Europe

MINSK, November 7. /TASS/: The first power unit of the Belarusian NPP has reached a capacity of 400 MW, the country's energy ministry reported on Friday.

The ceremony to increase the power unit's capacity was held with the participation of the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. According to Lukashenko, with the commissioning of this nuclear power plant, Belarus joins the world club of states using atomic energy for peaceful purposes.

MOSCOW, November 7. /TASS/: The number of coronavirus cases in Russia for the second day in a row exceeds 20,000. Over the past day, 20,396 new cases were detected, the total number of infected increased to 1,753,836, the operational headquarters for the fight against coronavirus told reporters on Saturday.

In relative terms, according to the headquarters, the increase in two days does not exceed 1.2%.

LONDON (Reuters) - Significant differences remain in talks over a trade deal between Britain and the European Union, Boris Johnson’s office said after a call between the British prime minister and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“The prime minister set out that, while some progress had been made in recent discussions, significant differences remain in a number of areas, including the so-called level playing field and fish,” a spokesman for Johnson’s office said.

06 Nov 2020; MEMO: The European Union on Friday imposed sanctions on eight newly appointed ministers of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime over violent repression against the civilian population, Anadolu Agency reports.

The sanctions include a travel ban and an asset freeze against the ministers.

GENEVA, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- The World Trade Organization (WTO) on Friday postponed a General Council special meeting on the appointment of the next Director-General slated for Nov. 9, citing reasons including "health situation and current events."

"It has come to my attention that for reasons including the health situation and current events, delegations will not be in a position to take a formal decision on Nov. 9," General Council Chair David Walker of New Zealand said in a written statement to all members.

BUCHAREST, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Romanian government decided to impose a nationwide curfew and other stricter measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, the head of the Department for Emergency Situations Raed Arafat announced on Friday.

The new nationwide prevention and control measures will take effect on Monday for a period of 30 days, the official told a press conference.

06 Nov 2020; MEMO: The European Union (EU) on Thursday called on Israel to stop the demolition of Palestinian homes in the occupied territories.

MOSCOW, November 6. /TASS/: Two Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying bombers of Russia’s Aerospace Force performed a scheduled flight over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan and the north-western Pacific, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Friday.

"The flight lasted over eight hours. At some sections of the route, the strategic missile-carrying bombers were escorted by Su-35S fighters of the Aerospace Force," the ministry said.

MOSCOW, November 6. /TASS/: The prospects for the onset of political certainty in the United States, including the victory of Joe Biden, as well as the monetary stimuli of world central banks push up the assets of new markets, and after that - the securities and currency of the Russian Federation. According to experts interviewed by TASS, the recovery of the domestic market should continue next week - the MOEX index may reach 3,000 points, and the ruble will strengthen to 76 rubles per dollar.

MOSCOW, November 6. /TASS/: An upward trend in new coronavirus infections is currently forecasted in Russia which requires additional measures, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Friday, stressing that the restrictions do not imply a lockdown.