 300 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, jointly developed by German company BioNTech and its American partner Pfizer, European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said.

“This is the most promising vaccine so far,” she said on Twitter. The contract, due to be reached today, will be the fourth the EU secures with a pharmaceutical company, to buy vaccines for COVID-19.

11 Nov 2020; MEMO: More than 1,500 civilians were killed and injured in Yemen during the first nine months of 2020, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) for Yemen announced yesterday.

"From January to September 2020 alone, 1,508 civilians were killed or injured in Yemen," the UNHCR office said on Twitter. The humanitarian organisation added that 42 per cent of the victims were women and children.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Post-registration trials of Russia’s second COVID-19 vaccine, being developed by Siberia’s Vector institute, are expected to start on Nov. 15, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said in comments published on Wednesday.

Golikova said Russia was planning to produce 500,000 doses of its main Sputnik V vaccine in November, lower than a previous forecast of 800,000 doses given by trade and industry minister Denis Manturov.

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair RYA.I would not expect to have to pay extra for aircraft deliveries due to a new 15% tariff announced by the European Union this week on Boeing aircraft, a senior executive said on Tuesday.

“We wouldn’t be paying them,” Eddie Wilson, Chief Executive of Ryanair DAC, the largest of the Ryanair Group’s four airlines, told a virtual CAPA aviation summit when asked about the tariffs.

But he said that Ryanair expected that the victory of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden would lead to a “reset” in the trade dispute in any case.