Europe

IRKUTSK, August 31. /TASS/: Large-scale deliveries of the Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus infection will start in September, Russian Healthcare Minister Mikhail Murashko told journalists on Monday.

IRKUTSK, August 31. /TASS/: More than 2,500 volunteers have been selected to take part in the third post-registration stage of the Russian coronavirus vaccine’s trials, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko told reporters on Monday.

"The groups for post-registration monitoring are now being formed. More than 2,500 people have been chosen of the total of 40,000 to be selected," the minister said.

MINSK, August 31. /TASS/: Former Belarusian presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya plans to address the UN Security Council on September 4 and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on September 8, her press service informed on Monday.

MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/: The first batch of the latest T-14 ‘Armata’ tanks will arrive for the Russian troops shortly, CEO of Uralvagonzavod defense manufacturer (part of the state tech corporation Rostec) Alexander Potapov told TASS on Monday.

"The first batch of vehicles will be delivered to the troops shortly," the chief executive said.

The Armata is of great interest both for the Russian Army and for foreign customers, which are inquiring about T-14 possible deliveries or the licensed production of this hardware, the Uralvagonzavod chief said.

MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/: The ambassador of the Slovak Republic Peter Priputen on Monday was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry to be told that three staffers of the Slovak embassy must leave Russia.

ROME, Aug 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A fishing boat carrying nearly 370 migrants landed overnight on the Italian island of Lampedusa, where the main holding centre is already overcrowded, prompting the local mayor to call for a general strike to push the government take action.

Italy has been struggling in recent months to deal with daily arrivals of hundreds of migrants to its southern shores, a task complicated by security measures imposed by the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s economy minister Nadia Calvino called on Monday for all parties’ responsibility to allow the approval of a budget as soon as possible to cope with coronavirus pandemic.

“It is everyone’s duty and I appeal to the common responsibility so that as soon as possible we can pass a general state budget in our country that allows us to address this (extraordinary) situation from the health, economic and social point of view,” Calvino said during a financial event.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that the situation in neighboring Belarus was under control and that it did not see the need to send in forces to support Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko who is facing protests after a disputed election.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that the Kremlin had set up a special police force to support Lukashenko at his request, but said it would not be deployed unless unrest there spun out of control.

GENEVA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization’s director-general Roberto Azevedo steps down on Monday, leaving the already-damaged global watchdog leaderless as it faces the biggest crisis in its 25-year history.

As the WTO’s influence seeps away, rising international tensions and protectionism during a COVID-induced slowdown, most obviously between China and President Donald Trump’s U.S. administration, make reform of global trade rules ever more urgent.

LJUBLJANA/BRUSSELS, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The recent resurgence of COVID-19 in many parts of Europe is challenging the preparation work of most schools, as they are set to open their campuses to students for the new school year in the coming days.

Ensuring the compulsory education while keeping kids safe has become a top priority for many European governments, which are rolling out various measures to hope to make it work.

MULTIPLE MEASURES, ONE GOAL