Europe

ST. PETERSBURG, October 24. /TASS/: The St. Petersburg-based Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard in northwest Russia (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) plans to float out the country’s first ship with the crewless navigation technology in 2020, Shipyard CEO Vladimir Seredokho told TASS on Thursday.

The breakthrough vessel Pioneer-M will operate all year round in the Black and Azov Seas, the chief executive said.

MOSCOW, October 24. /TASS/: Most witnesses under US national Paul Whelan’s case say that he is not involved in spying against Russia, lawyer for the defendant Vladimir Zherebenkov told TASS.

"Much in the case is in Whelan's favor. In particular, all witnesses say that he is not involved in spying. Only one person claimed that he had conducted intelligence activities and told of a USB flash drive with secret information. Whelan believes it to be the FSB’s provocation,"Zherebenkov stated.

Moscow’s Lefortovo Court prolonged Whelan’s arrest until December 29 on Thursday.

SOCHI, October 24. /TASS/: Venezuela has not suggested resuming negotiations on its debt to Russia. The debt is serviced and Russia is satisfied with performance of the agreement, Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak told reporters on Thursday on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Economic Forum.

"This did not take place," Storchak said. "The system is working, the agreement was signed and we were fairly satisfied with its performance," he commented.

Caracas is servicing the debt and all the term payments were made in due time.

MOSCOW, October 24. /TASS/: Russia and South Africa plan to work together to develop and manufacture weapons and military equipment, Director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev said on Thursday.

"There are some promising cooperation projects related to the joint development and manufacture of weapons and military equipment both for our countries’ national armed forces and in the interests of third countries," he told reporters.

MOSCOW, October 24. /TASS/: Moscow’s Lefortovo Court has extended the arrest of US citizen Paul Whelan charged with spying against Russia on Thursday, TASS reported from the courtroom.

“The court satisfies the investigators’ motion and will prolong the duration of Whelan’s arrest until December 29,” the judge announced.

The court session on extending the US citizen’s arrest was held behind closed doors, since there is classified information in the case, according to the investigators.

MOSCOW, October 24. /TASS/: The launch of a Progress MS-13 resupply ship has been rescheduled for December 1, the press office of Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos told TASS on Thursday.

"The state commission for manned spacecraft’s flight tests has made a decision to reschedule the launch of the Progress MS-13 resupply ship from December 6 to December 1," the press office reported.

SOCHI, October 24. /TASS/: The end of Vladimir Putin’s presidential term is still far down the road, so no one in the Kremlin is mulling over his possible successor, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"The presidential election is still far away. We are at the initial stage of the president’s tenure," he noted. "That’s why no one is thinking about that [a potential successor]. At present, everyone is working diligently."

LONDON (Reuters) - The 39 people found dead in the back of a truck near London were Chinese, ITV News reported on Thursday, as police questioned the driver of the vehicle who was detained on suspicion of murder.

Paramedics and police found the bodies of 38 adults and one teenager early on Wednesday in a truck container on an industrial estate at Grays, about 20 miles (32 km) east of the British capital.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - An official commission which deals with prisoner pardons in Moscow has recommended that Russian President Vladimir Putin pardon Frode Berg, a Norwegian man jailed for spying, the Interfax news agency reported on Thursday.

Berg, a retired guard on the Norwegian-Russian border, was detained in December 2017 and jailed for 14 years after being convicted of gathering intelligence about nuclear submarines. He pleaded not guilty to charges of espionage on behalf of Norway.

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Britain will have to propose a candidate for a commissioner in the next European Commission if it still is a member of the European Union after October 31, incoming Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday.

The outgoing EU executive of Jean-Claude Juncker is supposed to end its five-year term on Oct 31, although a delay of one month is almost certain because the new Commission is still missing commissioners from France, Hungary and Romania.

Under EU law, each of the EU’s 28 countries, including Britain, has to propose one commissioner.