European stock markets closed higher on Monday to rebound from their losses posted last week.

The STOXX Europe 600, which includes around 90% of the market capitalization of the European market in 17 countries, rose 5.94 points, or 1.28%, to close at 468.71. It fell 0.27% last week.

London's FTSE 100 increased almost 110 points, or 1.54%, to end the day at 7,232. It rose 1.11% during last week.

Germany's DAX 30 gained 210, or 1.39%, to 15,380 points, recovering from a weekly loss of 0.57%.

France's CAC 40 rose 100 points, or 1.48%, to 6,865 after it increased 0.38% last week.

Italy's FTSE MIB 30 jumped almost 560 points, or 2.16%, to end the day at 26,498 after it had a gain of 0.33% last week.

Spain's IBEX 35 was the best performer of the day by soaring 198 points, or 2.4%, to close at 8,439. The index declined 1.91% last week./aa

The EU drug authority said in a statement on Monday that it recommended the use of an anti-inflammatory arthritis drug for severe COVID-19 patients since it reduces the risk of death.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) human medicines committee “has recommended extending the indication of RoActemra to include the treatment of adults with COVID-19 who are receiving systemic treatment with corticosteroids and require supplemental oxygen or mechanical ventilation,” the regulator announced in a press statement.

The drug has already been used to treat patients with various forms of arthritis who suffer from inflammation.

RoActemra reduced the risk of death with patients who required extra oxygen or ventilation and their blood results indicated inflammation, the EMA explained, referring to a study involving over 4,000 hospitalized adult patients.

According to the study, 31% of the people cured together with RoActemra and standard treatment died within 28 days compared to 37% of those who only received standard treatment.

In addition, 57% of people from the first group were able to leave the hospital within 28 days compared to 50% from the second one.

Following the EMA recommendation, the European Commission will extend the medicine’s marketing license, which is owned by Swiss pharma company Roche./aa

Thousands of workers in Belgium's capital took to the streets on Monday to protest inflation and a law limiting wage raises.

Workers from across the country gathered in front of Northern Train Station in Brussels and marched to the Central Station.

The demonstrators, donning green and red hats, masks, and coats, marched on the wide streets gridlocked with pennants of their unions, protesting the 1996 law that prevents workers' wages from increasing by more than a certain percentage.

Since the law, known as the "96 law," sets the maximum rate of increase as 0.4%, employers cannot increase wages above this limit.

The protesters say this rate is insufficient, particularly amid price rises brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Thousands of workers marched with banners that read, "Everything is going up, except our wages," "Definitely change the law," and "Union resistance."

Rising energy prices

Werner van Heetvelde, a trade union member, told Anadolu Agency that one of the biggest problems was the sharp increase in energy prices that has made many commodities unaffordable for many people.

He noted that another reason for the protest was that the government made it impossible for unions to negotiate with employers and that union employees who organized the previous demonstration were punished. "We are here for our right to protest."

Stephanie Bouchat, another demonstrator, said the government's stance has not changed since the last protest.

She emphasized that everything has become more expensive, particularly fuel, but the government does not adjust wages in step with inflation. "Employers agree to give employees a raise. The law, however, prevents this," she argued.

Natural gas and electricity prices have been rising significantly throughout Europe, particularly since the fall. Many consumers faced with high bills through the winter months are particularly distressed.

On Sept. 24, the unions conducted a march with the same demands, drawing thousands to the streets.

Annual inflation in the eurozone reached 4.9% in November, the highest in the last 25 years.

In November, inflation in Germany jumped to 6%, 5.6% in Spain, and 7.1% in Belgium./agencies

At least 48 people were killed in tribal clashes in Sudan’s West Darfur state on Monday, according to local medics.

In a statement, the independent Sudan Doctors Committee said scores were injured in the violence in Geneina, the capital of West Darfur.

Sudanese authorities have not released any death toll from the clashes.

Several areas in Darfur witness sporadic deadly clashes between Arab and African tribes, as part of conflicts over land, resources, and grazing paths./aa

Euro banknotes are set for a new look in 2024, the first such redesign in over two decades, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced Monday.

According to a bank statement, a theme advisory group with one expert from each euro area country will submit a shortlist of new themes to the governing council.

“Euro banknotes are here to stay. They are a tangible and visible symbol that we stand together in Europe, particularly in times of crisis, and there is still a strong demand for them,” said ECB President Christine Lagarde.

The current euro banknote designs are based on an “ages and styles” theme, represented by windows, doorways, and bridges.

The look of the banknotes will be reviewed to make them more relatable to Europeans of all ages and backgrounds, Lagarde said./aa

Nepal on Monday reported the first two cases of omicron variant of coronavirus in the Himalayan country.

The Health Ministry said in a statement that a 66-year-old foreign national who arrived by air on Nov. 19 and a 71-year-old person who was in contact with the tourist tested positive for the omicron variant, daily Kathmandu Post reported.

Both people are being quarantined under the supervision of a medical team.

Tests of 66 people, who had contact with the two confirmed cases, turned negative, authorities said.

Nepal has recorded over 918,000 virus-related cases to date, with the nationwide death toll standing at 11,541.

Only 28.6% of the country’s population have been fully vaccinated.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Nov. 26 declared the new strain “a variant of concern,” and named it omicron.

The WHO warned that the novel variant has a large number of mutations, some of which provoke concern as they may affect the effectiveness of vaccines.

South African scientists on Nov. 24 announced that they had discovered the variant, which has several mutations. Cases of the variant have since been found in a number of countries worldwide./aa

The United Nations human rights chief on Monday denounced the conviction and sentencing of Myanmar's deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi to four years in prison and called for her release.

"The conviction of the State Counsellor following a sham trial in secretive proceedings before a military-controlled court is nothing but politically motivated," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement issued by her Geneva office.

"It is not only about arbitrary denial of her freedom – it closes yet another door to political dialogue."

On Monday, a military court in Myanmar convicted Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, sentencing her to four years in prison on charges of violating COVID-19 restrictions and incitement.

In staging the Feb. 1 coup, the Myanmar military arrested Suu Kyi, ousted President Win Myint, and numerous members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

Since then, the Tatmadaw have arbitrarily detained more than 10,000 of their opponents, the rights office said.

At least 175 people – including many NLD members – reported to have died in custody, most likely due to ill-treatment or torture, it added.

"The military is attempting to instrumentalize the courts to remove all political opposition," Bachelet said. "But these cases cannot provide a legal veneer to the illegitimacy of the coup and military rule."

She called for the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained.

More charges

"This verdict against Aung San Suu Kyi will only deepen rejection of the coup," the UN rights chief stated.

"It will harden positions when what is needed is dialogue and a peaceful, political settlement of this crisis."

Suu Kyi, 76, still faces charges of corruption and electoral fraud.

On Nov. 10, Than Naing, former planning minister of Kayin state, was sentenced to 90 years, and Nan Khin Htwe Myint, former chief minister of the state, to 75 years of imprisonment on corruption charges.

Bachelet also strongly condemned the "vicious, utterly reprehensible" attack reported Sunday in the Kyimyindaing township in Yangon, where security forces used a truck to ram into unarmed protesters and then fired upon the group using live ammunition.

The high commissioner expressed concern that these developments risk further exacerbating tensions and violence./agencies

A group of migrants has been struggling to survive for weeks in cold weather inside a tunnel under a bridge in the French capital Paris.

Around 200 migrants from Mali, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Algeria, and Morocco are waiting for the day their requests for shelter will be accepted.

Congolese origin Linon told Anadolu Agency that since Nov. 10, he has been living on the street with his 12-year-old son who has undergone surgery, and that cold weather conditions adversely affected the healing process of his child.

She said she was feeling very upset, particularly when her son asked if they would celebrate Christmas in the tent.

Through social media groups, residents of Pre-Saint-Gervais and Pantin, which are close to the tunnel, provide daily meals and clothes such as gloves, boots, and coats that will keep the migrants warm.

Agathe Cemin, a resident bringing aid with her 4-month-old baby to the migrants under the bridge, said people were living in tents in the tunnel for the last few months, and their number increased with the arrival of winter.

Cemin said they are trying to warn the authorities about the situation in the tunnel, saying: "Because we alone cannot do more."

More than 300 people, including residents and those from aid organizations, marched to the 19th district of Paris on Nov. 28 to remind authorities of their responsibilities and the situation of the migrants who had to take shelter under the bridge./agencies

YPG/PKK terrorists forcibly recruited one more teenager in Syria's northeastern province of Raqqa, local sources said on Monday.

Hamed al-Zelan, 17, was forcibly recruited by the terror group from the Abu Hamam town, said the sources who wished to remain anonymous.

The YPG/PKK takes children to training camps in al-Hasakah.

The terror group’s use of "child soldiers" has repeatedly been documented in UN reports.

A UN report, "Children and armed conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic," released May 18, showed that the YPG/PKK used more than 400 children between July 2018 and June 2020.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is PKK's Syrian offshoot./aa

Russia on Monday reported its first two cases of omicron coronavirus variant.

The cases were detected from the two people who arrived in Russia from South Africa last week, the country's sanitary watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said.

Ten more people with positive COVID-19 tests are waiting in an observation center for discovering their variant of the illness, said Rospotrebnadzor's statement, without specifying the nationality of the infected people.

The World Health Organization on Nov. 26 declared the new strain “a variant of concern,” and named it omicron.

The WHO warned that the novel variant has a large number of mutations, some of which provoke concern as they may affect the effectiveness of vaccines.

South African scientists on Nov. 24 announced that they had discovered the variant, which has several mutations. Cases of the variant have since been found in a number of countries worldwide./agencies