EU's chief executive warns against 'pandemic of the unvaccinated'

After three months of construction work Paris' famed Arc de Triomphe was on Thursday completely concealed. A day later Christo’s last artwork was officially unveiled by French President Emmanuel Macron. Following the project's completion, the arch will remain transformed for just 16 days.

Nine European Mediterranean countries held a summit in Athens on Friday afternoon to discuss issues ranging from climate change to migration and Afghanistan, news wires reported. The one-day gathering, dubbed the EUMED 9, brings together the leaders of Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, Slovenia and Croatia. Commission head Ursula von der Leyen will also attend the meeting.

Albania's parliament on Friday voted in the first cabinet to be dominated by women since the multi-party system was introduced 30 years ago, news wires reported. After a very long parliamentary session, Edi Rama was voted as PM for third time. His government consist of 12 women and only 5 men.

Hungary must remain an EU member in order to ensure continued access to its single market, PM Viktor Orban said on Friday, adding the country would be among the last to leave the bloc if it were ever to disintegrate.

World Bank leaders, including then-Chief Executive Kristalina Georgieva, applied "undue pressure" on staff to boost China's ranking in the bank's "Doing Business 2018" report, according to an independent investigation released Thursday. The report, prepared by law firm WilmerHale at the request of the bank's ethics committee, raises concerns about China's influence at the World Bank, and the judgment of Georgieva - now managing director of the International Monetary Fund, according to Reuters.

Russia goes to the polls on Friday to elect a new parliament in a three-day vote that the ruling United Russia party is expected to win despite a ratings slump after the biggest crackdown on the Kremlin's critics in years, news wires reported. The vote is a test of President Vladimir Putin's grip on power, according to Reuters.

Unknown Vincent van Gogh drawing of an exhausted old man has been discovered and went on display for the first time, a museum dedicated to the artist has confirmed. Study for Worn Out was drawn in 1882, early in the artist's career.

Dutch Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag has quit her post over her handling of the Afghan evacuation crisis last month, news wires reported. She is the first Western government official to step down over the chaos that followed the Taliban takeover.

Ten days ahead of parliamentary election in Germany the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) increased their lead over their conservative rivals, the CDU/CSU bloc, dpa reported. According to the latest poll, published on Thursday by the opinion research institute Kantar, the SPD improved by one point to 26%, while the CDU/CSU slipped to 20%.

Britain is to begin replacing or scrapping EU regulations that were copied into British law before EU divorcet, Brexit minister David Frost said. To avoid uncertainty and confusion as Britain left the EU after 40 years, the government automatically carried thousands of EU laws and regulations into British law so that they would still apply after Brexit.