Europe

GENEVA, March 10 (Xinhua) -- 203 more deaths from COVID-19 have been reported worldwide in the past 24 hours as of Tuesday morning, lifting the global death toll to 4,012, according to a daily report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) Tuesday evening.

A total of 113,702 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported globally as of 10:00 CET Tuesday, an increase of 4,125 infections from the previous day, among which 4,105 new infections are outside China.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Suddenly staring recession in the face, European leaders are lining up an array of tax breaks, financial support for companies and likely central bank measures in the hope of preventing the coronavirus outbreak from dealing long-term damage to the economy.

Expectations have grown that European Central Bank officials will announce more monetary stimulus when they meet Thursday, including an interest rate cut and corporate bond purchases aimed at supporting business borrowing.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders vowed Tuesday to stand united in combating the spread of the coronavirus ravaging member country Italy, and agreed to draft a plan to address any medical shortages and set up a fund to help overburdened health care systems.

The pledges came at a rare video conference among national heads of state and government as COVID-19, which is now present in all 27 EU member countries, took its toll on European politics, forcing meetings to be canceled, a parliamentary session to be cut short, and even sending some senior officials home to work.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed his tightly guarded political plans Tuesday and supported a constitutional amendment that would allow him to seek reelection in 2024 by restarting the term count.

The constitutional change would pave the way for the 67-year-old Putin to stay in office until 2036, if he desires.

A lawmaker who is revered in Russia as the first woman to fly in space proposed either scrapping Russia’s two-term limit for presidents or stopping the clock so the law wouldn’t apply to Putin’s time in office.

MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin does not plan to gather chief executives of Russian oil majors again to discuss the situation on the global oil market, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

"No, there are no such plans," the press secretary said.

Russian President held a meeting with participation of federal ministers and chief executives of Russian oil and gas majors on March 1, where the situation on the oil market and the coronavirus effect on the world’s economy were discussed.

MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/: Russian State Duma (lower house) has passed in the second, main reading the constitutional amendments bill, which sets a limit on presidential terms, extends parliamentary powers and cements state social guarantees, the priority of the Constitution over the international treaties and the status of Russian language as the language of the constituent people.

The bill also stipulates nationwide vote on the amendments.

A total of 382 lawmakers voted in favor of the bill, 44 abstained, no lawmakers opposed it.

YEKATERINBURG, March 10. /TASS/: The air defense regiment in the Sverdlovsk Region in the Urals will receive the latest S-400 ‘Triumf’ surface-to-air missile systems by the end of October, the press office of Russia’s Central Military District reported on Tuesday.

"The systems are scheduled to arrive at the end of October 2020, which will help boost the combat potential of the anti-aircraft missile regiment twofold," the press office said in a statement.

MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/: Russia is ready to respond to any aggressor who will dare to repeat Nazi Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union, President Vladimir Putin told TASS in an interview for the project entitled "20 Questions with Vladimir Putin".

When commenting on a popular Russian car slogan reading "We can repeat it," Putin recalled another famous phrase: "Whosoever comes against us by the sword shall perish by the sword."

VLADIVOSTOK, March 10. /TASS/: Russian and foreign diplomats evacuated on a special flight from Pyongyang to Vladivostok have left for Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s office in Vladivostok informed TASS on Tuesday.

There were 80 diplomats and their family members, including 13 Russian nationals, onboard the flight leaving from North Korea, where strict quarantine measures are currently introduced to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.

MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/: Russian-made coronavirus test systems, developed by the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR (the Vector institute) of the Federal Service for Surveillance in Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being (Rospotrebnadzor), have been shipped to ten countries already, Rospotrebnadzor press service said Tuesday.