Europe

(Reuters) - Maria Kolesnikova’s decision to rip up her passport and risk prison rather than exile has burnished the musician-turned-politician’s status as a hero to the mass protest movement against veteran Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Dozens of people were detained this week as protesters took to the streets chanting her name and holding up placards, some reading “Viva Maria”. Her face was superimposed on the image of a Soviet World War Two poster and projected onto the side of a building in Minsk.

New Delhi, Sep 11 (PTI) Noting that the current situation at their border is not in the interest of either side, India and China have agreed on a five-point roadmap including quick disengagement of troops and avoiding any action that could escalate tensions for resolving the four-month-long face-off in eastern Ladakh.

BRUSSELS, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese companies in the European Union (EU) have a less favorable view than last year on the ease of doing business in the bloc, but they are willing to increase investment when the situation gets better, a survey published on Thursday shows.

The survey, conducted by China Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU) and Roland Berger, a global strategy consultancy, is part of CCCEU's annual recommendation report titled "Acting for Common Future: Chinese Enterprises in the EU Striving for Growth amid Slowdown and Regulatory Hurdles."

10 Sep 2020; MEMO: Some 3,000 protesters in Germany are calling on their own government and countries across the EU to accept all refugees from the Moria refugee camp in Greece.

Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos has burnt to the ground after fires ravaged the settlement this week. Some 20 firefighters tackled the blaze.

MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/: Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Aleksandar Vucic of Serbia have discussed strategic cooperation between the two countries, the Kremlin press service said in a statement on Thursday following a telephone conversation between the two leaders.

According to the statement, the parties "discussed pressing matters related to strategic partnership between Russia and Serbia." "Russia praised Aleksandar Vucic’s personal contribution to efforts to boost Russia-Serbia ties," the statement adds.

MINSK, September 10. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that he has no intention of ceding power and will not let it 'lie in the mud'.

MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/: Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has dismissed the reports by Reuters news agency claiming that the company providing services to US presidential candidate Joe Biden’s campaign office was attacked by Russian hackers.

"We are not aware what this firm is and what "Russian state-backed" implies. Once again, it looks like nonsense, at times published by the respected agency," Peskov told reporters.

MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/: The Kremlin believes that any allegations about the involvement of Russian officials in the incident with blogger Alexei Navalny are a priori erroneous and unacceptable, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters commenting on US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's statement.

ZURICH/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - AstraZeneca should still know by year-end whether its experimental vaccine protects people against coronavirus, as long as it is cleared to resume trials soon, its chief executive said on Thursday amid doubts over its rollout.

Governments desperate to put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic which has caused more than 900,000 deaths and huge economic and social disruption during 2020 are pinning their hopes on a vaccine.

LONDON (Reuters) - The London extradition hearing for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was postponed on Thursday because of concern that one of the lawyers involved might have been exposed to COVID-19.

Assange is fighting extradition to the United States where he is wanted for conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law over the release of confidential cables by WikiLeaks in 2010-2011.