Europe

MELITOPOL, July 14. /TASS/: A referendum on the Zaporozhye Region’s accession to Russia will be organized in early autumn this year, Yevgeny Balitsky, the head of the region’s military-civilian administration, told journalists on Thursday.

"The referendum will be organized in early autumn," he said. "I have received numerous requests from labor forces, trade union organizations and public activists requesting to determine the status of our region as soon as possible."

MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/: Russia will continue contacts with European colleagues regarding the situation with the transit of goods to its Kaliningrad Region, and some questions are yet to be answered, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Thursday.

"Work and contacts will continue in any case, since there are still a number of questions to be answered during the dialogue," Peskov said when asked whether the Kremlin intends to seek that the problem be settled in full.

MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed the law ‘On control over the activity of individuals under foreign influence’.

The document, posted on the official portal of legal information, summarizes the current norms of the Russian legislation on foreign agents and introduces some new provisions, subsequently coming into effect on December 1, 2022.

GENEVA, July 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — In addition to tackling COVID and the monkeypox outbreak, the UN health agency has also been keeping a close eye on the puzzling spread of hepatitis in previously healthy children, which has left dozens needing lifesaving liver transplants.

According to a new update on Wednesday from the World Health Organization (WHO), 35 countries in five regions of the world have now reported more than 1,010 probable cases of unexplained severe acute hepatitis, or liver inflammation, in youngsters, since the outbreak was first detected on April 5.

SKOPJE, July 14 (Reuters) - Thousands of people protested in North Macedonia on Thursday as parliament prepared to vote on a French compromise deal for settling the country's disputes with Bulgaria, which would enable its long-due European Union membership talks to start.

Police sealed off the parliament in the capital Skopje to prevent protesters, led by opposition parties, from storming into the building to stop the vote. Demonstrators yelled, whistled and threw ice cubes and eggs at the police.

LEIRIA, Portugal/RASLINA, Croatia, July 14 (Reuters) - Wildfires raged across tinder-dry country in Portugal, Spain, France and Croatia on Thursday, burning homes and threatening livelihoods, as much of Europe baked in a heatwave that has pushed temperatures into the mid-40Cs in some parts.

Nations across southern Europe - experiencing the second heatwave in as many months - have been hit by a series of wildfires over the last few weeks.

VILNIUS, July 14 (Reuters) - European Union member Lithuania will keep restrictions on trade flows to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad while it works out new rules, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said on Thursday.

The European Commission said on Wednesday that sanctioned Russian goods could transit through the bloc's territory by rail to the enclave, after tensions between Moscow, Brussels and Lithuania escalated. 

LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - Former British finance minister Rishi Sunak won the most votes in the second round of voting to succeed Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister, as one candidate was eliminated.

Sunak came top with 101 votes, followed by junior trade minister and bookmakers' favourite Penny Mordaunt on 83 votes and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on 64 votes. Attorney General Suella Braverman was eliminated with 27 votes.

Lawmaker Tom Tugendhat received 32 votes and Kemi Badenoch received 49 votes.

LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - A self-portrait of Dutch post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh has been uncovered hidden behind one of his paintings.

National Galleries of Scotland said on Thursday art conservators made the discovery, believed to be a first for a UK institution, during an x-ray examination of Van Gogh's 1885 artwork "Head of a Peasant Woman" for an upcoming exhibition.

TALLINN, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Estonian President Alar Karis on Thursday proposed that Reform Party leader Kaja Kallas form the next coalition government after she resigned as prime minister together with her minority government.

"I signed the resignation request of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas but also asked her to form a new government which could start working quickly and deal with all important issues of Estonian life. I hope that the new government can start its activities already next week." Karis said on social media.