Europe

VIENNA, June 5. /TASS/: The Western media's publication of a confidential report on nuclear inspections in Iran reveals that the regime of confidentiality is no longer working in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail UIyanov, said on Friday.

According to the Russian envoy, the report was intended for states members of the IAEA Board of Governors. However, minutes after being handed over to them, the report leaked to Western news agencies, which published excerpts from it.

MOSCOW, June 6. /TASS/: The number of people interested in studying the Russian language is growing across the world, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said in a statement on Russian Language Day.

LISBON, June 6 (NNN-XINHUA) – Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, announced, air traffic routes will be resumed from June 15, with all the hygiene and safety rules guaranteed by Portuguese airports.

In a visit to Lisbon Airport, Costa said, “It is very important to be prepared, as from June 15, routes will be reactivated, borders will be opened and a joint effort will be made in the European Union, so that tourism can resume its activity in full.”

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron has told Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping he is following events in Hong Kong closely and continues to back the “one country, two systems” principle for Beijing’s rule over the city, an Elysee official said.

“The President said he was monitoring the (Hong Kong) situation closely and reiterated France’s support for the principle of ‘one country, two systems’,” the official told Reuters on Saturday.

MOSCOW/DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC and its allies led by Russia meet on Saturday over plans to extend record oil production cuts and to push countries such as Iraq and Nigeria to comply better with existing curbs.

Nigeria’s oil minister said he expected a deal on an extension, which has the backing of Saudi Arabia and Russia, to be concluded in the video conference talks despite “reservations of one or two member countries,” which he did not name.

ZAGREB, June 5 (Xinhua) -- European interior ministers agreed on Friday that travel restrictions imposed to curb the COVID-19 pandemic should be abolished in a coordinated and non-discriminatory manner.

During a video conference that was held within the framework of Croatia's Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), the ministers noted that the coronavirus outbreak has threatened some of the foundations of the EU, such as the European Single Market and freedom of movement.

LONDON, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Britain's chief Brexit negotiator David Frost said Friday that Britain remains "committed to a successful outcome" in talks with Brussels after little progress was made in the fourth round of crucial talks.

"Progress remains limited but our talks have been positive in tone. Negotiations will continue and we remain committed to a successful outcome," said Frost in London after the talks.

PARIS (AP) — Churning U.S. protests over the death of George Floyd have revived anger in France over police violence, systemic racism and the complicated case of Adama Traore, a black Frenchman who died in police custody in July 2016.

For Traore’s family, the Floyd protests have also revived their hopes for change.

BERLIN, June 5. /TASS/: Germany and the EU should consider response to US plans to expand sanctions against Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Klaus Ernst, head of the Bundestag Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy, told TASS.

"If this does not stop, then we will need to consider serious protective measures. For example, penalties for natural gas from the United States are possible," he said.

According to Ernst, US actions represent "interference in the sovereignty of Germany and the EU."

MOSCOW, June 5. /TASS/: People’s refusal to undergo vaccination against the coronavirus, should an available vaccine be created, may have dire effects and reduce to nothing the success achieved in the struggle against the pandemic, the World Health Organization’s representative to Russia, Melita Vujnovic, told TASS.

"Such a sentiment reflects common reluctance of some people to participate in the vaccination," she said, when asked about the reasons behind the skepticism many people express over the possibility of mass vaccination against the coronavirus.