Europe

MOSCOW, July 26. /TASS/: Russia confirmed 23,239 COVID-19 cases over the past day, a new low since July 2, bringing the total caseload to 6,149,780, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Monday.

The number of coronavirus cases grew by 0.38% in relative terms. 

Some 2,161 COVID-19 cases were registered in the Moscow Region, 1,929 in St. Petersburg, 529 in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, 494 in the Sverdlovsk Region and 483 in the Krasnoyarsk Region.

Currently, as many as 488,345 people are undergoing treatment in Russia.

MOSCOW, July 26. /TASS/: Japan must understand that Russia considers the issue of the Kuril Islands closed and come to grips that Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is visiting Russian territory, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council’s (upper house of parliament) Committee on Foreign Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov told TASS on Monday.

Earlier, the Japanese Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Galuzin to express protest over Mishustin’s visit to the Iturup Island.

LONDON, Jul 26 (NNN-XINHUA) – Heavy downpours and thunderstorms have caused severe flash flooding in parts of London. The fire brigade said, it had taken about 300 calls – mostly about flooded basements or roads – yesterday afternoon. Officials have advised against travelling in the hazardous conditions.

An amber thunderstorm warning is in place for much of south-east England, with 75 to 100mm (3in to 4in) of rainfall forecast in some areas. The Environment Agency issued two flood warnings for areas in London, near Beverley Brook in Worcester Park and West Barnes.

LISBON, Jul 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, said yesterday that, the country’s economic recovery after the pandemic crisis will be done “with an eye to the future.”

“For this reason, the two great engines of this recovery are to face two major challenges that lie ahead — the climate transition and the digital transition,” he said, in a speech in the city of Coimbra, central Portugal.

MOSCOW, July 26 (Reuters) - Russian Internet watchdog Roskomnadzor has blocked jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's website, navalny.com, his team said on Monday.

A Russian court in June approved a request by prosecutors to declare organisations linked to Navalny as extremist, in a move that outlaws the groups.

ATHENS, July 26 (Reuters) - Wildfires burned in regions across southern Europe on Monday, fuelled by hot weather and strong winds, as some northern countries cleaned up after a weekend of torrential rain and flooding.

In Greece, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said firefighters had battled around 50 fires during the past 24 hours and it was likely there would be more with meteorologists warning that a further heatwave was in prospect.

PARIS, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Four sites in China, India, Iran and Spain have been inscribed on the World Heritage List, announced the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on Sunday.

Those sites include "Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China", "Ramappa Temple" in India, "Trans-Iranian Railway" in Iran, and "Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro", a landscape of arts and sciences in Spain, the UNESCO said in a press release.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s prime minister on Monday visited Pacific islands claimed by Japan, a move that brought a protest from Tokyo, and said the government is considering setting up a special economic zone there.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is touring Russia’s Far East and Siberia this week, and the Kuril Islands were his first stop on Monday.

PARIS (AP) — While most French health care workers are vaccinated against the virus, a small but vocal minority is holding out. With infections exploding, a new law requiring them to get the shots is exposing the divide.

ST. PETERSBURG, July 25. /TASS/: Russian President, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin is reviewing the Main Naval Parade on the Neva River in St. Petersburg on Russia’s Navy Day on Sunday.

Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov reported to Putin about the readiness for the naval parade.