Europe

MOSCOW, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a phone conversation on Wednesday to discuss the Iran nuclear deal and bilateral affairs.

The two countries' top diplomats exchanged views on the prospects for restoring full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action during the phone call, which was initiated by the U.S. side, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

They also discussed a number of topical issues on the bilateral agenda, it said in a brief statement. 

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Wednesday urged member countries to provide relief funds to consumers and small businesses hit hardest by rising gas and electricity prices, as criticism mounts that the bloc’s climate change fighting policies are fueling the problem.

In recent days, France and Spain have led the charge for change to the rules governing EU energy markets as the price surge ramps up already-high utility bills and increases pressure on many people already hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

BRDO CASTLE, Slovenia (AP) — European Union leaders gathered Wednesday to reassure six countries in the Balkans region that they could join the trading bloc one day if they meet its standards, but the presidents and prime ministers are unlikely to give any signal about when the nations might advance in their quests.

BERLIN (AP) — German police carried out large-scale raids in 25 cities Wednesday in connection with a suspected money-laundering network alleged to have funneled millions in ill-gotten gains abroad.

Duesseldorf police said the raids, which began in the early hours, involved more than 1,000 officers and took place in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Bremen.

Eleven people were arrested, including a 39-year-old Syrian man who is accused of membership in Syria’s Nusra Front extremist group, police said.

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — This is an autumn of inconvenience in Britain, marked by empty gas pumps, worker shortages and gaps on store shelves.

None of that got a mention from Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday, as he brushed off the economic bumps and said the U.K. would emerge from Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic as a more productive and dynamic nation.

Johnson told the Conservative Party’s annual conference that he’d end “decades of drift and dither” and tackle “long-term structural weaknesses,” especially a reliance on low-cost labor from abroad.

ZURICH (AP) — Top diplomatic advisers to U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for talks in Switzerland’s largest city Wednesday in hopes of ironing out differences on a range of topics from trade to Taiwan.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi were holding morning and afternoon discussions in an upscale hotel next to Zurich’s airport.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Two scientists won the Nobel Prize for chemistry Wednesday for finding an “ingenious” and environmentally cleaner way to build molecules that can be used to make everything from medicines to food flavorings.

The work of Benjamin List of Germany and Scotland-born David W.C. MacMillan has allowed scientists to produce those molecules more cheaply, efficiently, safely — and with significantly less environmental impact.

“It’s already benefiting humankind greatly,” said Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede, a member of the Nobel panel.

06 Oct 2021; MEMO: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the bloc was unable to persuade Turkey to abandon the purchase of Russia's S-400 defence system and replace them with systems made by Western countries.

Speaking at a seminar in Washington yesterday, Stoltenberg said this is an important issue for NATO, there must be a possibility to integrate the S-400 air defence systems with the NATO air and missile defence system, adding that so far, this is not possible.

London, Oct 5 (AP-PTI) AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker that developed one of the first COVID-19 vaccines, has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorise the emergency use of an antibody treatment to prevent the disease.

The company said Tuesday that the treatment, known as AZD7442, would be the first long-acting antibody combination to receive an emergency use authorization for COVID-19 prevention. The treatment may help protect people whose immune systems don't respond adequately to vaccination, AstraZeneca said.

GENEVA, Oct 05 (APP): Pakistan has called for redoubling efforts to halt and reverse the rising trend of Islamophobia and other forms of racial discrimination, emphasizing that “meaningful accountability of the perpetrators” must be ensured.

“Islamophobia is a dangerous form of contemporary racism, nurtured by decades of public rhetoric and policies against as well as stereotyping of Muslim communities and minorities,” Ambassador Khalil Hashmi, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN office in Geneva, told the UN Human Rights Council on Monday.