Новости за 22.12.2020

French and other EU citizens will once again be allowed to enter France from Britain beginning at midnight if they have a negative Covid-19 test that is less than 72 hours old, the French prime minister's office said on Tuesday.

Moscow is expanding the list of European officials barred from entering Russia in response to the European Union’s sanctions over the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday.

He's been gone six decades but after 2020, it feels like French literary great Albert Camus matters more than ever. The year began with tributes for the 60th anniversary of the French existentialist icon's premature death in a car crash. Then came Covid-19. And readers locked down the world over dusted off that go-to guide, “The Plague”, to make sense of the randomly unexpected. We ask our panel about the re-reading of a novel set in Camus's native Algeria in the wake of World War II. But it's not just "The Plague" that is timeless.

People who fail to get a Covid-19 vaccination could be banned from using public transport in France, according to a draft law sparking angry protests from opposition politicians on Tuesday.

Police in Seattle on December 20 broke up a football match of individuals dressed in the “black bloc” style favoured by supporters of the Antifa protest movement. After asking them to leave the park – which has been closed since late June following Black Lives Matter protests – police used mace and pushed people to the ground, arresting seven. Videos and photos of the event have spread online, with many users alleging that the police targeted this group as protesters and Antifa members, while ignoring others in the park.

Thousands of people took to the Armenian capital's streets again Tuesday, demanding the prime minister's resignation over his handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan.

Pope Francis will deliver his Christmas Day message indoors due to coronavirus restrictions, the Vatican said Tuesday, as two cardinals close to the pontiff tested positive for Covid-19. The pope traditionally gives his "Urbi and Orbi" (To the City and The World) message from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica on December 25. But this year Italy has imposed tough new restrictions over the Christmas and New Year period to stem the spread of coronavirus. As a result, the Vatican said: "Pope Francis... Читать дальше...

Jose Mourinho says he and his Tottenham Hotspur players will not take second-tier Stoke for granted when they clash in Wednesday's League Cup quarter-final. The Portuguese boss is keen to succeed where several of his predecessors have fallen short in delivering silverware to the club for the first time since the 2008 League Cup. However, he says the gap between the Premier League and the Championship is narrower than it was and seventh-placed Stoke will be a tricky opponent to beat. "Everybody... Читать дальше...

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says the Manchester United players are desperate to "learn how to win" and lift a trophy this season after three semi-final appearances last term. The 47-year-old Norwegian takes United to another in-form side Everton on Wednesday for a League Cup quarter-final clash. United go to Everton on the back of six Premier League wins in seven games following Sunday's 6-2 thumping of Leeds. However, whilst their recent run has led to the abating of cries for Solskjaer to be replaced... Читать дальше...

The European Union recommended Tuesday that all 27 member countries should discourage all nonessential travel to and from the United Kingdom until further notice.

Britain's world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has made a substantial donation to boxing gyms as the 2012 Olympic gold medallist fears many may go out of business due to the coronavirus pandemic. Numerous amateur gyms have been forced to shut temporarily through the lockdown and Joshua is concerned that many amateur boxers will have to hang up their gloves if some were to close permanently. Joshua is the latest high-profile boxing personality to voice his fears following that of his promoter... Читать дальше...

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday voiced regret over a stalemate in maritime border talks between Israel and Lebanon and offered Washington's meditation. The two nations which remain technically at war opened negotiations in October after quiet US diplomacy, seeking to clear the way for offshore oil and gas exploration sought by both. "Regrettably, despite goodwill on both sides, the parties remain far apart," said Pompeo, who has one month left in office after President Donald Trump's electoral defeat. Читать дальше...

Two women doctors working at an Afghan prison with hundreds of Taliban inmates were among five people killed Tuesday in a bomb attack, officials said, in the latest of several targeted killings in Kabul. Deadly violence has rocked Kabul and several provinces across the country in recent months, despite the Taliban and the government engaging in peace talks. Tuesday's blast happened in the south of the capital as the doctors were on their way to Pul-e-Charkhi prison when a bomb attached to their car exploded... Читать дальше...

Taline PAPAZIAN, Lecturer, University of Aix Marseille

Spain's Senate is poised to approve Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's budget for 2021 later Tuesday, boosting his minority Socialist-led government after years of political instability. The spending plan, which channels billions of euros in European Union pandemic recovery funds into the economy, was approved by the lower house on December 3. Barring a last-minute surprise, the Senate is expected to give final approval for the fiscal programme as lawmakers have already signalled their support in recent weeks. Читать дальше...

The first direct commercial flight between Israel and Morocco has taken off since the two countries normalised relations earlier this month. Israeli and American delegations were onboard the flight, which is expected to boost business links in the region.

President Emmanuel Macron's health situation remains stable after contracting Covid-19 last week, the Élysée Palace said.

Russia said Tuesday it was hitting EU officials with sanctions for their response to the poisoning of opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who the Kremlin said was suffering from "delusions of persecution". The foreign ministry in Moscow summoned several senior EU diplomats before announcing the new travel bans. In response to "confrontational" sanctions imposed by the bloc in October, Russia "decided to expand the list of representatives of EU member states and institutions who will be denied entry... Читать дальше...

UN investigators into violence in Mali have told the Security Council of evidence that security forces committed war crimes, while jihadists and other armed groups perpetrated crimes against humanity.

Two people smugglers were found guilty on Monday of the manslaughter of 39 Vietnamese men, women and children who suffocated to death in the back of a refrigerated truck in October last year as they tried to make their way to Britain.

France and its EU neighbours are scrambling to thrash out a coordinated plan in response to a new strain of Covid-19 that has blocked trade and air travel to the UK and left hundreds of freight trucks banked up outside the border with France. FRANCE 24’s Hervé Amoric reports from Dover.

Sexual assault and harassment allegations have shaken Turkey's literary world, creating a rare #MeToo moment as women break taboos and speak out in the still largely patriarchal country. The online testimonials have led to the suicide of one author who was singled out after allegedly sending a series of lewd text messages to younger women. But while born in social media anonymity, the movement has since been joined by well-known voices, marking the first time women have dared to come forward against... Читать дальше...

Coal-dependent EU member Poland aims to shut its last mine by the bloc's 2050 target, but experts warn the move to go green comes late and faces many hurdles. Despite three decades of successful market reforms and strong growth since its transition from communism to democracy, Poland still relies on coal for around 80 percent of its power. Its massive Belchatow brown coal-fired power station is the European Union's "single largest greenhouse gas emitter", according to the EU and several global environmental associations. Читать дальше...

Liu Jun has long been a fan of a Chinese star called Amy, a teenage pop singer with red hair whose autograph he treasures -- and who only exists in the digital world. On Saturday "Amy" won a breakthrough virtual talent show in China, where computer-generated entertainers perform in front of real-life judges and tens of millions of online viewers. "You can't see what they are like in real life, so you can have more fantasies about them," said 28-year-old Liu, who has attended more than ten of Amy's concerts and fan events in recent years. Читать дальше...

Sydney has seen a two-day dip in coronavirus cases after Australian authorities imposed a snap lockdown and residents flocked to testing centres in record numbers, but officials have cautioned the outbreak is still "evolving". A Covid-19 cluster on Sydney's northern beaches has grown to 90 cases since emerging last week, sending the area's picturesque seaside suburbs into a lockdown. Despite record testing, eight new coronavirus cases were confirmed Tuesday after 15 cases the previous day -- raising... Читать дальше...