Europe

MOSCOW, September 21. /TASS/: Russia maintains working dialogue with the on Belarus, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told TASS Monday.

"We continue the dialogue on this issue in a working mode at the embassy level," the diplomat said.

There have been no bilateral contacts or visits between Russia and the US "that could be announced" yet, the Deputy Foreign Minister said.

MOSCOW, September 21. /TASS/: Russia’s Armed Forces will pay particular attention to combating cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles during the Kavkaz (or Caucasus) 2020 military exercise that kicked off on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

MOSCOW, September 21. /TASS/: The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation abolished the Russia of the Future political party, founded by blogger Alexey Navalny, the court told TASS Monday.

"The Court has satisfied the Ministry of Justice’s request on abolishment of the Russia of the Future political party," the court press service said.

One year ago, the Ministry of Justice denied registration for the Russia of the Future political party, arguing that this name was already in use by another political organization.

STOCKHOLM, Sept 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Finnish passenger cruise ship ran aground off the island of Aland in the Baltic Sea, the cruise line said, with emergency services adding they were preparing to evacuate the vessel.

The ship was headed towards Stockholm from Turku in Finland and ran aground around 12.50am local time outside the city of Mariehamn on the autonomous Finnish island of Aland near the Swedish coast.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Monday, weakened by the possible return of Libyan production and as rising coronavirus cases stoked worries about global demand, although the market drew support as a tropical storm threatened to disrupt output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Brent crude was down 95 cents at $42.20 a barrel by 1205 GMT. U.S. crude fell 90 cents to $40.21 a barrel. Both contracts were set for their biggest daily drops in two weeks.

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland’s ruling right-wing coalition should remain united, the leader of a junior partner in the alliance said on Monday, attempting to smooth tensions that threaten to wreck the government and trigger a snap election.

Zbigniew Ziobro, who is also Poland’s justice minister, spoke as leaders of the largest party in the coalition, Law and Justice (PiS), held an emergency meeting that lawmakers say could end in a split amid policy disagreements.

LONDON (Reuters) - Boris Johnson will make a statement in the lower house of parliament on Tuesday, the leader of the House of Commons said on Monday, after the British leader spent much of the last three days discussing possible next steps in the coronavirus crisis.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny told Russia on Monday to hand over the clothes he was wearing when he fell into a coma last month and accused Moscow of withholding an important piece of evidence in his case.

The outspoken opponent of President Vladimir Putin said his clothes were taken away from him before he was flown to Germany for treatment from Siberia after he fell violently ill on a domestic flight.

Germany says tests in three countries have determined he was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent and the West has demanded an explanation from Russia.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Europe’s economic rebound is uncertain and uneven, requiring “very careful” assessment of incoming data, including the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Monday.

“The uncertainty of the current environment requires a very careful assessment of the incoming information, including developments in the exchange rate,” Lagarde said in a speech to the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly.

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy will make testing for COVID-19 compulsory for people traveling from Paris and some areas in France, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Monday, amid growing concern over new infections in Europe.

“European data is worrying. Italy is doing better than other countries but we need to be cautious ...”, Speranza wrote on Twitter.

A health ministry spokesman said the new testing will start from Tuesday.

French health authorities reported 10,569 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday, down from the previous day’s record increase of 13,498.