Commission signs contract to procure monoclonal antibody therapy against Covid-19

Germany's annual consumer price inflation accelerated by more than expected to hit a 13-year-high in July, rising further above the European Central Bank's target of close to but below 2%, the Federal Statistics Office said on Thursday.

Mario Draghi is struggling to hold together his coalition government due to divisions over a proposed justice reform which is contested by the 5-Star Movement, the largest ruling party, and by many Italian prosecutors, Reuters reports.

Open Balkans will be the new name of the regional initiative which had been informally called Mini-Schengen, MIA reported. This was announced at today's Economic Forum on Regional Cooperation in Skopje, attended by Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev, Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania Edi Rama and President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić.

European plane maker Airbus posted 1.87 billion euros ($2.2 billion) net profit for the second quarter and raised its outlook for plane deliveries as the airlines sector steadied itself amid the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, AP reports.

A roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure investment bill advanced in the US Senate on Wednesday, passing a key milestone that moves the emerging legislation toward formal debate and possible passage.

Finland's producer of mobile phones and wireless solutions Nokia announced key internal restructuring to place emphasis on sales of equiptment for 5G networks as demand for next generation communications is booming worldwide, AP reported. Nokia aims to take a leading role in that market under its new CEO Pekka Lundmark who vowed to introduce a new model of management in the company.

Spain's prime minister on Thursday announced that existing measures to protect the most vulnerable from the pandemic’s economic fallout will be prolonged until the end of October, AP reports.

The European Commission publishes on Thursday the reports by Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Microsoft and Google on measures taken in June to combat coronavirus disinformation. The current signatories and the Commission are also calling on new companies to join the Code of Practice on disinformation as it will help broaden its impact and make it more effective. EC Press service reported.

Key US companies led by Google, Netflix and others have found ways to make vaccination against Covid-19 mandatory for their personnel. While the streaming company plans to require that "zone A" personnel, including actors and supporting crew in close contact with them must get the jab, Google announced that only vaccinated employees would be allowed to return to their work stations in the firm's US campuses, BBC reported.

Electricity demand in the European Union has returned to pre-pandemic levels without a corresponding rise in emissions, according to a report published Wednesday by the energy think tank Ember.