Europe

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices were mixed on Friday as the market weighed the potential benefits of stimulus efforts by policymakers around the world against demand destruction caused by fallout from the rapid spread of the coronavirus.

Brent crude was on track for its fifth consecutive weekly drop. By 0922 GMT, it was down 40 cents, or 1.5%, at $25.94 a barrel.

U.S. crude was up 11 cents, or 0.5%, at $22.71.

BRUSSELS, March 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Union marked the 25th anniversary of its open-border Schengen agreement on Thursday with all its land borders shut or subject to heavy checks imposed in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The Schengen agreement, underpinning an increasingly integrated and united Europe, came into force on March 26, 1995.

MADRID, March 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Spain’s coronavirus death toll surged above 4,000 on Thursday but the increase in both fatalities and new infections slowed, leaving officials hopeful a nationwide lockdown is starting to curb the spread of the disease.

A total of 655 deaths were recorded in the country in the last 24 hours, bringing the toll to 4,089, the health ministry said.

That however was a 19 percent increase compared with Wednesday when deaths jumped 738 or 27 percent.

MOSCOW, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin urged Thursday the leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) to lift all sanctions on supplies of essential goods until the COVID-19 pandemic is under control.

"It is important for the period of crisis to create the so-called green corridors, free from trade wars and sanctions for the mutual supply of medicines, food, equipment and technology," Putin said, addressing the G20 virtual summit, according to an official Kremlin transcript.

MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/: Rosatom has won a tender on modernization of equipment for the fifth and sixth power units of the Kozloduy NPP in Bulgaria, the state corporation said in a statement on Thursday.

The public tender on modernization of equipment was announced in September 2019. The contract signed by Rusatom Service (part of Rosatom) and the Kozloduy NPP stipulates that neutron flux control equipment will be upgraded for two units of the nuclear power plant.

MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/: The decision to postpone the nationwide vote on amendments to Russia’s Constitution requires no legal formalization, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

"This procedure [postponing the vote] is not prohibited by law. If it is not prohibited, no legal justification is required here," he said.

Peskov recalled Russian President Vladimir Putin’s remarks that people’s safety and health were the top-priority issue. "It is for these reasons that the voting has been put off until better days," he stated.

MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/: Russia is testing the 14P222 self-propelled launcher developed by the Design Bureau of Special Machine-Building (part of Almaz-Antey defense manufacturer) for the Nudol anti-missile and anti-satellite defense system, Design Bureau CEO Vladimir Dolbenkov said in an interview with the National Defense magazine on Thursday.

MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/: There is currently no need to impose lockdown in Moscow and other Russian cities due to the coronavirus, the World Health Organization's representative in Russia Melita Vujnovic told the Future of Russia. National Projects web portal operated by TASS.

MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/: The state has enough funds to support those who may be affected by the coronavirus spread, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday when asked whether the state would have enough funds to support the affected citizens and sectors of economy without measures initiated by President Vladimir Putin to introduce more taxes on income from holdings and investment.

MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/: Restrictions and reductions on flights, which have been gradually introduced since February 1, have already affected 92 out of 94 international flights of the Russian flagship air carrier Aeroflot, spokesman Mikhail Demin told TASS, adding that this week the company has had an average of 30 international flights.

Earlier reports said that the emergency response team on the coronavirus spread prevention tasked the Federal Air Transport Agency with closing all regular and charter international flights, excluding those carrying citizens back.