Europe

TIRANA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday that Spain is ready to support Albania to continue its reforms to improve people's quality of life and integrate into the European Union (EU).

He made the remarks at a joint press conference in Albania's capital Tirana with his Albanian counterpart Edi Rama following a meeting.

Albania is the last stop of Sanchez's Western Balkan tour, which took him also to Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia.

PARIS, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The highly pathogenic bird flu, or avian influenza, has been detected at a turkey farm in northern France, causing the cull of at least 8,000 turkeys, French daily news Le Figaro reported on Monday.

"Regulated protection and surveillance zones have been set up within a radius of 3-10 km," local authorities of the city of Feuilleres, in the northern department of Somme of France, said in a press release. The first cluster of the high pathogenic bird flu was found on Saturday at the turkey farm.

MOSCOW, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that 39 British citizens have been barred from entering Russia in response to London's increased sanctions against Russians.

The blacklisted are British politicians, journalists and business people, including former Prime Minister David Cameron, because they "promote London's hostile policy aimed at demonising Russia and isolating it internationally," the ministry said.

Moscow could impose restrictions on more British nationals as London attempts to continue anti-Russian sanctions, it warned. 

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Ukraine’s Azov Regiment a terrorist organization, a designation that could lead to terror charges against some of the captured fighters who made their last stand inside Mariupol’s shattered steel plant.

Scores of Azov fighters are being held prisoner by Moscow since their surrender in mid-May. Russian authorities have opened criminal cases against them, accusing them of killing civilians. The addition of terrorism charges could mean even longer prison sentences.

KHIMKI, Russia (AP) — American basketball star Brittney Griner was back in court on Tuesday for her trial for cannabis possession amid U.S. diplomatic efforts to secure her release.

During the hearing, prosecutors called a state narcotics expert who analyzed cannabis found in Griner’s luggage. Her defense fielded a specialist who challenged the analysis, charging that it was flawed and didn’t conform to official rules.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The first cargo ship to leave Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbor more than five months ago has run into bad weather in the Black Sea and is set to arrive later than scheduled in Istanbul, a Turkish official said Tuesday.

The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni, which set sail from the Ukrainian port of Odesa on Monday, is now expected to reach Istanbul early Wednesday, according to Rear Admiral Ozcan Altunbulak, a coordinator at the joint center established to oversee the grain shipments.

02 August 2022; MEMO: Jordanian athlete, Maysir Al-Dahamsheh, yesterday refused to face an Israeli opponent in a Taekwondo championship in Bulgaria.

Al-Dahamsheh has withdrawn from a bronze medal tournament, in opposition to normalising with the Israeli occupation. Her withdrawal comes two months after the Jordanian national fencing player, Eyas Al-Zamer, withdrew from a World Juniors Championship held in the United Arab Emirates, where he had to face an Israeli opponent.

MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/: The issue of Serbia’s possible membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) has not yet been included on the agenda, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Monday.

"Frankly speaking, such an issue has not been on the agenda," the Kremlin official said replying to a question on the matter.

MINSK, August 1. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has appointed Dmitry Krutoy, a deputy head of his administration, as the republic’s new ambassador to Russia, the state-run BelTA news agency reported on Monday.

MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 10,824 over the past day to 18,612,543, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Monday.

As many as 836 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, down 14.9% from a day earlier. The number of hospitalized patients decreased in 47 regions, while in 25 regions the figure increased. The situation remained unchanged in 13 regions. A day earlier, 982 people were rushed to hospitals.