Europe

MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/: The integrated space system Kupol, created for monitoring ballistic missile launches, has been brought to the minimum standard strength, the CEO of the space rocket corporation Energia, Igor Ozar, said on Wednesday.

"With the launch of a fourth space satellite Tundra the space system Kupol has been brought to the minimum standard strength," he said.

MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/: The provision of the Russian troops with new weapon systems must be raised to 70% by the end of the year, despite complexities caused by the coronavirus, Russia’s Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday.

"We must 100% fulfil the defense procurement plan and reach 70% for new weapons, while keeping a high level of the hardware’s serviceability," the defense minister said, summing up the results of Russia’s single military output acceptance day.

MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/: TsNIITochMash (part of the state hi-tech corporation Rostec) has launched the production of the first batch of the latest 9mm Udav self-loading pistol, the Rostec press office reported on Wednesday.

MADRID, Aug 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — There is intense speculation in the Spanish media about the whereabouts of embattled ex-King Juan Carlos, after his shock announcement on Monday that he was leaving the country.

The 82-year-old, who is the subject of a corruption probe, announced the move in a letter on the royal website.

It gave no details about his destination, but some reports suggest he has gone to the Dominican Republic.

However, officials there said they had no information that he was coming.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose to their highest since early March on Wednesday after data showed a big drop in U.S. crude inventories, although concerns that mounting coronavirus infections will lead to reduced fuel demand capped gains.

Brent crude was up $1.03, or 2.3%, at $45.46 a barrel by 0951 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate oil rose $1.03 cents, or 2.5%, to $42.73 a barrel.

LONDON (Reuters) - Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, won a court battle on Wednesday to keep the names of five of her friends private for the time being as part of her legal action against a British tabloid which she accuses of invading her privacy.

Meghan, wife of Queen Elizabeth’s grandson Prince Harry, is suing Associated Newspapers over articles in the Mail on Sunday that included parts of a handwritten letter she had sent to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, in August 2018.

LONDON (Reuters) - Steel consumption in the European Union slid by 12% year-on-year in the first quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened an already weak picture, industry group Eurofer said on Wednesday.

The coronavirus crisis is likely to show a bigger impact in the second quarter because lockdown measures only kicked off in the last month of the quarter, a statement said.

In June, the European Steel Association (Eurofer) estimated that steel demand had tumbled by around 50% since March as industries such as automakers shut factories.

SKOPJE, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- The first constitutive session of the new Parliament of North Macedonia was held here on Tuesday following the July 15 early parliamentary elections.

The session took place in line with safety health protocols against the spread of COVID-19.

Speaking at the session, former Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi, who will chair assembly sessions until a new speaker is elected, declared that the posts of the head of the government and its members end as of Tuesday according to the Electoral Code.

LONDON, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- To blame China for this pandemic is to rewrite the history of COVID-19 and to marginalize the failings of Western nations, said Dr. Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of medical journal The Lancet.

"The present wave of anti-China sentiment has now evolved into an unpleasant, even racist, sinophobia, which threatens international peace and security," Dr. Horton said in an opinion article recently published by British newspaper The Guardian.

MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/: The Russian side does not discuss with Washington the possibility of trading Paul Whelan, an American convicted in Russia of espionage, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated on Tuesday.

"We are not having a dialogue with the US as regards trading Paul Whelan. It is not clear what the basis for the periodic revival of this subject is. Americans are aware of our proposals to resolve an issue of the return of the compatriots who were unjustly convicted with lengthy sentences, which is important to us," the senior diplomat stressed.