Europe

MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/: The arrival of Su-30SM and Su-35 fighter jets for Russia’s Aerospace Force allowed pilots to fly beyond-critical angles of attack, which boosted maneuvering capabilities, Russian Knights Aerobatic Group Commander Sergei Shcheglov told TASS on Monday on occasion of the group’s 30th anniversary celebrated on April 5.

MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/: Moscow and Washington maintain high-level dialogue on the situation in Ukraine, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Monday.

"We maintain contacts with the Americans. It is done at a high level. The Americans tell us about their concerns," he said. "They should better be concerned not about Russia’s actions but rather about Kiev’s inadmissible behavior, as it not only dodges implementation of the Minsk Package of Measures but rejects these agreements in an ever provoking manner."

MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/: Movements of the Russian Armed Forces in the country’s territory should not alarm other countries since Russia does not represent a threat to other nations, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Monday.

"The Russian Army moves in Russian territory in the directions it deems necessary, in the way it deems necessary, in order to ensure firm security of our country," the Kremlin representative emphasized commenting on reports of troop movements in the Rostov Region. He assured that "this shouldn’t alarm anybody in the least."

MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/: Russia has registered 8,646 new confirmed COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours, bringing the total count to 4,589,540 cases, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told journalists on Monday.

According to the crisis center, the relative increase of new infections remained at the level of 0.19%.

The lowest daily growth rates were seen in the Chukotka Autonomous Region (0%), the Republic of Tuva (0.01%), the Republic of Altai and the Magadan Region (0.02% each).

MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/: There will be soon no room for reciprocity in Russian-Ukrainian relations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday, commenting on Kiev’s new sanctions imposed particularly against the office of Rossotrudnichestvo, Russia’s cultural exchange agency, in Ukraine.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell to below $64 a barrel on Monday as rising supply from OPEC+ and higher Iranian output countered signs of a strong economic rebound in the United States and expectations of a wider demand recovery in 2021.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, agreed on Thursday to monthly production hikes from May to July. OPEC member Iran, exempt from making voluntary cuts, is also boosting supply.

BRUSSELS, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Countries in Europe are finding themselves caught between a rock and a hard place as they plan to reopen after the Easter holidays.

While many countries enforced stricter rules over Easter to prevent a surge in COVID-19 infections during the celebrations, a prevailing fatigue among the general public about months of restrictions has made it increasingly difficult for compliance, especially as the weather warms up.

PANDEMIC FATIGUE

BOCHNIA, Poland (AP) — Polish hospitals struggled over the Easter weekend with a massive number of people infected with COVID-19 following a huge surge in infections across Central and Eastern Europe in recent weeks.

Tougher new pandemic restrictions were ordered in Poland for a two-week period surrounding Easter in order to slow down the infection rate. The country hit new records of over 35,000 daily infections on two recent days, and deaths have been in the hundreds each day.

LONDON (AP) — All adults and children in England will be able to have routine coronavirus tests twice a week as a way to stamp out new outbreaks, the British government said Monday as it prepared to announce the next steps in lifting the nation’s months-long lockdown.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said regularly testing people who don’t have COVID-19 symptoms would help “stop outbreaks in their tracks, so we can get back to seeing the people we love and doing the things we enjoy.”

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Lawmakers in Kosovo elected and swore in a new president Sunday for a five-year term, the Balkan nation’s second female leader in the post-war period.

The 120-seat parliament, which convened in an extraordinary session for two days, gave 71 votes for Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, the former parliament speaker, in the third round of voting, while 11 votes were invalid.

Two opposition parties and the ethnic Serb minority party boycotted the voting.