Europe

MOSCOW, October 9. /TASS/: An increase in the number of coronavirus cases in Russia may require additional decisions by the government’s crisis center and regional authorities, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday. He did not specify though what steps could be taken.

"If the situation continues to deteriorate and the number of infected people continues to grow, of course, that will be an issue for consideration by the government’s crisis center and at the regional level. This will require some actions, some decisions, but which ones, I cannot say," he noted.

BRUSSELS, Oct 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — NATO insisted Thursday that its members would consult and decide together on when to leave Afghanistan, after US President Donald Trump vowed to bring American troops home by Christmas.

Trump, trailing in polls ahead of the Nov 3 presidential election, made his surprise announcement on Twitter on Wednesday, dramatically speeding up the timeline for ending America’s longest war.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday said it was necessary to hold elections of the all-Belarusian people’s assembly, as part of plans to amend the country’s constitution, the state-run Belta news agency reported.

Belarus has seen two months of protests since a contested Aug. 9 election, in which Lukashenko claimed a landslide victory. His opponents say it was rigged to hand him a sixth term in power.

LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier wants a few more concessions from Britain before entering the last intense phase of negotiations on a trade deal, an EU diplomat said on Friday, as an Oct. 15 deadline looms.

The United Kingdom formally left the EU on Jan. 31, but more than fours years since voting 52%-48% for Brexit in a 2016 referendum, the two sides are haggling over a trade deal that would kick in when informal membership ends on Dec. 31.

OSLO/GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its efforts to combat hunger around the world and improve conditions for peace in areas affected by conflict.

The Rome-based organisation says it helps some 97 million people in about 88 countries each year, and that one in nine people worldwide still do not have enough to eat.

09 Oct 2020; MEMO: Turkish official media reported that the foreign ministers of Turkey and Greece met on Thursday for the first time since tensions erupted between the two member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), over the eastern Mediterranean’s energy rights and maritime borders demarcation.

OSLO (AP) — The winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Friday at 11 a.m. (0900 GMT) in Oslo, with no shortage of causes or candidates on this year’s list.

While the Norwegian Nobel Committee maintains absolute secrecy about whom it favors for arguably the world’s most prestigious prize, that has never stopped speculation ahead of the announcement.

MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/: Russia is not planning to meddle in the US presidential election and wants it to be held in line with the law and confrontation in the US society to decrease, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Head Sergei Naryshkin told TASS on Thursday.

MOSCOW, October 8. / TASS /: The Russian government is closely monitoring the situation on the concessional mortgage lending market and will work to prevent the appearance of the so-called mortgage bubbles, Russian Presidential Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov commented on the statement by Russia's Central Bank on Thursday.

"There is no doubt that the government is monitoring this very closely," Peskov said, answering a question about whether there are any fears in the presidential administration that mortgage benefits could overheat this market.

SEVASTOPOL, October 8. /TASS/: The Russian and Egyptian navies will hold joint drills in the Black Sea until the end of this year, the Black Sea Fleet’s press office reported on Thursday.