Europe

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The head of the European Central Bank warned that high oil and gas prices are hitting consumers in the 19 countries that use the euro harder than in other major economies and underlined that the bank won’t add to the squeeze by raising interest rates anytime soon.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union was awaiting a firm counterproposal from the United Kingdom on Friday to ease a standoff over how to deal with Britain’s departure from the bloc.

Both sides are fighting over differences in how to regulate trade in Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K. but also belongs to the EU’s huge single market in a Byzantine deal that proved essential in the Brexit divorce negotiations.

LONDON (AP) — The British government said Friday that it intends to ban the Palestinian militant group Hamas as a terrorist organization.

The military wing of Hamas has been outlawed in the U.K. since 2001 but the organization as a whole is not proscribed.

Home Secretary Priti Patel, who is in charge of law and order issues, said on Twitter that she had “acted to proscribe Hamas in its entirety.”

She said the group “has significant terrorist capability, including access to extensive and sophisticated weaponry, as well as terrorist training facilities.”

VIENNA (AP) — Austria will go into a national lockdown to contain a fourth wave of coronavirus cases, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced Friday, as new COVID-19 infections hit a record high amid a pandemic surge across Europe.

The lockdown will start Monday and initially will last for 10 days, Schallenberg said.

And starting Feb. 1, the country will also make vaccinations mandatory.

18 Nov 2021; MEMO: The trial of two search and rescue volunteers opened in Greece today, with the pair facing up to 25 years in jail. Amnesty International has described the proceedings as "farcical". The two are among a total of 24 aid workers facing similar charges in the trial.

Moscow, Nov 18 (AP) Coronavirus deaths in Russia hit record highs for the second straight day Thursday, while new daily cases appeared to be taking a downward trend but still remained higher than during previous waves of the pandemic.

Russia's state coronavirus task force reported that 1,251 people died of COVID-19 since the day before, the most since Russia had its first virus outbreak in March 2020. The previous record of 1,247 deaths was recorded Wednesday.

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/: Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the successful test-launch of a Tsirkon hypersonic missile in the White Sea, the Defense Ministry announced on Thursday.

"Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin that a Tsirkon hypersonic missile was successfully test-fired in the White Sea from the frigate Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov," the statement says.

MINSK, November 18. /TASS/: The Belarusian Defense Ministry said on Thursday the number of flights by NATO reconnaissance and combat aircraft along the country’s border has doubled, including flights over Ukrainian airspace. 

This shows the situation around the country continues to escalate, the ministry said.

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/: A Tsirkon hypersonic missile test-launched from the Northern Fleet’s frigate Admiral Gorshkov struck a naval target in the White Sea with a direct hit, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.

"The recording equipment data show that the hypersonic missile’s flight complied with the designated parameters. The target was destroyed by a direct hit," the ministry said.

As Russia’s Defense Ministry specified, the hypersonic missile was test-fired against a sea target position in the White Sea.

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/: Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has referred to speculation about the timing of the possible launch of Nord Stream 2 as a ‘thankless job’.

"Guessing the timing now is a thankless job. And we would not want to do that," he said.

Earlier, Reuters, citing sources in the German government, reported that the suspension of the certification procedure for Nord Stream 2 AG by the German regulator could delay the pipeline’s commissioning until March 2022.