Europe

11 July 2019; MEMO: Amnesty International is urging TripAdvisor employees “to use their power to demand that their company stops profiting from war crimes by listing tourist attractions and properties in illegal Israeli settlements across the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT)”.

LONDON (AP) — Boris Johnson, the man likely to become U.K. prime minister within weeks, on Thursday denied playing any role in the departure of Britain’s ambassador to Washington, who quit after coming under attack from President Donald Trump.

Politicians from both government and opposition parties have accused Johnson of spinelessness for failing to defend envoy Kim Darroch, and said the removal of a British ambassador because of pressure from a foreign leader was a severe blow to British diplomacy and power.

MOSCOW, July 10. /TASS/: Russia's Special Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev and Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin held consultations with Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Shamkhani and Iranian Foreign Minister's Senior Aide for Special Political Affairs Ali Asghar Khaji on Tuesday in Tehran, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, July 11. /TASS/: An earthquake of 5 magnitude was registered off the coast of the southern Kuril Islands, the Sakhalin department of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Geophysical Service told TASS on Thursday.

"The earthquake's epicenter lay at the depth of 62 km in 116 km to the south-east of the Iturup island," the department said.

Residents of the Kuril islands did not feel the tremors, and no tsunami alert was issued.

MOSCOW, July 11. /TASS/: Wildfires have been extinguished in Russian regions on the territory of around 3,700 hectares in the past 24 hours, the press service of the Aerial Forest Protection Service said on Thursday.

"In the past 24 hours, 47 wildfires were extinguished on the territory of 3,747 hectares. As of 12am on 11 July 2019, 175 forest fires are reported on the territory of 127,886 hectares, with active firefighting efforts underway," the press service said.

MOSCOW, July 10. /TASS/: Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak has discussed with CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber issues of bilateral cooperation in production of hydrocarbons and liquefied natural gas (LNG) and in geological exploration, the Russian Energy Ministry said on Thursday.

Novak said that energy cooperation between the two countries is developing and has a great potential. In particular, he noted that cooperation in the sphere of liquified natural gas is especially promising.

MOSCOW, July 11. /TASS/: Four satellites launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome on Wednesday in the interests of the Russian Defense Ministry were delivered to the designated orbit, the ministry's press service said on Thursday.

"The Soyuz-2.1v carrier rocket launched on July 10 at 8:14pm Moscow time from the State Trial Cosmodrome Plesetsk (Arkhangelsk region), has successfully delivered the Russian Defense Ministry's spacecraft to the designated orbit," the press service said.

MOSCOW, July 10. /TASS/: A Russian Emergencies Ministry aircraft has evacuated over 30 children of Russian citizens held in a prison in Iraq's Baghdad, the ministry’s press service told TASS on Wednesday.

"A special Il-76 flight belonging to the Russian Emergencies Ministry has arrived from Baghdad to Ramenskoye Airport in the Moscow Region with 33 children of Russian citizens that found themselves in the armed conflict zone," the ministry stated.

11 July 2019; AFP: German auto giant Volkswagen launched the final edition of its iconic "Beetle" car from its Mexican factory in Puebla on Wednesday.

The bug-shaped metallic blue sedan rolled off the production line in central Mexico to rapturous applause, the last of a model first manufactured in the late 1930s.

The last 65 models of the "Beetle Final Edition" will be sold in Mexico on the internet for a base price of $21,000, and can be reserved with a $1,000 payment.

11 July 2019; AFP: By the year 2050, London's climate will resemble Madrid's today; Paris will be more like Canberra; Stockholm like Budapest and Moscow like Sofia, according to a new analysis published Wednesday that relied on optimistic projections.

The changes will be even more dramatic for the world's major tropical cities like Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and Singapore which will experience unprecedented climate conditions, resulting in extreme weather events and intense droughts.