Germany

Countries among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic unveiled further measures on Aug. 14 to battle rising infections, as the number of cases worldwide passed 21 million.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it was extending a ban on non-essential travel through border crossings with Canada and Mexico throughout most of September "to slow the spread" of the disease.

During an EU teleconference of the European Union Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) on Friday, Greece and Germany disagreed on the content of the statement officials had planned to issue after the talks, according to diplomatic sources.

European Union foreign ministers were holding urgent talks Friday on military tensions between Greece and Turkey as the neighboring countries' navies continued a game of brinkmanship over eastern Mediterranean drilling rights.

Turkey has completed discussions with 92 countries for resumption of flights, the country's transportation and infrastructure minister said on Aug. 14.  

Turkey continues to operate scheduled and non-scheduled flights with 48 countries as of Aug. 13, Adil Karaismailoğlu said in a press release.

European Union foreign ministers prepared Friday for urgent talks on military tensions between Greece and Turkey as the neighboring countries' navies continued a game of brinkmanship over eastern Mediterranean drilling rights.

Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu said on Friday that any form of threat from the Russian Federation is "unacceptable," claiming that Moscow is "disturbed" that Romania is and is consolidating as the safest country in its region." "Any form of threat from the Russian Federation is unacceptable!

The US special envoy to the stalled Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Richard Grenell, said on Twitter on Friday that a meeting between Kosovo and Serbia would take place in Washington on September 2.

"We are happy to announce that the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia will meet at the White House for a negotiation on September 2″, Grenell tweeted without providing further details.

"Serbia is not in a position, but it would not be good if it was in a position to reject the talks. Why Grenell used the term 'negotiations' is a question for him. We participate in the talks, the topics are economic, it is important for us and they are good topics ", Vui says.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by telephone to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis about their dispute over energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, a German government spokesman said on Thursday.

Any attack on a Turkish vessel engaged in energy exploration along Turkey's continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean will pay dearly, warned Turkey's president on Aug. 13.