Europe

2 July 2019; AFP: England and New Zealand head into their final World Cup group match on Wednesday, each knowing that a win would see them into the semi-finals.

Even a defeat would not spell the end of either team's chances of emerging as one of the top four from the 10-team round-robin phase.

Were England to lose in Chester-le-Street, Pakistan could leapfrog them into the top four with victory over Bangladesh.

2 July 2019; DW: Sweden took a step closer to becoming a smoke-free nation on Monday with the introduction of new laws regarding smoking in public places.

As of July 1, Swedes were no longer able to light up in certain public spaces, such as playgrounds, train stations and even outside restaurants and bars. The ban has been extended to e-cigarettes.

2 July 2019; DW: European Union leaders gathered in Brussels on Tuesday for a third day of talks after they failed to come to an agreement on the bloc's top jobs during a marathon 18-hour session the day before.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was entering Tuesday's talks with "new creativity" and urged other leaders to be more open to compromise.

MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/: Russia hopes its reaction to the anti-Russian campaign in Georgia has brought to reason those seeking to earn political points, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigoty Karasin said in an interview with the Kommersant daily posted on its website on Monday.

"They seem to have forgotten in Georgia that Russia has its own concept of honor and dignity. We are not in the habit of swallowing impudence and threats toward our nationals," Karasin said. "We have to anticipate possible risks in advance and block them."

MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) facilitates safe return of Syrian refugees in cooperation with Moscow and Damascus, UNHCR's regional coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Mohamed Amin Awad Abubakir told TASS in an interview.

"UNHCR is continuing its engagement with the Government of Syria, the Russian Federation and all other stakeholders to ensure that everyone is aware of, and applies, international standards to return planning," Abubakir said.

MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/: Firefighters are working on extinguishing over 100 wildfires on the territory of around 50,000 hectares, the press service of the Aerial Forest Protection Service said on Tuesday. On Monday, forest fires covered around 40,000 hectares.

"As of 12am on 2 July 2019, 116 forest fires are reported on the territory of 49,941 hectares, with active firefighting efforts underway," the press service said.

MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/: Three earthquakes have rocked Russia's Far Eastern region of Kamchatka over the last 24 hours, with the strongest one reaching 5.1 magnitude, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said on Tuesday.

"According to Obninsk urgent reports , three earthquakes were registered in Kamchatka over the last 24 hours. None of them generated tsunamis, and none were felt in local settlements. Residents did not report anything to regional emergency services," the ministry said.

MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/: Russian Aerospace Defense Forces have tested a new anti-ballistic missile at the Sary-Shagan training range in Kazakhstan, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

"The new anti-ballistic missile, after several trials, has reliably confirmed its characteristics and successfully fulfilled the task by striking an assigned target with precision," the defense ministry cited Colonel Pavel Kuzmin as saying.

Anti-ballistic missiles are used to counter ballistic missiles.

VIENNA (AP) — OPEC is extending its deal to cut production for another nine months in bid to keep oil prices from sagging as the oil cartel faces a weakening outlook for global demand.

The decision among the members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries came during a meeting Monday at the cartel’s headquarters in Vienna.

1 July 2019; AFP: Oil prices jumped Monday after OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and non-member Russia agreed to keep daily oil output caps, but Iran warned the move risks killing off the cartel that pumps a third of global supplies.