Europe

MOSCOW, November 16. /TASS/: Russia has offered its assistance to twenty African Union nations in combating the coronavirus pandemic, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday after talks with African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat.

"Naturally, we touched upon the topic of combating the coronavirus pandemic in response to the request of African Union nations. Russia has offered assistance to nearly twenty countries, have supplied vaccines, medicines, and individual protection gear and have sent highly-qualified specialists," he said.

BELGRADE, November 16. /TASS/: Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said during his tour of the armaments exhibition on the occasion of Army Day that he was grateful to Russia for the delivery of military hardware to the republic, in particular, T-72MS tanks.

YEREVAN, November 16. /TASS/: The Armenian authorities are addressing Moscow with a call for protecting the country’s sovereign territory from attacks by Azerbaijani forces, the secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, Armen Grigoryan said on television on Tuesday.

"Since there has been an attack against the sovereign territory of Armenia, under the 1997 treaty we are addressing Russia with a call for protecting the territorial integrity of Armenia. A written request is being prepared," he said.

PARIS, Nov 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Several outbreaks of severe bird flu in Europe and Asia have been reported in recent days to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), in a sign the virus is spreading quickly again.

The spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has put the poultry industry on alert after previous outbreaks led to the culling of tens of millions of birds. Outbreaks also often lead to trade restrictions.

STOCKHOLM, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Swedish Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson has been given more time to try to form a new government, and is hopeful of striking a deal with the Left Party to become the country's first female prime minister.

Andersson is negotiating with the Left Party over support in a potential confirmation vote. Parliament's speaker said in a statement that Andersson now had until Nov. 22.

"The conversations were constructive so in that sense it is worth asking for more time. I think we can reach an agreement," Andersson told a news conference.

LISBON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Tuesday that authorities in one of the world's most vaccinated nations may bring back some measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the run-up to the holiday season as infections soar across Europe.

The number of new cases has been gradually rising over the past month in Portugal, reaching a two-month daily high of 1,816 infections on Saturday.

BRUSSELS, Nov 16 (Reuters) - China will never change its position on Taiwan and will also not shift its view that the European Union must lift its sanctions if a new Sino-EU investment deal is to be ratified, China's ambassador to the EU said on Tuesday.

Despite plans for an EU-China summit by the end of this year, Zhang Ming's comments offered little hope for a diplomatic breakthrough after EU countries such as Lithuania increased contacts with Taiwan this year.

MOSCOW, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Armenia's parliament said on Tuesday that 15 Armenian soldiers had died in clashes on the country's border with Azerbaijan, the Interfax news agency quoted it as saying.

Earlier on Tuesday, Armenia asked Russia to help defend its territorial sovereignty against Azerbaijan and said a heavy border clash between Azeri and Armenian forces was underway.

BRUSSELS, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) have agreed on new sanctions against Belarus over the migrant crisis, the bloc's top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Monday.

Addressing a press conference after the ministers' meeting, he said the new set of sanctions had been "politically adopted" and "will be finalized in the coming days." The sanctions will affect "quite an important number" of individuals and entities, he added.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian officials on Tuesday rejected accusations that they endangered astronauts aboard the International Space Station by conducting a weapons test that created more than 1,500 pieces of space junk.

U.S. officials on Monday accused Russia of destroying an old satellite with a missile in what they called a reckless and irresponsible strike. The debris could do major damage to the space station as it is orbiting at 17,500 mph (28,000 kph).

Astronauts now face four times greater risk than normal, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told The Associated Press.