Europe

MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/: The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) apprehended 20 underground gunsmiths in 9 regions of Russia and shut down six gun workshops, the FSB press service told TASS Wednesday.

"The Federal Security Service thwarted criminal activities of 20 residents of Crimea and the Krasnoyarsk, Voronezh, Kemerovo, Leningrad, Moscow, Rostov, Sverdlovsk and Tomsk regions. All of them were involved in restoration of combat capabilities of civilian weapons in underground workshops with an intention of sale," the press service said.

MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/: The trials of the latest Rubezh coastal defense system with cruise missiles are due to be completed before the end of 2021, Morinformsistema-Agat Group Deputy CEO - Chief Designer for Military and Technical Policy Nikolai Borisov told TASS on Wednesday.

"The trials of the new Rubezh system are currently underway. They will surely be completed by the end of 2021," he said.

The Rubezh is a mobile version of the Bal coastal defense missile system, the deputy CEO explained.

MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/: The question of deploying Russian military facilities in Belarus is not on the agenda, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Wednesday.

"This question is not on the agenda," he said when asked about the possibility of creating a Russian military base in Belarus.

About the Belarussian defense minster’s visit to Russia Peskov said that Russia and Belarus were members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Union State and were developing vast relations in various fields.

LONDON(Reuters) - Detailed analysis is needed before the European Union can decide on long-term access for the London Stock Exchange (LSE.L) to clear euro denominated derivatives for customers in the bloc, a European Central Bank official said on Wednesday.

The LSE dominates euro derivatives clearing and EU policymakers have called for the activity to be relocated to the bloc given that Britain will no longer have to comply with EU rules after Dec. 31 when a post-Brexit transition period ends.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian court on Wednesday ordered former newspaper journalist Ivan Safronov to be kept in custody for another three months pending trial on charges of state treason that have sent a chill through Russia’s media landscape.

Safronov, who left journalism and began working at Russia’s space agency in May, was detained by security agents outside his flat on July 7 and accused of passing military secrets to the Czech Republic in 2017, a charge he denies.

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron, who is visiting Iraq, said on Wednesday he aimed to help guarantee its security and economic sovereignty.

Macron, on his first official trip to Iraq, and was due to hold a joint news conference with Iraqi President Barham Salih.

“In Baghdad... where I have just expressed our support for Iraq at this challenging time. There are many challenges in terms of guaranteeing Iraq’s sovereignty in all its dimensions, ... both inside the country and elsewhere in the region,” he wrote on Twitter.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Alexander Lukashenko, the leader of Belarus, has thanked Russian state-backed television channel RT for sending journalists to help prop up Belarusian state media after some staff members went on strike in protest against his rule.

Some Belarusian media workers walked out amid weeks of protests over a disputed Aug. 9 presidential election marred by vote rigging allegations that have posed the biggest challenge yet to Lukashenko’s 26-year rule.

VIENNA, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Relevant parties reaffirmed their commitment here on Tuesday to preserve and implement the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal.

Secretary general of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Helga Schmid, who chaired a meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission, wrote on Twitter that participants of the meeting were "united in resolve to preserve the Iran Deal and find a way to ensure full implementation of the agreement despite current challenges".

BERLIN, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Today's world is faced with three crucial choices while China and Germany, as major countries with global influence, should jointly undertake three major tasks, said visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday.

Wang made the statements at a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. Wang said they had candid, in-depth and friendly talks, which boosted mutual trust and generated fruitful results.

PARIS (AP) — Thirteen men and a woman go on trial Wednesday over the 2015 attacks against a satirical newspaper and a kosher supermarket in Paris that marked the beginning of a wave of violence by the Islamic State group in Europe.

Seventeen people and all three gunmen died during the three days of attacks in January 2015. Later that year, a separate network of French and Belgian fighters for Islamic State struck Paris again, this time killing 130 people in attacks at the Bataclan concert hall, the national stadium, and in bars and restaurants.