Europe

GENEVA (AP) — The rival sides in Libya’s conflict signed a permanent cease-fire Friday, a deal the United Nations billed as historic after years of fighting that has split the North African country in two. But skepticism over whether the agreement would hold began emerging almost immediately.

The breakthrough, which among other things orders foreign mercenaries out of the country, sets the stage for political talks in November to find a lasting solution to the chaos unleashed after a 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

KAZAN, October 23. /TASS/: Russia is facing open censorship from US IT giants daily, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said Friday speaking at the Fifth BRICS Young Diplomats Forum.

MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/: The number of PCR tests for the presence of the coronavirus conducted in Moscow has surpassed 10 mln, as many as 90,000 tests of this type are conducted in the city daily, Deputy Moscow Mayor Anastasia Rakova told journalists on Friday.

MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/: More than 46,000 people in Moscow have been fined for not wearing face masks since September 1, chief of Moscow’s Main Control Department, Yevgeny Danchikov, said on Friday.

"Inspections are first of all held at big shopping centers, offices, cinemas, theaters and sports and concert facilities. Since September 1, more than 46,000 people have been brought to administrative liability. It means that some people are dodging obligatory use of face masks and gloves," he said.

MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin is doing everything possible to facilitate a political solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Channel One’s Great Game show.

MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/: The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has eliminated two extremist cells in Karachay-Cherkessia and Dagestan, the FSB Public Relations Center informed TASS on Friday.

"The Federal Security Service in Malokarachayevsky District of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic and in the cities of Makhachkala, Kaspiysk and Izberbash in the Republic of Dagestan foiled the activities of two cells of the At Takfir wal-Hijra international extremist religious organization (outlawed in Russia) with a total number of more than 20 people," it said.

MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/: Russia’s coronavirus cases grew by 17,340 in the past 24 hours, this is the highest number since the start of the pandemic. A total of 1,480,646 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 throughout the country, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Friday.

According to TASS calculations, the number of infected individuals in Russia has exceeded 1% of the population.

ROME (Reuters) - Italy is considering extending beyond the current year-end deadline the special powers it has to block attempts by European suitors to acquire Italian companies in strategic sectors, including banks and insurers, government sources said.

The government in April strengthened existing anti-takeover powers in the financial, credit, insurance, energy, defence, telecommunications, transport, water, health, semiconductors and cybersecurity industries.

BERLIN (Reuters) - The EU supports the idea of free competition but must be vigilant when its security interests are affected, Germany’s economy minister said when asked whether sidelining China’s Huawei on the 5G mobile network expansion could lead to a competitive disadvantage.

He is not against Huawei, said Peter Altmaier after a video conference of European Union competition ministers on Friday. However, strong European actors were needed in this segment, he added.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and the European Union have made good progress in talks on a last-minute trade deal that would stave off a tumultuous finale to the five-year-old Brexit crisis, but fish is the biggest sticking point.

The United Kingdom left the EU in January but the two sides are trying to clinch a deal that would govern nearly a trillion dollars in annual trade before informal membership - known as the transition period - ends on Dec. 31.