Europe

SEVASTOPOL, February 5. /TASS/: Over 500 Black Sea Fleet marines are practicing a tactical air assault force’s airdropping from a helicopter during drills, the Fleet’s press office reported on Wednesday.

The marines are landing from a low-flying helicopter at an altitude of 2-3 meters, the press office said in a statement.

Also, the marines "are making parachute jumps with their full combat gear from an altitude of up to 800 meters from a Mi-8 helicopter." "The marines are making parachute jumps in the daytime in permissible weather conditions," the statement says.

MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/: Reports about a Russian military police post coming under shelling by pro-Turkish groups in Syria’s Aleppo governorate are not true, Major General Yury Borenkov, chief of the Russian Center for reconciliation of the conflicting sides in Syria, said on Tuesday.

"Reports circulated by a number of media outlets on February 4 alleging that a Russian military police post north of the city of Tell Rifat in Syria’s Aleppo governorate came under shelling by pro-Turkish groups are not true," Borenkov said.

CRANFIELD, England (Reuters) - A Nissan car has completed a 230-mile journey autonomously in Britain, the longest and most complex such trip in the country as carmakers race to develop driverless technologies which are revolutionising travel.

Britain has been wooing developers of autonomous vehicles, hoping to grab a slice of an industry it estimates could be worth around 900 billion pounds ($1.2 trillion) worldwide in 2035.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will begin delivering S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to India by the end of 2021, agency RIA Novosti on Wednesday quoted a Russian official as saying.

India signed a $5 billion deal for S-400 missiles in 2018, drawing warnings from the United States that such an acquisition would trigger sanctions as part of a wider program against Russia.

LONDON (Reuters) - A leading British scientist has made a significant breakthrough in the race for a coronavirus vaccine by reducing a part of the normal development time from “two to three years to just 14 days”, Sky news reported.

Robin Shattock, head of mucosal infection and immunity at Imperial College London, said he is now at the stage to start testing the vaccine on animals as early as next week with human studies in the summer if enough funding is secured, Sky said.

WARSAW, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Poland supports the NATO and EU aspirations of North Macedonia, Polish President Andrzej Duda said Tuesday following a meeting with North Macedonia's president here.

Duda said at a joint press conference that the visit of President of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski took place at a very important time for the country.

MOSCOW, Feb 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Venezuela on Friday in a show of support for President Nicolas Maduro, who Washington wants out of power.

Russia has helped Maduro weather a political crisis as the United States has targeted Caracas with sanctions and, like dozens of other countries, recognises opposition politician Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate interim leader.

LONDON, Feb 5 (NNN-BB NEWS) – Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, consented to sign the exchange of letters, in the field of defence, with British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, at No 10, Downing Street, London, yesterday.

Accompanying the Sultan was his son, Prince ‘Abdul Mateen.

Earlier, the Sultan attended a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister at No 10, Downing Street.

04 Feb 2020; MEMO: Leading Irish political parties, Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil, have published election manifestos which support the adoption of the Occupied Territories Bill in Ireland.

MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not decline an invitation to attend the events to mark the 75th anniversary of the Victory over Nazism no matter who represents Israel, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told reporters on Tuesday.

"The president has accepted the invitation to the events to mark the 75th anniversary of Victory Day. We don’t know who exactly will be present from Israel. It makes no difference to us," he said.