Europe

SKOPJE, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) ---- Tens of thousands of citizens responded to the call of the government and joined the clean-up campaign on Saturday in Skopje and several other cities in North Macedonia.

The campaign was led by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, members of his government and other officials. Zaev said that this campaign is important and should be an incentive for raising the eco--consciousness of the citizens.

LJUBLJANA, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Saturday that the China-U.S. deal on the text of a phase-one economic and trade agreement serves as bullish news for both countries and the rest of the world.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Miro Cerar, Wang said China has, as always, been opposed to settling economic and trade disputes by imposing tariffs as there is no winner in a trade war.

MADRID (AP) — U.N. climate talks in Madrid dragged into a second day of extra time Sunday, with officials from almost 200 countries unable to break the deadlock on key points of difference.

The chair of the meeting, Chilean Environment Minister Carolina Schmidt, told weary delegates to examine new agreements drafted by her team and meet at 1:30 a.m. (0030 GMT) for further talks.

“This has been very tough, very long,” she said as the talks entered their 14th day. Still, Schmidt said some progress had been made, adding that “things are coming together.”

KIEV, December 13. /TASS/: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has submitted to the Verkhovna Rada (national parliament) draft amendments to the country’s constitution on the decentralization of power.

The document was registered by the Verkhovna Rada on Friday. The text of the bill is not available on the parliament’s website.

KIEV, December 14. /TASS/: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadim Pristayko said that the country’s constitution will be amended for decentralization on the entire territory of Ukraine.

"Ukraine remains committed to the [Minsk] agreements. We go ahead with constitutional amendments that envisage decentralization all over Ukraine," he said.

MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. Russia’s Android Technology Company and Japan’s GITAI startup plan to create a robot to operate on the lunar surface, the Russian company’s executive director, Yevgeny Dudorov, told TASS.

"Colleagues from Japan are thinking in approximately the same direction as we do, eyeing step-by-step design of robotic systems to explore the near and far space. We both identify the Moon - or, in other words, robotic systems that could function and perform tasks on the Moon surface - as our primary target," he said.

KIEV, December 14. /TASS/: Kiev’s Pechersky District Court ruled to place in custody for two months Yulia Kuzmenko, a suspect in the high-profile murder of journalist Pavel Sheremet, Judge Sergei Vovk said.

"Custody until February 8 shall be applied," the judge said on Friday.

Earlier in the day, the court ordered a suspected accomplice in the assassination, Yana Dugar, to be placed under house arrest. Both Kuzmenko and Dugar were participants in the military operation in Donbass.

MOSCOW/MINSK, December 14. /TASS/: Prime ministers of Russia and Belarus, Dmitry Medvedev and Sergei Rumas, have discussed the issues of bilateral cooperation in the integration field as well as trade and economic area, including a number of issues related to the energy dialogue, in a telephone conversation initiated by Minsk, press service of Russia’s cabinet of ministers said in a statement on Saturday.

14 December 2019; AFP: London stocks and the British pound jumped Friday after an election triumph for Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson that analysts said will bring clarity to Brexit proceedings and unlock stronger economic growth.

Other European stock markets -- although lagging buoyant London, which rose over two percent at one point -- also powered ahead, supported by confirmation of a partial trade deal between the United States and China.

BOGOTA (Colombia), Dec 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — UNESCO on Friday withdrew an annual carnival in the Belgian city of Aalst from its heritage list over persistent charges of anti-Semitism.

In an unprecedented move, UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage said it was withdrawing the carnival “over recurring repetition of racist and anti-Semitic representations” at the event.