Europe

WARSAW, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki welcomed a Polish court ruling that said some parts of European Union treaties are incompatible with the Polish constitution in a Facebook post on Friday.

The ruling, announced Thursday, challenges a pillar of European integration and sharply escalates a dispute between Brussels and Warsaw, with the European Commission saying it raised serious concerns. 

ROME, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Thursday thanked outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel for playing a "decisive role" in shaping the future of the European Union (EU).

His remarks came at the conclusion of what likely was Merkel's last official meeting with Italy's top officials, as she prepares to leave the stage as soon as a new German federal government is formed after the recent parliamentary elections.

GENEVA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Thursday an initiative to vaccinate 40 percent of the population of every country against COVID-19 by the end of 2021 and 70 percent by mid-2022, by prioritizing vaccine delivery to low-income countries, particularly those in Africa.

ZLATIBOR, October 7. /TASS/: Completion of a pipeline connecting the TurkStream gas pipeline and the Hungarian gas transport system on the territory of Serbia provides the country with new development opportunities, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said on Thursday at the meeting of the Russian-Serbian intergovernmental committee for trade, economic and scientific-technical cooperation.

"Our joint efforts to complete construction of the Serbian gas pipeline segment and its commissioning provided energy security of Serbia for the long-term," the official said.

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/: Moscow will promptly respond to the anti-Russian provocation in the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons over the so-called blogger Alexey Navalny case, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Thursday.

"Our response to another anti-Russian provocation will follow without delay," she said. "Our counter-demarche and the corresponding documents will soon be uploaded to the open section of the OPCW's official website."

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/: The United Russia faction nominated Vyacheslav Volodin as the 8th State Duma speaker at the faction’s organizational meeting Thursday.

According to United Russia party Secretary General Andrey Turchak, Volodin’s candidacy was approved unanimously.

Earlier in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin endorsed Volodin’s candidacy, noting that he is "quite worthy of heading the next, 8th State Duma."

United Russia also approved the faction membership, which includes 324 deputies.

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/: The US lawmakers are using the issue of sanctions to prevent Russia from taking part in the settlement of energy problems in Europe, their initiatives to impose sanctions against high-ranking Russian officials are ‘the triumph of the absurd’, the chairman of the 7th Duma’s committee for international affairs, Leonid Slutsky, said on the Soloviev Live YouTube channel on Thursday.

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/: Moscow warns the UK against provoking a cyber arms race, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday, commenting on UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, who said that London will carry out cyberattacks against hostile states that would attempt to harm the United Kingdom - including against Russia.

"We urge our opponents not to lose their heads and not to provoke a new cyber arms race," she said.

KRANJ (Slovenia), Oct 7 (NNN-Xinhua) — The European Union (EU) is committed to the integration of the Western Balkans, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the conclusion of the EU-Western Balkans summit here on Wednesday.

“The Commission’s message is very clear. First of all, the Western Balkans is part of the same Europe as the European Union. We share the same history; we share the same interests, the same values and I am deeply convinced also the same destiny,” Von der Leyen told a press conference after the summit.

LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A leading Syrian Kurdish politician said on Thursday the United States will stay on in Syria to destroy Islamic State, build infrastructure and remain a player in the search for a political settlement after more than 10 years of civil war.

The Kurds, who live in the mountainous region straddling the borders of Syria, Armenia, Iraq, Iran and Turkey, carved out self-rule across northeast Syria during the civil war that began in 2011.