Europe

ATHENS, July 23 (Xinhua) -- A total of 36 migrants were rescued on Thursday in the sea area southeast of the Crete island, according to an e-mailed press release by Greece's Coast Guard.

A search and rescue operation coordinated by the Coast Guard was still underway, as survivors stated that 45 people were aboard the boat sinking about 60 nautical miles off the island, said the press release.

The operation was hampered by strong winds of up to 7 on the Beaufort scale blowing in the area, it added.

ROME, July 22 (Xinhua) -- A newly-published research paper indicates that the novel coronavirus could have circulated in Italy in late 2019, weeks before it was formally identified in China.

Researchers in northern Italy have retested blood samples taken for cancer screening, and found coronavirus antibodies in samples taken in as far back as October 2019. The new paper, not yet peer-reviewed, was published this week by MedRxiv, an online medical preprint entity.

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A new study suggests that a Sinopharm vaccine offers poor protection from COVID-19 among the elderly, raising questions for dozens of countries that have given the Chinese company’s shots to their most vulnerable populations.

A survey of blood samples taken from 450 people in Hungary at least two weeks after their second Sinopharm dose found that 90% under 50 years old developed protective antibodies. But the percentage declined with age, and 50% of those over 80 had none.

MOSCOW, July 22. /TASS/: Moscow had repeatedly tried to draw the international community’s attention to the human rights situation in Ukraine but Western countries preferred to turn a blind eye to the blatant violations by the authorities in Kiev, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the Rossiya-1 TV channel on Thursday, commenting on the current international suit against Ukraine that Russia filed with the European Court on Human Rights.

ZHUKOVSKY /Moscow Region/, July 22. /TASS/: The upgraded Ka-52M ‘Alligator’ reconnaissance/assault helicopter will enter state trials soon, CEO of the Russian Helicopters Group (part of the state tech corporation Rostec) Andrei Boginsky told TASS on Thursday.

"Now two helicopter prototypes have been made, and their trials have already been completed. We are now presenting this helicopter to the Defense Ministry for joint state trials," the chief executive said on the sidelines of the MAKS-2021 international air show.

MOSCOW, July 22. /TASS/: Inconsistencies in the report of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on the incident with Russian blogger Alexey Navalny confirm that the incident was an orchestrated provocation, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing on Thursday.

MOSCOW, July 22./TASS/: Russia will counter militants from Afghanistan if they get into the territory of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan in line with the current agreements, Russian Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said in an interview with Echo of Moscow radio, an extract from which was posted on the Echo of Moscow’s website on Thursday.

MOSCOW, July 22. /TASS/: Russia’s interstate complaint against Ukraine with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) contains hard facts, and there is no political component in filing that document, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the Rossiya 1 TV channel on Thursday.

BERLIN, July 22 (NNN-Xinhua) — Germany would pay 400 million euros for victims of last week’s floods, which were supposed to be available immediately, Minister of Finance and Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced at a press conference.

It was necessary to quickly send the message to people in the affected areas “that there is a future, that we care together, that this is a matter for us as a whole country, that we are helping,” Scholz said.

LONDON, July 22 (Reuters) - Britain on Thursday sanctioned the son of Equatorial Guinea’s president for misappropriating millions of dollars which London said was spent on luxury mansions, private jets and a $275,000 glove worn by Michael Jackson.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Teodoro Obiang Mangue, who is also vice president of Equatorial Guinea, had participated in "corrupt contracting arrangements and soliciting bribes, to fund a lavish lifestyle inconsistent with his official salary as a government minister".