Europe

20 Aug 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabia hailed on Wednesday the controversial UAE-Israel normalisation deal, describing it as as a potential contribution to peace in the region, Anadolu Agency reported.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al-Saud expressed: “Any efforts that promote peace in the region and that result in holding back the threat of annexation could be viewed as positive.”

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was placed on a ventilator in a hospital intensive care unit in Siberia after falling ill from suspected poisoning during a flight, his spokeswoman said Thursday morning.

The 44-year-old foe of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin felt unwell on a flight back to Moscow from Tomsk, a city in Siberia, Kira Yarmysh said on Twitter. “The plane made an emergency landing in Omsk. Alexei has a toxic poisoning,” Yarmysh tweeted.

MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/: The refusal of the United States to participate in an online summit of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Germany and Iran aimed to discuss issues of implementation the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program makes it impossible to hold it as envisioned and proposed by Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday.

"Indeed, the US rejection [of the idea] does not allow us to gather in this format as it was proposed from the start," he said, answering the corresponding question.

MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called on those putting forward proposals on mediation in Belarus to make these offers directly to the Belarusian leadership rather than "through the microphone."

MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/: Russia is keeping a close eye on the developments in Mali and will give its assessment after analyzing the situation, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

"Now so far we are closely following the situation and studying the information coming from there. After we make the corresponding analysis, we will be able to give an assessment of the situation," Peskov said.

MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko coordinates with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin his actions within the Union State and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) at this stage, Lukashenko’s Spokesperson Natalya Eismont told the Rossiya 1 TV channel on Wednesday.

"Consultations between the Belarusian and Russian presidents are currently underway. The heads of state coordinate their actions, primarily within the framework of the existing agreements. These are both the Union State and the CSTO," she said.

MINSK, August 19. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko urged the leadership of Western states, who are going to discuss the situation in Belarus, to focus on problems in their countries, he told the Security Council’s meeting attended by regional heads, BelTA reported.

MINSK (Reuters) - Belarusian presidential challenger Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urged European Union leaders on Wednesday not to recognise what she called fraudulent election results, saying longtime leader Alexander Lukashenko had lost all legitimacy.

Tsikhanouskaya was speaking from exile in neighbouring Lithuania before an emergency EU summit, due to be held by video conference, to discuss the crisis unfolding in Belarus, where the Aug.9 election sparked mass protests.

LONDON (Reuters) - Brexit safeguards to stop asset managers in Britain running “shell” investment funds in the European Union to retain access to its markets should be hardwired into EU law, the bloc’s securities watchdog said on Wednesday.

After Britain voted in 2016 to leave the EU, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued guidance on minimum “substance” or senior boots on the ground at EU funds whose portfolio management has been “delegated” to London.

(Reuters) - Rich countries should not hoard a coronavirus vaccine and should only give pandemic-related bailouts to companies committed to protecting the environment, helping the most needy and the ‘common good’, Pope Francis said on Wednesday.

“It would be sad if the rich are given priority for the Covid-19 vaccine. It would be sad if the vaccine becomes property of this or that nation, if it is not universal and for everyone,” Francis said at his weekly general audience.