Europe

MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/: Russia’s Oryol latest spacecraft will be able to fly to asteroids and Mars as part of an inter-planetary system, Oryol Chief Designer Igor Khamits said in an interview with the Russian Space magazine published by the federal space agency Roscosmos.

"The technical specifications do not stipulate a flight mission to asteroids. However, a flight can be carried out as part of an asteroid (inter-planetary) system, as well as a flight to Mars," he said.

MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/: Russia is a proponent of preserving purely technical control of missile technologies, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a commentary on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Russia’s accession to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).

MINSK, August 4. /TASS/: Russia will remain an ally for Belarus despite the fact that the brotherly relations between the two states now changed into a partnership, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Tuesday, addressing the Belarusian nation and parliament.

ROSTOCK (Germany), Aug 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Lunchbox, books, pencil case — masks?

Thousands of children in northern Germany became the first in Europe to begin a new school year on Monday after months of curtailed hours over the coronavirus pandemic.

The rest of the country was watching anxiously as 150,000 children returned to school in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany’s first state to restart full-time classes after the summer holidays, with infection numbers on the rise again.

PARIS (Reuters) - A second wave of the coronavirus epidemic is “highly likely” to hit France in the autumn or winter, the government’s top scientific body warned on Tuesday, as authorities seek to contain an increase in new cases over the past two weeks.

After strict lockdown measures pushed down infection rates, many European countries are now watching numbers creep back up, a consequence of easing curbs to try to limit economic damage and greater social mixing in the holiday season.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is committed to supporting the euro zone’s economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, using its massive bond purchases as its main tool, chief economist Philip Lane said on Tuesday.

Lane’s comments were likely to fuel market expectations the ECB would increase its 1.35 trillion-euro Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) as soon as September, when the central bank updates its economic forecasts.

(Reuters) - Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:

Europe braces for second wave

Germany is already contending with a second wave of the coronavirus and risks squandering its early success by flouting social distancing rules, the head of the German doctors’ union said.

The number of daily confirmed coronavirus cases has ticked up steadily in recent weeks, with health experts warning lax adherence to hygiene and distancing rules among some of the public is spreading the virus across communities.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices eased on Tuesday amid concerns that a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections will see a global demand recovery stalling due to tighter lockdowns, just as major producers ramp up output.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 68 cents, or 1.7%, at $40.33 a barrel at 1020 GMT, while Brent crude futures were 72 cents, or 1.7%, lower at $43.43 a barrel.

The slide comes after WTI rose 1.8% and Brent climbed 1.5% on Monday on better-than-expected data on manufacturing activity in Asia, Europe and the United States.

MINSK (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday accused Russia of lying about the presence of Russian security contractors in Belarus and said unnamed forces were trying to carry out a revolution but would fail.

Lukashenko, in power since 1994, is up for re-election on Sunday and faces his biggest challenge in years amid public anger over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the economy and human rights.

ROME, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Italy's new Genoa Saint George Bridge, which replaces the viaduct that collapsed two years ago and killed 43 people, was inaugurated in the northwestern port city of Genoa on Monday.