Italy

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.

The wine industry in North Macedonia, from vineyards to grape farmers, risks collapse this year amid drastically lower demand and prices for this landmark product, the country's biggest association of wine producers, "Wines from Macedonia", warned.

The total number of people killed by the novel coronavirus around the world passed 750,000 on Aug. 13, with some countries toughening control measures as caseloads once again creep up.    

Latin America and the Caribbean region remains the global epicenter, accounting for almost one-third of all deaths and housing two of the worst-affected countries - Mexico and Brazil.    

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu sent letters on Aug. 13 to European Union foreign ministers and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell about recent developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and Turkey's approach on the issue.  

The letters came ahead of a EU Foreign Relations Council meeting on Aug. 14 at Greece's request.

"Moscow calls on Eastern European partners to weigh the risks and consider the consequences of deploying the US military on a rotating basis on their territory," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

It is now about the emergence of a permanent military contingent of the United States and its allies in Eastern Europe in places they have never been before.

As part of the plan to reopen Israel's skies, Israelis returning from certain countries will not be required to go into isolation.

Prosecutors have investigated Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and six members of his government over how they handled the coronavirus crisis, but have recommended the case be dropped, Conte's office said on Thursday.

With the Turkish Oruc Reis research vessel in the Greek continental shelf and the fleets of both countries in a tense standoff, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent a twofold message to Turkey on Wednesday stating that Greece is willing to have an honest dialogue, but will not back way from any challenge.

Italy ordered travellers arriving from Croatia, Greece, Malta and Spain to be tested for Covid-19 on Wednesday and added Colombia to a list of countries under a complete travel ban amid growing concern over new infections.

What explains this shift, from being the region that initially had among the fewest cases in Europe, to a surge?

Some country-specific reasons might explain individual cases, such as recent elections in Serbia and North Macedonia, or the government crisis in Kosovo, or protests in Montenegro and Serbia. However, none provides an overarching regional perspective.