Portugal has detected the first two cases of the Brazilian variant of the coronavirus, which experts say could be much more contagious or easy to catch, the SIC broadcaster reported

ENOA, Italy, December 22 (Sputnik), Anastasia Levchenko - Parliamentary diplomacy is the best tool in confirming that Italy remains Russia's key interlocutor within the European Union, and parliamentary diplomacy is the best way to confirm it, Vito Petrocelli, the president of the Italian Senate's Foreign Affairs Commission, told Sputnik in an interview

With slightly over a day left before the crucial EU summit, Hungary and Poland still refuse to budge and green-light the seven-year budget and the COVID-19 recovery plan, triggering speculation on whether the bloc will resort to a last-minute compromise or remain steadfast in defending the contentious rule-of-law clause

An expert panel of former European Commission directors warned the EU's executive body on Monday that chasing the Holy Grail of achieving zero-carbon emissions by storing renewable energy in green hydrogen made no economic sense