Europe

09 July 2020; MEMO: Qatari investments in Germany were estimated at around €25 billion with more than 300 German companies operating in the Qatari market in various sectors, Qatari Ambassador to Germany Mohammed Jaham Al-Kuwari disclosed.

09 July 2020; MEMO: The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas hailed on Tuesday the unanimous decisions taken by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on 1 July, as the organisation restated several Palestinian rights.

BRUSSELS, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The General Court of the European Union (EU) on Wednesday dismissed a case filed by two Brazilian meat producers who cried foul over the 2018 decision by the European Commission not to allow their products to be imported into the EU for public health reasons.

CHISINAU, July 8. /TASS/: Conditions haven't been created yet for the withdrawal of the Operational Group of Russian Forces (OGRF) from Transnistria, Russian Ambassador to Moldova Oleg Vasnetsov said in an interview with TASS.

"Responsible politicians in Chisinau understand that calls for the withdrawal of the OGRF are premature. About 1,500 Russian troops, who facilitate peacekeeping activities and guard warehouses containing outdated ammunition in Transnistria, cannot be pulled out with a wave of a magic wand," Vasnetsov pointed out.

MOSCOW, July 8. /TASS/: The work of the Kremlin pool of journalists is organized in a way to prevent violations of the law on state secrets, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, commenting on the case of national space agency advisor Ivan Safronov, who used to be part of the pool and has recently been detained on suspicion of high treason.

"As for the presidential pool, the work is organized in a way to prevent violations of the law on state secrets," he noted. 

MOSCOW, July 8. /TASS/: Russia’s Progress MS-13 space freighter will undock from the Pirs module of the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday to be deorbited early on Thursday, a spokesperson for Russia’s space corporation Roscosmos said.

"The undocking of the Progress MS-13 space freighter from the Pirs module of the Russian ISS segment is scheduled for 21:22 Moscow time on July 8," Roscosmos said.

The spacecraft will perform the deorbit burn at 00:31 Moscow time on Thursday, with subsequent re-entry at 01:05 Moscow time.

MOSCOW, July 8. /TASS/: The consequences of the US election scheduled for November 3, 2020, and the trade war between the United States and China may adversely affect the Russian economy, according to experts interviewed by TASS.

"On the one hand, the Russian economy might face negative influence from economic turbulence, and on the other hand, a slowdown in the global economy and a corresponding decrease in demand for raw materials due to the US-China trade war," Director of HSE Centre for Business Tendencies Studies Georgy Ostapkovich believes.

MOSCOW, July 8. /TASS/: Russia’s confirmed COVID-19 cases rose by 6,562, reaching 700,792, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Wednesday.

Over the past 13 days the new daily cases did not surpass 7,000, according to the report. In the past two days the daily growth rate did not exceed 0.9%.

The number of patients who are currently receiving treatment for the coronavirus declined to 217,614.

LONDON, July 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) – A new study found that infection with COVID-19 can lead to brain damages, including delirium and nerve damage.

According to the study, at University College London (UCL), since COVID-19 broke out, there appeared to be a “concerning increase” of a rare brain inflammation, known to be triggered by viral infections.

In the UCL study, nine COVID-19 patients with brain inflammation were diagnosed with a rare condition called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, which is typically seen in children and can affect both the brain and spinal cord.

PRAGUE, July 8 (NNN-CTK) – At least two people were killed and 24 others injured, when two passenger trains collided near Pernink Village, in the northwest of the Czech Republic, on Tuesday.

Of those injured, nine had medium or severe injuries, reports said.

The trains collided less than one kilometre from Pernink station, at about 3.00 p.m. local time, according to the report.

A passenger train from Karlovy Vary to Johanngeorgenstadt, Germany, collided with a passenger train in the opposite direction.