Europe

ROME, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Italy's government is considering new measures to avoid a surge in COVID-19 infections during the holiday period, local newspapers reported on Sunday, amid worries over the spread of the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant.

After holding a meeting with ministers on Dec. 23, Prime Minister Mario Draghi could impose an obligation on the vaccinated to show a negative test to access crowded places, including discos and stadiums, daily Corriere della Sera reported.

VIENNA (AP) — Germany is tightening travel restrictions for people coming from Britain in response to the rapid spread of the omicron variant there.

The country’s national disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute, added Britain to its list of “virus variant areas” late Saturday. This means anyone traveling from the U.K. to Germany must enter a mandatory quarantine for 14 days, regardless of vaccination status.

KIEV, December 18. /TASS/: Ex-Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko left Ukraine on Friday for Turkey and Poland after Ukraine’s National Bureau of Investigation attempted to hand him a summons in order to present charges on coal deliveries from the part of Donbass not controlled by Kiev. This information that earlier appeared in Ukrainian media outlets was confirmed by Poroshenko’s European Solidarity party.

KIROV, December 18. /TASS/: The Chumakov Federal Scientific Center for Research and Development of Immune and Biological Products of the Russian Academy of Sciences has received about 150 requests for deliveries of the CoviVac vaccine against coronavirus, the Center’s Director Aydar Ishmukhametov said after the official launch of the vaccine’s production at the Nanolek factory in the Kirov Region.

MOSCOW, December 18. /TASS/: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia increased by 27,434 per day to 10,186,823, the federal operational headquarters for the fight against coronavirus told reporters on Saturday.

Thus, seven days in a row Russia reported less than 30,000 cases.

In relative terms, the increase in the number of cases was 0.27%.

In particular, 2,283 new cases were detected in Moscow per day, in St. Petersburg - 1,997, in the Moscow region - 1,683, in the Krasnodar region - 749, in Krasnoyarsk - 655, in Perm - 642.

LONDON, December 18. /TASS/: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan on Saturday said he declared a "major incident" in the city due to a surge of Omicron cases.

"I have taken the decision, along with our partners, to declare a major incident," the mayor said on Sky News television.

He said hospital admissions and staff absences were going up "by massive levels" and Omicron was the dominant variant. Still, he didn’t announce any new measures.

Last time a major incident was declared was on January 8 amid the spread of the coronavirus’s Alfa variant.

MADRID, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Spain's coronavirus infection rate rose above 500 cases per 100,000 people on Friday, crossing over the threshold considered "very high risk" by the Health Ministry and more than doubling since the start of December.

On Friday the infection rate, or incidence, as measured over the preceding 14 days, was 511 cases per 100,000, up 38 points on Thursday's 473. There were 33,359 new infections and 41 deaths according to Health Ministry data.

VATICAN CITY, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Cardinal Peter Turkson, seen by some as a candidate to become the first African pope in about 1,500 years, has abruptly offered his resignation from a key Vatican department, sources familiar with the matter said on Saturday.

Turkson, 73, from Ghana, has been a key adviser to Pope Francis on issues such as climate change and social justice, and is the only African to head a Vatican department.

According to the Vatican sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the pope has yet to decide whether to accept the resignation.

LONDON, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Living in U.S. counties with high poverty rates might face a higher risk of firearm-related deaths among children and young adults, according to a study carried by Britain's News Medical website.

"Notably, children and young adults living in these counties accounted for 22 percent of all firearm deaths, 25.5 percent of firearm homicides, 15.3 percent of firearm suicides, and 25.1 percent unintentional firearm deaths in the U.S. during this period," said the study originally published in the U.S. medical journal JAMA Pediatrics.

MINSK, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus declares the futility of sanctions threats and calls on the European Union (EU) to "stop generating tension" in the region, press secretary Anatoly Glaz said on Friday, commenting on the results of the summit of EU member states.

According to Glaz, the rhetoric of aggression is becoming dominant in the EU. However, threats do not contribute to the solution of any problems, but only exacerbate the situation. Belarus is ready to give an adequate response to any sanctions and destructive steps.