Europe

MOSCOW, December 11. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has kicked off his campaign for re-election in March 2024; the EU may ban the import of Russian gas; and Moscow plans to deploy dual-use naval assets to freeze NATO out of the Arctic. These stories topped Monday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.

LONDON, December 11. /TASS/: The United Kingdom will supply two Sandown type minehunter ships to Ukraine, the country’s Ministry of Defense said.

"Defense Secretary Grant Shapps will announce the procurement of two Sandown Class mine countermeasures vessels (MCMVs) by Ukraine through UK Export Finance today in London," the ministry informed.

The United Kingdom together with Norway will form a new maritime coalition to comprise countries desirous of providing naval aid to Ukraine, the ministry noted.

MINSK, December 11. /TASS/: The Ukrainian conflict will end with talks with the West, Russian Ambassador at Large for Kiev regime crimes Rodion Miroshnik said on the air with CTV television.

"Negotiations will definitely take places; all the clashes necessarily end with talks. Clearly, negotiations will not be with puppets," the diplomat noted. "The West does not demonstrate the desire to come to terms so far. They do not say so far that they are ready to come to the negotiating table," Miroshnik said.

GENEVA, Dec 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Nations said that it needed $46.4 billion next year to bring life-saving help to around 180 million people in desperate circumstances around the world.

The UN said the global humanitarian outlook for 2024 was “bleak”, with conflicts, climate emergencies and collapsing economies “wreaking havoc” on the most vulnerable.

While global attention focuses on the conflict raging in the Gaza Strip, the UN said the wider Middle East, Sudan and Afghanistan were among the hotspots that also needed major international aid operations.

SION, Switzerland, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Police launched a manhunt after a shooter killed two people and wounded a third in the Swiss Alpine town of Sion early on Monday.

A 36-year-old man fired several shots in two parts of the town, police said.

Initial research suggested he knew his victims, but investigators were still working on establishing his motive, police added.

Officers cordoned off the scene and set up a checkpoint, stopping and searching cars on the main road out of the surrounding southwestern canton of Valais.

LONDON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended Britain's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday, telling an official inquiry he did not recognise the description of a dysfunctional government that bounced from one idea to the next.

The inquiry is examining Britain's response to the pandemic which killed more than 230,000 people in the country. It has heard testimony that the government of then-prime minister Boris Johnson was gripped by infighting and incompetence, and unable to make a decision.

WARSAW, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Poland's Constitutional Tribunal said on Tuesday that penalties imposed by the European Union's top court before it reaches a final ruling, known as interim measures, are not compatible with the Polish constitution, escalating a row over the rule of law.

The ruling comes after the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, which has been embroiled in numerous conflicts with Brussels since coming to power in 2015, lost its majority in parliament in an Oct. 15 election.

LONDON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - The British government will on Monday publish a summary of its legal advice on draft legislation aimed at reviving a policy to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson said.

Sunak is struggling to maintain his authority as politicians on both the left and the right of his Conservative Party who are unhappy with the legislation threaten to vote against it.

PARIS, Dec 11 (Reuters) - French lawmakers will decide on Monday whether to cut short any debate on the government's immigration bill, which would effectively send flagship legislation back to the drawing board.

The immigration bill has been a key plank of President Emmanuel Macron's attempts to show he can be tougher on law and order issues while keeping France's doors open to foreign workers who can help the French economy.

MOSCOW, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov demanded the release of hostages held in Gaza in telephone calls on Sunday and Monday with Hamas and other Palestinian factions, the Russian foreign ministry said.

The statement followed a series of meetings and calls between President Vladimir Putin and Middle East leaders in the past week.