Europe

PRAGUE, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis met visiting his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban here on Wednesday to discuss economic cooperation, defense, migration, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The price of emission allowances was one of the topics of their meeting. The high price of emission allowances would have a negative effect on energy prices and it is necessary to start resolving the situation at the next European Council summit, said the Czech government in a press release after the meeting.

PARIS (AP) — Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty Thursday of illegal campaign financing of his unsuccessful 2012 reelection bid.

Sarkozy wasn’t present at the Paris court for the verdict’s announcement.

He is accused of having spent almost twice the maximum legal amount of 22.5 million euros ($27.5 million) on the reelection bid that he lost to Socialist Francois Hollande.

MONACO (AP) — An investigation into two Belarus team officials who tried to force sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya on a flight from the Tokyo Olympics will now be run by track and field authorities.

World Athletics said on Thursday its independent Athletics Integrity Unit is taking over the case from the International Olympic Committee. No timetable was given for the investigation.

The Belarus team’s treatment of Tsimanouskaya created a diplomatic incident at the Tokyo Olympics with Japanese authorities and Poland’s embassy coming to her aid.

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Hospitals across Bosnia are again filling with COVID-19 patients gasping for air, and the country’s pandemic death toll is rising. Yet vaccination sites are mostly empty and unused coronavirus vaccines are fast approaching their expiration dates.

When the European Union launched its mass vaccination campaign, non-member Bosnia struggled along with most other Balkan nations to get supplies. By late spring, however, hundreds of thousands of doses started pouring into the country.

MOSCOW, September 29. /TASS/: Moscow will not support North Korea’s attempts to use new missile launches in order to aggravate the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated on Wednesday.

"We will not support North Korea’s moot attempts to use certain test launches for further escalation," the senior diplomat said.

SEVASTOPOL, September 29. /TASS/: The crews of the aircraft of a separate naval assault regiment from the naval aviation of the Black Sea Fleet conducted combat exercises at a practice range in the Crimea, the Fleet’s press office reported on Wednesday.

"According to the scenario, a Su-24MP tactical bomber while performing reconnaissance tasks, detects objects of a conventional enemy in a mountainous area. Su-24M fighter jets and Su-30SM multirole fighters took to the sky to eliminate the "enemy", the press service noted.

SIMFEROPOL, September 29. / TASS /: The Strategy for De-occupation of Crimea, approved on Wednesday by the Ukrainian government, has been developed to shift the focus of the citizens from pressing problems, Head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov said on Wednesday, noting that Kiev was incapable of perceiving reality.

The Strategy for De-occupation of Crimea was upheld by the members of Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers. According to Prime Minister Denis Shmygal, the document represents a comprehensive roadmap, which will allow it to regain control over the peninsula.

SOCHI, September 29./TASS/: The presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have finished their talks in Sochi. The talks began at approximately 13:30 Moscow time and lasted about three hours.

"[The talks] have ended," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS when asked whether the talks were still in progress.

ROME, Sept 29 (Reuters) - An extraordinary meeting of the Group of 20 major economies to discuss Afghanistan will take place on Oct. 12, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Wednesday.

Italy holds the rotating G20 presidency this year and Draghi has recently discussed Afghanistan with other world leaders - including Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping - in an effort to organise a special meeting to lay down strategies to confront the crisis.

BERLIN, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Germany's Greens said on Wednesday they had held a good first round of talks with the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) and planned to meet them again, though the two 'kingmakers' were at odds over which larger partner to join in a new coalition government.

The upbeat message from the Greens' Annalena Baerbock came after a smiling selfie of FDP and Green leaders together at an initial meeting late on Tuesday went viral, with the cosiness of the unlikely allies' meeting sparking a raft of jokes.