Europe

24 Dec 2021; MEMO: Four asylum seekers who crossed the English Channel to the UK in small boats have managed to have their conviction for immigration offences revoked, with the UK's Court of Appeal acknowledging a lack of proof that they intended to illegally enter the country.

24 Dec 2021; MEMO: A member of Finland's parliament has introduced a proposed legislation which seeks to ban the import of goods originating from territories under Israeli occupation.

MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/: Encircling Russia is a difficult task but new foreign military bases are appearing all around it, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during an annual press conference aired live from Moscow’s Manage Hall on Thursday.

"Bases all around - this is true. New weapon systems are also being deployed in the east, in the south, in the north and at sea and, all the more so, in the west. But encircling such a territory as ours is a difficult task. Although modern capabilities, perhaps, allow thinking about that," Putin said.

KIEV, December 23. /TASS/: Ukraine’s Supreme Court has summoned President Vladimir Zelensky in a lawsuit lodged against him by former President Pyotr Poroshenko.

The lawsuit urges the authorities to disclose wiretap recordings of phone conversations allegedly held by Viktor Medvedchuk, leader of the Ukrainian political party Opposition Platform - For Life, with Russian officials and representatives of the Donbass areas, which are not under Kiev’s control.

MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/: The Mir-19 anti-coronavirus medicine is recommended for use by people aged from 18 to 65, according to the medicine’s instruction for the use

"Indications for use: treatment of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in adults aged from 18 to 65," it reads.

MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/: Russia’s Kosmos-2519 military satellite, which previously operated with an inspector spacecraft, has burned in the atmosphere, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) data, published Thursday.

According to NORAD, the satellite decayed from orbit and no longer exists.

The Kosmos-2519 satellite was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on June 23, 2017. The satellite is a space platform that can carry various payloads. This spacecraft carried remote Earth sensing and space object filming equipment.

MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/: It is Western countries that must give Russia security guarantees immediately and not the other way round, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his annual press conference on Thursday, explaining the substance of Moscow’s proposals to NATO.

NATO must halt its further expansion to the East, primarily into Ukraine. The West is putting Ukraine into the center of global security with its efforts, the Russian leader said.

TASS looks at Putin’s key statements on Moscow’s relations with the West and its interaction with Ukraine.

MADRID, Dec 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Spain is to impose the mandatory wearing of face masks outdoors and step up booster COVID-19 vaccination, the country’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, announced yesterday.

The measures were announced following a virtual meeting with Spain’s regional leaders.

“One measure with very broad consensus among all the regional presidents … is the mandatory use of face masks outdoors,” Sanchez told the press, after the meeting.

MOSCOW, Dec 23 (NNN-TASS) – Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, said yesterday that, Moscow hopes that its proposals on security guarantees will be taken seriously by NATO and the United States.

“We will do everything to make sure we are understood, considering the actions we are currently taking, to ensure our defence capability, I hope that we will be taken seriously,” Lavrov said, during an interview.

LISBON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Portugal on Tuesday ordered nightclubs and bars to close and told people to work from home for at least two weeks starting on Saturday to control the spread of COVID-19 over the holiday period.

"This still isn't the normal Christmas we are used to," Prime Minister Antonio Costa told a news conference. "If we do not adopt these measures now, the consequences on everyone's lives will be much worse after Christmas and the New Year."