Europe

BRUSSELS, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- European Council President Charles Michel has decided to put off a summit of the European Union (EU) leaders after he has gone into quarantine on Tuesday, his spokesman said on Twitter.

The EU chief learned on Tuesday that a security officer with whom he was in close contact early last week, tested positive for COVID-19, said spokesman Barend Leyts.

Michel himself "is tested regularly and tested negative yesterday (Monday)," but decided to go into quarantine in line with Belgian rules, Leyts tweeted.

BERLIN (AP) — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been released from a Berlin hospital after more than a month’s treatment for poisoning, with doctors now believing that a “complete recovery” from the nerve agent is possible, the facility said Wednesday.

Navalny spent 32 days in treatment in Berlin’s Charite hospital, 24 of which were in intensive care, before doctors deemed his “condition had improved sufficiently for him to be discharged from acute inpatient care.”

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s coronavirus tracing app has been used to transmit 1.2 million test results from labs to users during the first 100 days, officials said Wednesday.

The Corona-Warn-App, downloaded more than 18 million times since its launch in June, was touted by the government as a key tool in the country’s effort to contain the spread of the virus.

But the app, like others in Europe, has suffered a number of hiccups, prompting confusion and annoyance among some users.

LONDON (AP) — The British government says there could be lines of 7,000 trucks at the English Channel and two-day waits to get into France immediately after the U.K. makes its economic break from the European Union at the end of the year.

Michael Gove, the minister in charge of Brexit preparations, described that as a worst-case scenario in a letter to logistics firms. He is set to give more details to Parliament on Wednesday.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus assumed his sixth term of office Wednesday during an inauguration ceremony that officials did not announce in advance after weeks of mass protests against the authoritarian leader’s reelection, which opposition activists maintain was rigged.

State news agency Beltra reported that the swearing-in ceremony took place in the capital of Minsk with several hundred top government officials, lawmakers, representatives of media organizations and other prominent figures present.

MINSK, September 22. /TASS/: The Belarusian opposition has embarked on cobbling together a new electoral code and amendments to the nation’s constitution, according to a report on Tuesday, on its Telegram channel known as "A Country for Life."

"Anatoly Lebedko, CEO of the ‘European Dialogue’ center, in agreement with [former presidential candidate] Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s headquarters, is launching an initiative to forge a new version of the Electoral Code and amend the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus," the report says.

MOSCOW, September 22. /TASS/: Post-registration phase of clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus which has been launched recently should be completed by the middle of next summer. After that it will be possible to continue the study of the vaccine in children, Director of the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Healthcare Ministry Alexander Gintsburg said on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, September 22 /TASS/: A Su-30 fighter has crashed in Russia’s Tver Region during a planned training flight, the crew was forced to eject, the press service of the Western Military District informed.

"On September 22, a Su-30 jet of the Western Military District crashed during a planned training flight in the Tver Region. The crew has safely ejected. After landing, the pilots made contact," the message informs. The crew members have been evacuated to their air base. The press service that the jet had crashed in the forest area, there is no damage on the ground.

BERLIN, Sept 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said he still believes ratification of an EU trade deal with South America is possible, despite European anger over deforestation in Brazil.

Even without reopening the text of the agreement, “there are some issues that we have to clarify, that we can clarify”, Altmaier said, after a meeting of EU trade ministers in Berlin.

A “sustainable solution” can be found, he said, urging his EU partners to not be divided on the hot-button issue.

LONDON (Reuters) - Libya’s National Oil Company said it expected oil production to rise to 260,000 barrels per day (bpd) next week, as the OPEC member looks to revive its oil industry, crippled by a blockade since January.

Oil prices fell around 5% on Monday, partly due to the potential return of Libyan barrels to a market that’s already grappling with the prospect of collapsing demand from rising coronavirus cases. [O/R]