Europe

VIENNA, Apr 30 (NNN-XINHUA) – The negotiations on getting the United States and Iran to resume compliance with the historic 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), entered their fourth week in Vienna.

The international community is longing for a major breakthrough in the negotiations. Washington, if sincere in its intent to return to the pact, should act first, given its decision to unilaterally withdraw from the JCPOA and apply maximum pressure on Iran thereafter, setting off the current crisis.

(Reuters) --- Some EU countries still want Brussels to strike a deal to buy Valneva's (VLS.PA) COVID-19 vaccine candidate despite a recent setback in talks, as the bloc aim to shore up and diversify supplies, sources familiar with the talks told Reuters.

A spokesman for the European Commission said last week the French vaccine maker had not met conditions required to reach an agreement, two days after the company said it would now give priority to a country by country approach. 

(Reuters) --- The Kremlin accused Washington on Friday of fuelling tension with "unfriendly actions" after the U.S. embassy in Moscow said it was cutting staff and stopping processing visas for most Russians.

The embassy said it was cutting consular staff by 75% and that from May 12 it would stop processing non-immigrant visas for non-diplomatic travel after a new Russian law imposed limits on how many local staff can work at foreign diplomatic missions. 

(Reuters) --- Russia's financial monitoring agency said on Friday it had added jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's network of regional campaign offices to a list of organisations involved in "terrorism and extremism".

Allies of Navalny said on Thursday they were disbanding the network as the authorities sought to ban them.

A Moscow court is also considering whether to declare Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) "extremist", a ruling that would give Russian authorities the power to jail activists and freeze bank accounts.

30 Apr 2021; MEMO: Recent reports about the suspension of an agreement between Russia and Sudan on establishing a naval base in the African state are "baseless", the Russian embassy in Khartoum announced yesterday.

30 Apr 2021; MEMO: The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said yesterday there is "no common ground yet" to resume official negotiations to resolve the Cyprus issue.

"The truth is that at the end of our efforts, we have not yet found enough common ground to allow for the resumption of formal negotiations," Guterres told reporters in Geneva.

He pointed out that the Turkish Cypriots believe they deserve equal international status and insist on the two-state solution.

(Reuters) --- Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon said she wouldn't propose a referendum on Scottish independence immediately, as she wants to make sure the country is clear of the coronavirus pandemic first.

"I don't believe we should propose a referendum right at this moment," Sturgeon told BBC Radio.

"I'm a lifelong believer in independence, I want Scotland to be independent, but firstly we've got to steer the country through the crisis."

MOSCOW, April 29. /TASS/: Turkey’s sovereign course causes the concern of the United States and NATO and thus they come up with harsh statements against Ankara, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a live broadcast of the Big Game program on TV Channel One on Thursday.

MOSCOW, April 29. /TASS/: Over 300,000 troops and 35,000 weapon systems participated in combat readiness inspections across Russia, Chief of the Russian General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov said on Thursday.

"Overall, the inspections involved more than 300,000 personnel and 35,000 items of armament, military and special hardware along with 180 warships and vessels and about 900 aircraft, including 15 long-range and 40 military transport planes," the General Staff chief specified.

MOSCOW, April 29. /TASS/: Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case against blogger Alexey Navalny over the creation of an NGO infringing on people’s rights, a law enforcement source told TASS.

"A new criminal case has been opened against Alexey Navalny under Article 239 of the Russian Criminal Code (the creation of a non-profit organization infringing on people’s identity and rights). If found guilty, he could face up to three years in prison. Other defendants in the case include Leonid Volkov and Ivan Zhdanov," the source said.