Europe

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/: Russian scientists have developed five vaccine prototypes against the novel coronavirus but they are still at the initial stage of research, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said on Wednesday.

"Five vaccine prototypes have been developed but the work is at the initial stage. I would like to add that colleagues are working assiduously on that and when we have more concrete results we will tell about them," she said.

KAZAN, February 26. /TASS/: The Kazan Helicopter Plant (part of the Russian Helicopters Group) is ready to produce no less than 12 Mi-38 multi-purpose helicopters a year, Group CEO Andrei Boginsky said on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/: Moscow will provide the necessary assistance to Poland’s delegation that plans to visit Smolensk and Katyn in early April, a Russian Foreign Ministry official told TASS on Wednesday.

"Russia will provide the necessary assistance to the Polish delegation to facilitate its visit to Smolensk and Katyn on April 10," the official said.

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/: Donbass will never be part of Ukraine again because Kiev does not deserve it, former Russian Presidential Aide Vladislav Surkov said in an interview with Head of the Center for Current Politics Alexei Chesnankov, published in the "Aktualniye Kommentarii" (or Relevant Comments) online newspaper.

"I can’t imagine it happening, my imagination is just not strong enough. Donbass does not deserve this kind of humiliation. And Ukraine does not deserve such an honor," Surkov replied to a question.

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for a tough response to arbitrary actions and falsification by law enforcement officers.

"[It is essential] to pay particular attention to maintaining law by inquiry and preliminary investigation bodies," he said at a meeting of the Russian Interior Ministry’s board. "I demand a tough response to any instances of arbitrariness, falsification and forgery, which are a criminal offense in themselves. It is necessary to foil such activities and get rid of those employees who break the law."

KALININGRAD, February 26. /TASS/: The Baltic Fleet’s naval task force comprising the guard ship Yaroslav Mudry, the tanker Yelnya and the sea tug Viktor Konetsky practiced repelling a terrorist attack during its deployment to the Indian Ocean, the Fleet’s press office reported on Wednesday.

"The anti-terror squad participating in the long-distance deployment has held a training exercise to repel a notional terrorist group’s attack on the naval group," the press office said in a statement.

26 February 2020; AFP: Two US students appeared in an Italian court on Wednesday on the first day of their trial over the fatal stabbing last year of a policeman during a botched drugs bust.

Finnegan Lee Elder and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth are charged with killing newlywed Mario Cerciello Rega, 35, who was stabbed 11 times last July.

The Californians, who had been on holiday in Rome and were teenagers at the time, face life sentences if convicted.

26 Feb 2020; MEMO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday rejected calls to stop the Russia-backed Syrian regime’s offensive on Idlib, northwestern Syria, saying a ceasefire would amount to giving in to terrorists.

He told the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva that a halt in the offensive “is capitulating before terrorists and even a reward for their activities in violation of international treaties and numerous UN Security Council resolutions.”

26 Feb 2020; MEMO: British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has revealed that two Saudi diplomats have been thrown out of Britain for drink-driving. The unnamed pair were expelled from the Saudi diplomatic mission after committing three offences, according to Sky News. One of them faced two allegations of driving under the influence of alcohol from 2018, whilst the other was accused of driving under the influence of alcohol and dangerous driving.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will likely secure only temporary access to the European Union financial market under a broader trade deal in which finance may take a back seat to sectors such as fishing, financial industry officials said on Wednesday.

Britain and the EU start talks next week on a trade deal that would come into effect next January after the “standstill” transition period that followed Brexit last month expires.