Europe

BRUSSELS, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Iran and world powers seeking to revive a 2015 nuclear deal are trying to agree a date for the resumption of talks in Vienna as soon as possible, a European Union spokesperson said on Friday.

Iran's top negotiator said after talks in Brussels this week that negotiations in Vienna will resume by the end of November.

EU spokesperson Peter Stano said the Oct. 27 meeting in Brussels was "useful" and "helped to define a way forward to resume negotiations in Vienna".

BERLIN, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- German shares went off to a bad start on Friday, with the benchmark DAX index losing 116.43 points, or 0.74 percent, opening at 15,579.9 points.

The biggest winner among Germany's 40 largest listed companies was carmaker Daimler, increasing by 1.79 percent, followed by aircraft engine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines with 1.79 percent and building materials company HeidelbergCement with 1.30 percent.

LONDON, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- England could become the first in the world to prescribe medicinally licensed e-cigarettes to help reduce smoking rates, Britain's Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced Friday.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is publishing updated guidance that paves the way for medicinally licensed e-cigarette products to be prescribed for tobacco smokers who wish to quit smoking, said the department.

E-cigarettes are currently available commercially and are popular as a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s often-strained relations in past years with European economic powerhouse Germany took center stage in a meeting in Athens Friday between outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greece’s president.

Katerina Sakellaropoulou was Merkel’s first official meeting during her visit to the country whose financial crisis marked much of her 16-year tenure and Germany’s relationship with Europe.

BERLIN (AP) — UEFA sanctioned German soccer club Union Berlin on Friday with a partial stadium closure for the antisemitic behavior of some of its fans toward supporters of Israeli team Maccabi Haifa.

UEFA said it had concluded its disciplinary proceedings against Union “for the racist behavior of its supporters” during the Europa Conference League game against Haifa at Berlin’s Olympiastadion on Sept. 30.

It was the first soccer game involving an Israeli team played at the stadium built for the 1936 Olympics hosted by Nazi Germany.

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization said Friday that its director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is running unopposed for a second five-year term.

Tedros, the first African to head the U.N. health agency, has overseen its complex response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has overshadowed his tenure. Trained in biology and infectious diseases with a doctorate in community health, he is also the first WHO chief who is not a medical doctor.

LONDON (AP) — Protesters started gathering Friday in the heart of London’s historic financial district to lobby against the use of fossil fuels ahead of the start of the U.N. climate summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow.

The protests in London, which were to be joined by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, are part of a worldwide day of action before leaders head to Glasgow for the U.N. Climate Change Conference, known as COP26. Many environmentalists are calling the Oct. 31-Nov. 12 gathering the world’s last chance to turn the tide in the battle against climate change.

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s environment minister pledged Friday to retaliate if France carries through on threats to block U.K. fishing ships from French ports, warning that “two can play at that game” in the worsening dispute rooted in Britain’s departure from the European Union.

Britain summoned the French ambassador for a dressing-down after French authorities fined two British fishing vessels and kept one in port overnight Thursday.

ROME (AP) — Leaders of the Group of 20 countries gathering for their first in-person summit since the pandemic took hold will confront a global recovery hampered by a series of stumbling blocks: an energy crunch spurring higher fuel and utility prices, new COVID-19 outbreaks and logjams in the supply chains that keep the economy humming and goods headed to consumers.

MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/: Moscow is concerned about tragic developments in southeastern Ukraine and does not rule out that the situation will deteriorate further, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday, commenting on reports about the Ukrainian military's offensive operations and attempt to seize the Staromaryevka settlement located on the line of contact with the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).