Europe

LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways (ICAG.L) is in talks with its union about a plan to suspend around 32,000 staff in response to the coronavirus pandemic, a person familiar with the situation said.

The British flag carrier has massively reduced flights and warned it will need to cut jobs to survive the emergency as the battered aviation sector frantically seeks to take out costs.

Owned by IAG, BA has already suspended flights from Britain’s second busiest airport, Gatwick, and its parent company has said flying capacity would be down 75% in April and May.

LONDON, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Britain said on Wednesday that it will postpone until next year the UN climate talks (COP26) set to take place in Glasgow in November this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a government press release.

"Dates for a rescheduled conference in 2021, hosted in Glasgow by the UK in partnership with Italy, will be set out in due course following further discussion with parties," it added.

SARAJEVO, April 1 (NNN-Xinhua) — A total of 2,500 coronavirus test kits, financed by the European Union (EU) and procured by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), have been delivered to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), according to the EU Delegation to BiH.

MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/: Russian agencies and Qatar's authorities are making maximum efforts to organize evacuation of Russian citizens from Doha, Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS on Wednesday.

"Work is underway to unblock the situation with Russian citizens in Qatar. Russian agencies and Qatar's authorities are making maximum efforts so that Russian citizens may leave for Russia," Zakharova said.

Earlier reports said that around 380 Russian citizens are waiting at the Doha airport to fly to Russia.

MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/: All citizens must keep a distance of no less than one meter from each other, this restriction does not apply to taxi trips, reads the executive order issued by Russia’s Chief Sanitary Physician Anna Popova posted on the official website of regulatory legal acts on Wednesday.

"Citizens must keep a distance of no less than one meter from other citizens, including in public places and public transport, except for the provision of services to transport passengers and luggage by taxi," the document reads.

GENEVA, March 31. /TASS/: A total of 750,890 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus and 36,405 coronavirus-related death were registered worldwide as of 10 am Geneva time (noon Moscow time) on March 30, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its daily bulletin on Tuesday.

The number of confirmed cases grew by more than 57,000 in the past 24 hours and the number of fatalities increased by 3,301.

AERODROME CHKALOVSKY (Moscow Region), April 1. /TASS/: A Russian plane with medical equipment on board has departed for the United States, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

"The Russian plane with medical masks and medical equipment on board has departed for the United States," the ministry said.

A spokesperson for the US Administration told TASS that the US authorities are expecting the Russian plane to arrive on Wednesday.

1 April 2020; AFP: Italian doctors and unions have warned that a government policy to send patients discharged from hospital but still positive for coronavirus to care homes is like priming "biological bombs".

With over 28,000 people in hospital including more than 4,000 in intensive care, beds need to be freed up as soon as possible, and those unable to convalesce in isolation at home are being moved to care homes or requisitioned hotels.

ROME (Reuters) - Italy’s Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri said on Wednesday that the business lobby’s forecast of a 6% fall in gross domestic product due to the coronavirus emergency this year is realistic.

“Unfortunately the estimates are realistic... at the same time we can say that (the Italian economy) can aim at a vigorous rebound,” Gualtieri told daily Il Fatto Quotidiano in an interview.

ATHENS, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his gratitude on Tuesday to all those who have helped in Greece's battle against the novel coronavirus epidemic.

He made the remark at a ceremony at the Athens international airport where 8.3 million surgical masks arrived from China.

They were the second batch of a total of 13.5 million masks purchased and donated by the Onassis Foundation in Greece to the Greek state to be delivered to hospitals nationwide, according to an e-mailed press statement issued by the Prime Minister's office.