Europe

MOSCOW, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Russia summoned U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan on Friday over alleged interference by the United States in an election, Russian agencies TASS and RIA reported, quoting a diplomatic source.

Russian news agencies reported earlier that Sullivan had been summoned over an issue with accreditations for Russian journalists working in the United States. 

The agencies did not specify which election was discussed. Russia will hold a parliamentary election next week.

LONDON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - The world's poorest countries asked for more help on Friday to meet vaccination and quarantine requirements and costs to ensure they can take part in next month's global climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

The talks aim to spur bigger commitments to start reducing manmade greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and keep the rise in the global average temperature since pre-industrial times to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), to stave off the worst effects of climate change.

LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family back the Black Lives Matter movement, one of her senior representatives said in a television interview to be broadcast Friday.

Philanthropist Kenneth Olisa, the first Black Lord Lieutenant of Greater London, told Channel 4 News that he had discussed the issue with members of the Royal Family since George Floyd died in police custody in the United States last year, sparking global protests over racial injustice.

10 Sep 2021; MEMO: The Vatican has rejected criticism from senior Israeli rabbis over remarks by Pope Francis about Jewish books of sacred law, saying he was not questioning their continuing validity for Jews today.

10 Sep 2021; MEMO: The Paris Court of Appeals yesterday upheld a four-year prison sentence against Rifaat Al-Assad, the uncle of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, for "misappropriating public funds and money laundering".

Last year, the Paris Criminal Court sentenced Rifaat to four years in prison for crimes he committed between 1996-2016.

HALLE, Germany (AP) — It’s a scorching September day and the Green party candidate hoping to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor leaps on stage in front of hundreds of supporters for what should be a home run.

Surveys show climate change is among the top concerns for many voters, and the audience in the eastern city of Halle is made up largely of students and retirees eager to hear how Annalena Baerbock plans to safeguard their future — or that of their grandchildren.

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s economic growth slowed more than expected in July as concern about the spread of the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 overshadowed the government’s decision to end most social distancing rules.

The economy expanded 0.1% in the month, down from 1% in June. Economists had expected gross domestic product to increase by 0.5%, according to a survey conducted by Pantheon Macroeconomics.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s state-controlled gas giant said Friday it has completed the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, a contentious project that Ukraine and the United States have strongly opposed.

Gazprom said in a statement on the messaging app Telegram, citing its CEO Alexei Miller, that the construction of Nord Stream 2 was “fully completed” on Friday morning.

MOSCOW, September 9. /TASS/: Russia will continue its independent policy and will not conform to the US despite the sanctions and pressure of the US authorities, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview on Thursday.

"We have adapted to this [US] pressure, to sanction expenses and so on so well that, probably, this policy exhausted itself a long time ago," the spokesman said.

According to the official, this policy "cannot lead to Russia somehow conforming to America, let alone change the main line in its foreign policy."

MOSCOW, September 9. /TASS/: The timing of the commencement of commercial supplies via the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline depends on the German regulator; the Russian Federation hopes that millions of European consumers will be able to receive Russian gas in the near future, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday.

The diplomat recalled that the construction of one of the world's largest energy infrastructure facilities is about to be completed.