Europe

GENEVA, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Belarus on Wednesday delivered a joint statement on behalf of 46 countries at the 44th session of UN Human Rights Council, voicing support for China's anti-terrorism and de-radicalization work in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

"We urge refraining from making unfounded allegations against China based on disinformation," they said in the statement.

LONDON (AP) — Public health experts on Wednesday criticized the U.S. for securing a large supply of the only drug licensed so far to treat COVID-19.

The U.S. government announced this week that it had an agreement with Gilead Sciences to make the bulk of their production of remdesivir for the next three months available to Americans. The Department of Health and Human Services said it had secured 500,000 treatments through September, which amounts to all but 10% of production in August and September.

MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/: The international community needs to increase assistance to Syrians without preconditions, Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Hassan Rouhani of Iran and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said in a joint statement following a video conference on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/: Expanded US sanctions against Nord Stream 2 will block about 700 mln euro of investments for completing the pipeline, the project's operator Nord Stream 2 AG told TASS.

"Additional sanctions proposed by the US will directly affect more than 120 companies from over 12 European countries. In the difficult economic situation, the sanctions will block about 700 mln euro of investments for completing construction of the pipeline," the company said.

MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the nationwide vote on the amendments to the Constitution on Wednesday.

The head of state visited a polling station at the Russian Academy of Sciences building in southwestern Moscow, where he traditionally votes at elections.

MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/: Russia’s coronavirus cases grew by 6,556 in the past day reaching 654,405, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Wednesday.

For the sixth day in a row, less than 7,000 cases of infection were confirmed in the country. The daily growth rate did not exceed 1% in the past two days.

Some 306 new cases were reported in the Moscow Region, 262 in St. Petersburg, 261 in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region, 256 in the Sverdlovsk Region and 248 in the Irkutsk Region.

PARIS (Reuters) - France urged Airbus (AIR.PA) and flag carrier Air France on Wednesday to make as few forced layoffs as possible under their plans to cut thousands of jobs, while a union said compulsory cuts at the European planemaker were a “red line”.

The aerospace manufacturer said it would cut 15,000 jobs in Europe in a restructuring after a 40% slump in its 55 billion euro ($61.8 billion) jet business, sparking concerns about compulsory redundancies in France where it has its headquarters.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will continue to have a constructive relationship with Chinese companies working and investing in the country, but the strong ties between London and Beijing do not come at any price, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday.

“We have a strong and constructive relationship with China in many areas ... But this relationship does not come at any price. It has always been the case that where we have concerns we raise them, and where we need to intervene, then we will,” the spokesman told reporters.

PARIS (Reuters) - France’s foreign minister expressed alarm on Wednesday over the crisis in Lebanon and said social discontent could lead to an escalation in violence.

“The situation is alarming, with an economic, financial, social and humanitarian crisis now reinforced by the risks of the coronavirus,” Jean-Yves Le Drian told a parliamentary hearing.

“The worsening social crisis ... risks increasing the risk of violence,” he said, referring to recent inter-religious violence.

LONDON (Reuters) - The United Kingdom said China’s imposition of a security law on Hong Kong was a “clear and serious” violation of the 1984 Joint Declaration and that London would offer around 3 million residents of the former colony a path to British citizenship.

Hong Kong police fired water cannon and tear gas and arrested nearly 200 people as protesters took to the streets in defiance of sweeping security legislation introduced by China that they say is aimed at snuffing out dissent.