Europe

MOSCOW, May 27. /TASS/: Russia is developing the latest Mars-2000 reconnaissance combat vehicle based on the BTR-82 armored personnel carrier, CEO of Military Industrial Company (the producer of the BTR-82 and vehicles on its basis) Alexander Krasovitsky told TASS on Wednesday.

"Work is underway to create the Mars-2000 new reconnaissance combat vehicle on the basis of the BTR-82. Also, an option is being considered to develop the Sosna short-range self-propelled surface-to-air missile system based on the BTR-82," the chief executive said.

MADRID, May 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Foreign visitors to Spain will no longer have to undergo a two-week quarantine from July 1, the government has announced.

It said the measure had been finalised in a cabinet meeting on Monday.

Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya had previously said the requirement would be lifted in July, without giving a date.

The news comes as the UK government prepares to bring in its own 14-day quarantine policy from June 8.

MOSCOW, May 27. /TASS/: A joint patrol of US servicemen and Kurdish units of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was ambushed by terrorist groups near the village of Ruweishad in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor governorate, the SANA news agency said.

According to the agency, three US servicemen and five Kurds were injured when terrorists opened fire at them, using firearms and grenade launchers.

MOSCOW, May 27. /TASS/: The United States has deployed additional military equipment to the northeast of Syria’s Al-Hasakah governorate, the country’s state-run news agency SANA reported citing local sources.

According to the agency, a convoy of armored vehicles and other military equipment arrived from Iraq via the Al-Walid crossing point. SANA citied local sources as saying that the equipment was intended to boost the capabilities of existing US bases in the region.

PARIS (Reuters) - The French government on Wednesday cancelled a decree allowing hospital doctors to administer hydroxychloroquine as a treatment to patients suffering severe forms of COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus.

The move, which takes immediate effect, is the first by a country since the World Health Organization said on Monday it was pausing a large trial of the malaria drug on COVID-19 patients due to safety concerns.

LONDON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and its allies in the expanded OPEC+ group of oil-exporting nations have only just started to implement output cuts, so it might seem premature to start talking about the need for an exit strategy.

But an important part of being a successful market manager is about knowing when to increase production and capacity to forestall excessive investment by rivals and potential rivals.

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland’s presidential election will be held in June, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday, amid speculation that a spat over legislation on the way the vote will be conducted may push the ballot date back well beyond next month.

“I’m sure that the election should take place in June; that the election will take place in June,” Morawiecki told a news conference.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Border closures do little to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the European Union’s public health agency said, as EU states weigh lifting some travel restrictions imposed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said measures such as testing travellers before departure or temperature screening on arrival are also largely ineffective, though it confirmed that travelling facilitates the spread of the virus.

LONDON, May 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) – A woman in Britain, who became the first judge in the western world to wear a hijab, hopes to be an inspiration to young Muslims.

Raffia Arshad, 40, who grew up in Yorkshire, north England, has wanted to work in law since she was 11 years old.

Ms Arshad, a barrister, was last week appointed a deputy district judge on the Midlands circuit.

She said her promotion was great news for diversity in the world’s most respected legal system.

BRUSSELS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The leaders of the European Union and Japan said on Tuesday that global solidarity, cooperation, and effective multilateralism are required to defeat the coronavirus.

Charles Michel, president of the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and Shinzo Abe, prime minister of Japan held a video meeting on Tuesday.