Europe

LONDON, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Britain has reported another 54,674 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 5,386,340, according to official figures released Saturday.

The figure is up from 51,870 cases reported on Friday, which was the highest since mid-January.

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — A strike by airport baggage handlers and ground crews in Portugal was expected to cause a second day of disruption Sunday, with most flights into and out of Lisbon canceled.

The 48-hour walkout forced the cancellation of around 300 flights on Saturday, mostly in Lisbon. Long lines formed as stranded passengers sought to rearrange their travel plans.

A similar number of flights could be affected Sunday.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will spend 10 days self-isolating after contact with a confirmed coronavirus case, his office said Sunday — reversing an earlier announcement that he would not have to quarantine.

Johnson’s 10 Downing St. office said Sunday that the prime minister and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak were both alerted overnight by England’s test-and-trace phone app. He had a meeting on Friday with Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. Javid, who has been fully vaccinated, says he is experiencing mild symptoms.

MOSCOW (AP) — An airport in the Siberian city of Yakutsk temporarily halted operations on Sunday after the municipality, along with 50 other towns and settlements, got covered in smoke from wildfires raging in the region.

Russia has been plagued by widespread forest fires, blamed on unusually high temperatures and the neglect of fire safety rules, with Sakha-Yakutia in northeastern Siberia being the worst affected region lately.

BERLIN (AP) — The death toll from flooding in Western Europe climbed above 180 on Sunday after rescue workers dug deeper into debris left by receding waters.

Police put the toll from the hard-hit Ahrweiler area of western Germany’s Rhineland-Palatinate state at 110 and said they feared the number may still rise. In neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia state, Germany’s most populous, 45 people were confirmed dead, including four firefighters. And Belgium has confirmed 27 casualties.

MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/: The OPEC+ countries are discussing holding ministerial meeting on Sunday, July 18, as the main differences between the allies have already been settled, two OPEC sources told TASS.

"The meeting is highly likely to be held tomorrow. We are now awaiting official confirmation," one of the sources told TASS. Another source confirmed that July 18 was discussed specifically.

MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia increased by 25,116 per day to 5,933,115, the federal operational headquarters for the fight against coronavirus told reporters on Saturday.

In relative terms, the increase in the number of cases was 0.43%. In particular, during the day, 2,541 cases were detected in the Moscow Region, 1,957 - in St. Petersburg, 535 - in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, 492 - in the Sverdlovsk Region, 491 - in the Krasnoyarsk Region. Currently, 463,115 people are continuing treatment in Russia.

YEREVAN, July 17. /TASS/: Acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated that Azerbaijan intends to start new military clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh and on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, he said on Saturday at a press conference with President of the European Council Charles Michel.

PARIS, July 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Paris Club of official creditors has agreed to cancel $14 billion owed by Sudan and restructure the rest of the more than $23 billion it owes, Paris Club chairman Emmanuel Moulin said.

Speaking on Friday after the deal was reached on Thursday, Moulin urged Sudan’s other private and public creditors to grant the country debt relief on the same terms.

MOSCOW, July 17 (Reuters) - Russian investigators said on Saturday engine failure had caused a small passenger plane to make a forced landing in Siberia a day earlier, flipping the aircraft upside down but causing no serious injuries among the 18 people on board.

Fears had swirled over the fate of the Russian Antonov An-28 plane after it went missing on a flight from the town of Kedrovy to the city of Tomsk. Rescuers were dispatched found the survivors in a wooded area near the damaged aircraft.