Europe

GENEVA, July 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization issued its first situation report on the spread of monkeypox on Thursday, detailing the typical profile of those affected by the outbreak so far.

According to available statistics, almost all patients affected thus far are male, with a median age of 37, with three-fifths identifying as men who have sex with men, the WHO said.

A surge in monkeypox infections has been reported since early May outside the West and Central African countries where the disease has long been endemic.

VATICAN CITY, July 8 (Reuters) - Pope Francis has acknowledged that there is resistance by some national Catholic Churches on implementing measures to protect children from sexual abuse by clergy but said that there is no turning back on an "irreversible" path.

Sexual abuse in the Church and measures to combat it were among one of the many Church and international topics the 85-year-old pontiff discussed in an exclusive interview with Reuters in his Vatican residence on July 2. 

July 8 (Reuters) - Russia warned Lithuania and the European Union on Friday that it could adopt "harsh measures" against them if the transit of some goods to and from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad did not resume.

"If the situation does not stabilize in the coming days, then Russia will take harsh measures against Lithuania and the European Union," Maria Zakharova, spokesperson of the Russian foreign ministry, said in a statement. "The issue has taken too long to resolve."

BERLIN, July 8 (Reuters) - Germany on Friday ratified Finland's and Sweden's accession to NATO, three days after the 30 members signed off on the most significant expansion of the alliance on Tuesday.

The parliament in Berlin as well as the Bundesrat grouping the federal states endorsed the accession protocols for both Nordic countries.

"This creates more security - for all NATO members and for Europe," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Twitter.

LONDON (AP) — Former British Treasury chief Rishi Sunak formally launched his campaign to replace departing Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday, leaping to the front of what is set to be a large pack of Conservative Party contenders — even as some party lawmakers pushed to get the scandal-tarnished Johnson out of office before his replacement is elected over the summer.

Johnson announced his resignation on Thursday — a dizzying about-face after months of insisting he would stay in the job despite mounting ethics scandals and growing Conservative discontent.

PARIS (AP) — Hundred of firefighters backed by water-dropping planes battled a large forest fire Friday in southeastern France that has forced the evacuation of nearby villages.

Thirteen firefighters have been injured in Bordezac — the village where the fire started. Overall, 18 firefighters have been injured amid several forest fires that have burned for days in the region, according to France Info.

KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — She had gone out to feed the cats when the shelling began.

It was afternoon, a residential neighborhood, a time to get errands done. But there is nothing routine about life near the front line in Ukraine.

Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city and a short drive from the Russian border, lives with the low thunder of distant artillery and the sickening booms of shells exploding much closer to home.

07 July 2022; MEMO: The British High Court has today ruled against a judicial review of the Tory government's pro-Israel school policy which last summer accelerated a hostile crackdown on pro-Palestinian solidarity across the country.

MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/: The Federation Council will promptly review the issue of the DPR, LPR and liberated territories of Ukraine joining Russia, should these territories hold corresponding referendums, Council Speaker told reporters Thursday.

MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 3,359 over the past day to 18,451,810 the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Thursday.

As many as 1,272 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, 0.5% fewer than in the previous day. The number of hospitalized patients declined in 29 regions, while in 47 other regions the figure increased. A day earlier, 1,278 people were rushed to hospitals.