Europe

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will not take risky shortcuts when developing a vaccine against COVID-19, Research Minister Anja Karliczek said on Tuesday.

“Even when the world is waiting for a vaccine - we won’t take risky short-cuts here,” Karliczek told a news conference in Berlin

“We will not deviate from this line in Germany or in Europe. And I also believe that all countries should proceed in this way globally.”

She repeated her assertion from July that she does not expect that a vaccine will be broadly available until the middle of 2021.

BRUSSELS, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Top European Union (EU) officials commented positively on their video meeting with Chinese leadership on Monday, which reaffirmed the commitment to maintain common interests and address differences.

The China-Germany-EU leaders' meeting was co-hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen via video link.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday defended his plan to unilaterally rewrite Britain’s divorce deal with the European Union as an insurance policy against the bloc’s unreasonable behavior — even as his former attorney general joined the ranks of once-loyal lawmakers condemning the contentious move.

Johnson said a planned law designed to override portions of the Brexit withdrawal agreement was needed because the EU might “go to extreme and unreasonable lengths” in its treatment of former member Britain.

KIEV, September 14. /TASS/: The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine takes enhanced security measures at the Belarusian border, the Service announced Monday.

"Reinforcement of this part of the state border is done with involvement of additional reserves, including ‘Dozor’ units and a service dog training center. Border control aviation and drones carry out air monitoring, while SAFE Boat 27 boats patrol the waters at the border," the statement says.

VLADIVOSTOK, September 14. /TASS/: Artillery units in the Eastern Federal District, involved in a military exercise in the Primorye Territory, have held a large-scale live firing practice using long-range self-propelled artillery pieces Giatsint and self-propelled mortars Tulpan.

MOSCOW, September 14. /TASS/: Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) received 1,301 written complaints during this year’s election campaign, CEC chairwoman Ella Pamfilova said on Monday.

"To date, the Central Election Commission has received 1,301 written complaints from various participants in the electoral process. Notably, there were nearly twice as many complaints over the same period last year on the single voting day," she said.

MINSK, September 14. /TASS/: Almost 30 protest activities took place in Belarus on Sunday, the overall number of protesters did not exceed 22,000, Interior Ministry Spokesperson Olga Chemodanova said in a statement on Telegram.

"Twenty-eight protest activities were recorded across the country yesterday, on September 13. The overall number of participants did not exceed 22,000," the statement reads.

According to Chemodanova, "774 people were detained for violating the law on public events." In particular, 500 people were apprehended in the country’s capital of Minsk.

SOCHI, September 14. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Monday arrived in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi where he will hold face-to-face talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the BelTA news agency reported. This is Lukashenko’s first visit abroad after the presidential election that was followed by mass protests.

ATHENS, Sept 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a “robust” arms purchase programme and an overhaul of the country’s military amid tension with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean.

“The time has come to reinforce the armed forces… these initiatives constitute a robust programme that will become a national shield,” the PM said in a keynote address in the northern city of Thessaloniki.

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will try to persuade rebellious lawmakers in his party to vote on Monday for a bill that will break international law by breaching parts of the Brexit divorce deal and which has enraged Brussels.

The House of Commons will debate the Internal Market Bill, which the EU has demanded Johnson scrap by the end of September in the latest brinkmanship of a four-year saga since Britain voted narrowly to leave the bloc.