Europe

MOSCOW, August 12. /TASS/: New daily coronavirus cases in Russia went up by 27,810 in the past 24 hours from 25,815 the day before, the anti-coronavirus crisis center said on Friday. That’s the most since March 21, when 28,709 coronavirus patients were identified. The total number of cases has reached 18,824.282 since the start of the pandemic.

As many as 2,619 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, 3.7% up from the day before. Hospitalizations rose in 41 regions of the country and decreased in 39 regions.

MOSCOW, August 12. /TASS/: Russia will retaliate for the expulsion of another Russian diplomat by Montenegro, the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS on Friday.

"Russia will issue an appropriate response," the ministry said.

Earlier on Friday, Montenegro declared a Russian diplomat persona non grata. On April 7, the Montenegrin Foreign Ministry declared personae non gratae four Russian diplomats who were ordered to leave the country within seven days. On May 31, Russia retaliated by declaring an employee of the Montenegrin Embassy in Moscow persona non grata.

MOSCOW, August 12. /TASS/: Russia could unblock Instagram (banned in Russia as it’s owned by Meta Corporation, which is designated as extremist in Russia) if the social network changes its policy and will make an official apology to Russian citizens, a Russian lawmaker said on Friday.

MOSCOW, August 12. /TASS/: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has no choice other than to face a tribunal or play secondary roles in comedy shows, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with journalist Nadan Fridrikhson, which was posted on his Telegram channel on Friday.

Medvedev’s secretariat has confirmed to TASS the authenticity of the interview.

Thus, when asked what he thinks about Zelensky’s future, Medvedev said, "Either a tribunal or secondary roles in comedy shows again."

GENEVA, Aug 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN rights chief voiced alarm at the number of Palestinian children killed and wounded this month and demanded those responsible be brought to account.

Last week saw three days of intense conflict between Israel and Islamic Jihad militants in the densely populated Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

“Inflicting hurt on any child during the course of conflict is deeply disturbing,” Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement.

ATHENS, Aug 12 (Reuters) - An Iranian-flagged tanker is reloading oil confiscated in April by the United States after Greek authorities approved the release of the cargo, Iran's embassy in Athens and sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

"The operation to transfer Iran's stolen oil to the Lana ... is underway in Greek waters, and the ship will soon depart for our country with a full shipment of oil," Iran's embassy in Greece said on its Twitter account.

PARIS, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The European Space Agency (ESA) has begun preliminary technical discussions with Elon Musk's SpaceX that could lead to the temporary use of its launchers after the Ukraine conflict blocked Western access to Russia's Soyuz rockets.

The private American competitor to Europe's Arianespace has emerged as a key contender to plug a temporary gap alongside Japan and India, but final decisions depend on the still unresolved timetable for Europe's delayed Ariane 6 rocket.

BELGRADE, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Eleven people, including two children and a gunman, were killed in a mass shooting in Montenegro on Friday, and six others were injured, a state prosecutor told Vijesti TV after an initial investigation of the crime scene.

Local media initially had reported that a total of 12 people, including a shooter, had been killed.

"When we arrived at the scene we saw nine dead bodies, including two children, and another two passed away on their way to the hospital," Andrijana Nastic, a state prosecutor, told Vijesti TV.

LONDON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Russian ex-president Dmitry Medvedev issued a veiled threat on Friday to Ukraine's Western allies who have accused Russia of creating the risk of a nuclear catastrophe by stationing forces around the Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia power station.

Ukraine has accused Russia of firing at Ukrainian towns from the site in the knowledge that Ukrainian forces could not risk returning fire. It says Moscow has shelled the area itself while blaming Ukraine.

Russia says it is Ukraine that has shelled the plant.

COPENHAGEN, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Applications for permits to explore and store carbon dioxide (CO2), "the first of its kind" in Denmark, will open from next Monday to October 1, said Danish Energy Agency (DEA) on Friday.

The tendered area is located in the Danish part of the North Sea, according to a release from the DEA.

The tender comes after an all-party Climate Agreement entered into on June 30, 2021 for carbon storage.