Europe

MOSCOW, May 8. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias discussed in a phone call on Thursday moves to mitigate the social and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic as well as assistance in repatriating nationals of their countries, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.

MOSCOW, April 30. /TASS/: The Moscow City Court has ruled to extend to extend the term of house arrest for Michael Calvey, founder of the Baring Vostok private equity firm, who is accused of embezzlement, until August 13, an official with the court’s press service told TASS.

"By the request of the investigation, the term of house arrest for Michael Calvey has been extended until August 13," the official said.

8 May 2020; AFP: Up to 190,000 people in Africa could die of coronavirus in the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail, the World Health Organisation warned on Thursday.

The UN health agency cited a new study by its regional office in Brazzaville which found that between 83,000 and 190,000 could die and 29 to 44 million be infected during the period.

The research is based on prediction modelling and covers 47 countries with a total population of one billion, the WHO said in a statement.

8 May 2020; AFP: The bombastic military parade through Moscow's Red Square on Saturday was slated to be the spectacle of the year on the Kremlin's calendar.

Standing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron, President Vladimir Putin would have overseen a 90-minute procession of Russia's military might, showcasing 15,000 troops and the latest hardware.

But that was before the coronavirus pandemic.

ZAGREB, May 7 (Xinhua) -- An airplane crashed on Thursday near the Croatian coastal city of Zadar, killing two members of the Croatian Air Force, the Ministry of Defense said.

According to the ministry, the deceased were a flight instructor and a cadet, who were flying a small Zlin aircraft. The accident happened at around 4 p.m. local time near the village of Biljane Donje during a regular training flight.

PARIS, May 7 (Xinhua) -- France would start to ease restrictions on movement from next Monday through "a very gradual process" which would stretch over several weeks at least to avoid a resurgence of COVID-19, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe confirmed on Thursday.

"Following the data of the past few days, the gradual lifting of the confinement can be started on May 11. This is a new step in the fight against the epidemic," Philippe announced.

LONDON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The British government has not seen any evidence to suggest that the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 was man-made, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said.

Hancock made the remark while attending a Q&A program with Sky News on Wednesday to answer questions from the broadcaster's viewers and readers on coronavirus.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Norwegian man suspected of killing his ethnic Chinese stepsister and then storming an Oslo mosque and opening fire said Thursday on the first day of his trial that it was an act of “emergency justice” and that he regretted not having caused more damage.

Philip Manshaus appeared at a court west of Norway’s capital and denied charges of murder and terror read to him by a prosecutor, the Norwegian news agency NTB said.

7 May 2020; MEMO: A network of European groups have called on the EU to impose sanctions on Israel in a letter addressed to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell.

MADRID, May 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Spain’s parliament voted to extend the country’s state of emergency, allowing stringent coronavirus lockdown measures to remain in place for at least two more weeks.

The government imposed a nation-wide lockdown nearly eight weeks ago to curb the outbreak, which has killed more than 25,000 people and infected over 220,000 in the country — one of the hardest hit in the world.