Europe

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Friday that more needed to be done to combat the COVID-19 pandemic but he stopped short of announcing new measures and instead called on citizens to act responsibly.

With Spain’s COVID-19 cases soaring this week to total over a million - the highest in Western Europe - the government has said the pandemic was out of control.

But it lacks the majority in parliament to push bold steps and override sometimes reluctant regions who decide on health matters.

23 Oct 2020; MEMO: The Turkish Foreign Ministry slammed on Thursday the closing statement issued by Egypt, Cyprus and Greece after a summit in Nicosia in which they accused Turkey of carrying out numerous “provocations” that threaten regional security. Such “provocations” include Ankara’s undersea drilling and exploration for oil and gas in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The ministry said that Turkey rejects the declaration which contains “baseless accusations and allegations”.

MOSCOW, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday praised Russia-China relations and expressed readiness to deepen bilateral cooperation.

"We have great trust in each other. We have managed to foster very sustainable, reliable, well-functioning ties in different domains and spheres," Putin said via a video conference at the 17th annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, a Russian think tank.

22 Oct 2020; MEMO: Greece is preparing to test the Russian-made S-300 air defence missile system at a NATO firing base in the Greek island of Crete, Anadolu Agency reported.

22 Oct 2020; MEMO: Two hundred twenty-two members of the European Parliament (MEPs) sent an open letter to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on 21 October to voice their: “Deep concern about the ongoing detention of prisoners of conscience in Egypt.” The MEPs also called on him to end reprisals against human rights activists, according to German website DW.

LONDON Oct 22 (APP): Pakistan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Moazzam Ahmad Khan has said that further strengthening the existing friendly relations between Pakistan and the United Kingdom, facilitating and leveraging the potentials of our diaspora and highlighting the Kashmir issue at international levels for its peaceful resolution would be his top priorities.

He stated this while briefing a small group of UK based Pakistani media here at the High Commission, in his maiden interaction with them the other-day.

MINSK, October 22. /TASS/: Special services of Russia and Belarus have a great potential to ensure the two states’ interests and react adequately to the emerging threats and challenges, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Head Sergei Naryshkin told a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday.

"The security services can do a great deal to guarantee the interests of our countries and the interests of our citizens and protect them from those threats that emerge from time to time," Naryshkin affirmed.

MINSK, October 22. /TASS/: The situation around the Union State of Russia and Belarus is difficult, the allies need to jointly react to emerging challenges, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday at a meeting with Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin.

"We openly say that the situation around us is difficult, I mean the Union State of Russia and Belarus," he noted.

KAZAN, October 22. /TASS/: The BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) will defend principles of a more just world order based on respect for international law, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a video address to participants of the Fifth BRICS Young Diplomats Forum.

MOSCOW, October 22. /TASS/: The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) does not intend to scale down its testing of athletes despite the worsening epidemiological situation in the country, RUSADA told TASS.

"We are trying to maintain the testing scale and prevent suspension of it [testing] as it was in spring when we could not collect samples between late March and mid-June. In August, we collected 820 samples, while 912 samples were collected in September. All measures possible will be taken with a view to that," the RUSADA press service said.