Europe

MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/: The State Scientific Center of Virology and Biotechnology "Vector," located in Novosibirsk, hopes to obtain a sample of the Indian strain of the novel coronavirus soon. The strain will take about two months to examine, the center told TASS.

KIEV, April 27. /TASS/: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky proposed to establish a new format for negotiations on Donbass with involvement of "powerful actors," in parallel to the Normandy Four Format (Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine). He made this claim Tuesday during his working trip to the Kherson Region.

GENEVA, April 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization (WHO) and partners called for action to boost vaccination against measles and other diseases worldwide after the pandemic severely disrupted access to routine jabs.

The World Health Organization, along with the UN children’s agency and the vaccine alliance Gavi, said their new global strategy had the potential to save 50 million lives within less than a decade.

(Reuters) --- A Russian court imposed undisclosed restrictions on Tuesday on jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's anti-corruption group, while it considers a request to ban his networkas "extremist".

The Moscow court held a preliminary hearing on Monday to consider outlawing Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) as well as his separately run network of regional campaign offices. 

(Reuters) --- Two Spanish journalists were killed after an armed ambush on an anti-poaching patrol in Burkina Faso, Spain's prime minister said on Tuesday.

An Irish national also died, three senior Burkina Faso security sources said.

The Burkina Faso government had confirmed four people including three foreigners were missing following the ambush, but said photos of the bodies circulating on social networks had not been formally identified as being theirs.

27 Apr 2021; MEMO: Police forces in a number of European countries raided call centres and arrested suspects last month in connection with alleged investment scams linked to Israel, the Times of Israel reported last week. The raids by police in Germany, Kosovo and Bulgaria took place on 31 March.

ROME, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Italy took a first decisive step towards a post-pandemic phase on Monday, the first day of reopening amid decreasing coronavirus cases.

Restaurants, bars, outdoor sporting facilities and museums were among the activities allowed to restart in the 14 "yellow" regions, which show a low risk of contagion on the basis of local coronavirus data.

The government's reopening "roadmap" set a precise schedule for gradually lifting containment measures, with different timings for various restricted sectors to restart between late April and early July.

MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/: The interval between the first and second doses of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine can be extended from 21 days to three months, which will not affect the quality of vaccination and will make immune response stronger in some cases, Alexander Gintsburg, the director of the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, which developed the vaccine, has said.

BUCHAREST, April 26. /TASS/: Moscow views Bucharest’s decision to expel a Russian diplomat as unfriendly and reserves the right to "take relevant measures in response," Russian Ambassador to Romania Valery Kuzmin told TASS on Monday.

"This decision is undeniably an unfriendly one and does not improve international relations between Russia and Romania," the ambassador said. "In accordance with the Vienna convention, Russian authorities reserve the right to take relevant measures in response."

MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/: The European Union should investigate the versions of what happened at ammunition warehouses in the Czech village of Vrbetice in 2014, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a press conference Monday.

"The EU should probably examine all these confusing comments and statements, which are not very emotionally sane I’d say, and all the other issues relating to this story, It all happened on its territory," he said.