Europe

MOSCOW, May 22. /TASS/: Two pilots ejected from a SU-30SM fighter jet when it was on the ground at the Saki military airfield in Crimea, both crew members are alive, a military source told TASS on Saturday.

"On Friday at 18.50, two pilots ejected from a Su-30SM at the Saki airfield in Crimea during preparations for takeoff. Both pilots are alive. The jet technician received burns," the source said.

MOSCOW, May 22. /TASS/: The US’ decision not to impose sanctions against the operator of the Nord Stream 2 project may speed up completion of the gas pipeline’s construction, Fitch group director Dmitry Marinchenko told TASS, adding that the launch of the pipeline may be expected within a couple of months.

VIENNA, May 22./TASS/: The European Union wants to build a dialogue with Russia, but Moscow is not interested in it now, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg maintained on Saturday ahead of the May 24 EU summit where relations with Russia will be in the focus.

MOSCOW, May 22. /TASS/: Russia confirmed 8,709 COVID-19 cases over the past day, bringing the total caseload to 4,992,554, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Saturday.

The number of cases grew 0.17% in relative terms. The lowest daily growth rates were seen in the Jewish Autonomous Region (0.02%), the Republic of Tuva (0.04%), the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, the Kamchatka Region, the Magadan Region and the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania (0.05% each).

MOSCOW, May 22./TASS/: Joint projects of Russia and the European Union were blocked because of anti-Russian sanctions and aggressive rhetoric from Brussels, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova blogged on Facebook on Saturday in comments on allegations from the Austrian foreign minister that Moscow showed no interest in dialogue with the EU.

GENEVA, May 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization and three other international bodies, FAO, OIE and UNEP have formed a team of experts to help develop a global plan to prevent the spread of diseases from animals to humans.

The One Health High-Level Expert Panel was an initiative launched by France and Germany late last year, and held its inaugural meeting this week, reported WHO..

AMSTERDAM, May 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Dutch police were on Saturday investigating a spate of stabbings in Amsterdam in which one person died and four were injured, but said there were no indications of terrorism.

A 29-year-old man was arrested at the scene after the attacks happened late on Friday in an area of bars and restaurants near the capital’s museum quarter, police said.

“The police is conducting an extensive investigation into the various incidents and the circumstances,” Amsterdam police said in a statement.

(Reuters) --- German hospitals may be at increased risk from hackers, the head of the country's cyber security agency said on Saturday, following two high-profile digital attacks this month on the Irish health service and a U.S. fuel pipeline.

Ireland's health service operator shut down its IT systems last Friday to protect them from a "significant" ransomware attack, crippling diagnostic services, disrupting COVID-19 testing and forcing the cancellation of many appointments. 

MADRID, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Friday that his country will reopen to travelers from ten countries, including China and the United Kingdom (UK), "without restrictions or sanitary requirements" from May 24.

The other countries are Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Israel, South Korea, Thailand, Rwanda and Japan.

GENEVA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The actual figure of global coronavirus-related deaths might be two to three times higher than official numbers showed as many countries face challenges to properly estimate and report the number of fatalities, said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday.