Europe

BERLIN, August 10. /TASS/: The proposal to ban Schengen visas for Russia was put forward to the EU for discussion and Berlin took note of that, official spokesman of the German Cabinet Steffen Hebestreit said at the briefing on Wednesday.

"It [the draft] was put forward by certain countries in the EU and is thereby on the agenda. The German government should now discuss it among Cabinet members and inside the EU. These discussions are not completed and therefore I cannot tell you about interim results," Hebestreit said. "I request to have patience," the spokesman noted.

ROME, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Brothers of Italy leader Giorgia Meloni recorded a video message in three languages on Wednesday to reassure Italy's partners a right-wing government led by her would not threaten financial stability and would stick to Rome's traditional alliances.

Italy's conservative bloc, which also includes Matteo Salvini's League and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia, is well placed to win an outright majority at an election scheduled for Sept. 25, according to a study on Tuesday. 

BERLIN, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki accused the European Union of imperialistic behaviour towards smaller member states in an op-ed published on the Welt news website on Wednesday.

"Political practice has shown that the positions of Germany and France count more than all the others," Morawiecki wrote for the German news outlet, calling for a more consensus-based approach.

PRISTINA, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Kosovo is prepared to stand against a possible attack by Serbia as worsening strife with minority Serbs could result in a new armed conflict, Prime Minister Albin Kurti told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.

Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo flared again earlier this month when Pristina said it would oblige Serbs living in the north, who are backed by Belgrade and do not recognise Kosovo institutions, to start using license plates issued in Pristina.

HOSTENS, France, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Wildfires tore through the Gironde region of southwestern France on Wednesday, destroying homes and forcing the evacuation of 10,000 residents, some of whom had clambered onto rooftops as the flames got closer.

Black-and-orange skies, darkened by the smoke billowing from forests and lit up by the flames, were seen across the area as the fires continued to burn out of control despite the efforts of firefighters backed by water-bombing aircraft.

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters) - China, which Russia has sought as an ally since being cold-shouldered by the West over its invasion of Ukraine, has called the United States the "main instigator" of the crisis.

In an interview with the Russian state news agency TASS published on Wednesday, China's ambassador to Moscow, Zhang Hanhui, accused Washington of backing Russia into a corner with repeated expansions of the NATO defence alliance and support for forces seeking to align Ukraine with the European Union rather than Moscow.

RIGA, Latvia (AP) — The U.S. will conduct more military exercises with Baltic nations such as Latvia, and look to provide increased training, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday, saying the U.S. may bring in additional troops from America if needed to bolster the region against any possible threat from Russia.

LONDON (AP) — The number of coronavirus deaths fell by 9% in the last week while new cases remained relatively stable, according to the latest weekly pandemic report released by the World Health Organization Wednesday.

The U.N. health agency said there were more than 14,000 COVID-19 deaths in the last week and nearly 7 million new infections. The Western Pacific reported a 30% jump in cases while Africa reported a 46% drop. Cases also fell by more than 20% in the Americas and the Middle East.

GENEVA (AP) — Host nation Qatar is set to play in the opening game of its own World Cup tournament after all — and on a stand-alone day being added to the schedule barely 100 days before kickoff.

Soccer’s marquee tournament is now set start one day earlier than originally scheduled seven years ago in a move that would allow Qatar to play Ecuador on Nov. 20, a person familiar with the proposal told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the matter.

LONDON (AP) — British health authorities say they will offer a polio booster dose to children aged 1 to 9 in London, after finding evidence the virus has been spreading in multiple regions of the capital, despite not confirming any cases of the paralytic disease in people.

In a statement on Wednesday, Britain’s Health Security Agency said it had detected polio viruses derived from the oral polio vaccine in sewage water from eight boroughs of London, but had not identified any cases.