Europe

MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/: A Russian military police convoy has arrived in Kobani (Ayn al-Arab), a city in northern Syria located close to the Syrian-Turkish border, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.

"The Russian military police convoy has arrived in the Syrian inhabited community of Kobani located close to the Syrian-Turkish border," the ministry said.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian military police officers met with local officials to discuss interaction while performing tasks.

SOCHI, October 23. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin sees the possibility of doubling the trade between Russia and Africa in 4-5 years, he said at a plenary meeting of the Russia-Africa economic forum on Wednesday.

"I believe that it is within our power to at least double the volume of trade in the next 4-5 years," Putin said.

MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/: Angola has received upgraded Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30K fighter jets, Head of the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev said on Wednesday on the eve of the Russia-Africa summit.

"Our Su-30K fighter jets have been delivered to Angola," Shugayev said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV Channel.

ROSTOV-ON-DON, October 23. /TASS/: Law enforcement authorities have detained a suspected murderer of five people in the Orlovsky District, Rostov Region, where a shootout occurred on Tuesday, the Russian Interior Ministry's Main Directorate for the Rostov Region told journalists on Wednesday.

SOCHI, October 23. /TASS/: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) expressed interest in participating in joint projects of Russia and Egypt in the production sector, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday. The Russian leader recalled that Moscow and Cairo are working on a number of projects, including establishing an industrial zone in Egypt.

SOCHI, Russia, Oct 23 (NNN-TASS) – Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, supported a memorandum reached by Russian President, Vladimir Putin and Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, following their talks.

Putin informed al-Assad about the provisions of the Russia-Turkey memorandum, on actions in Syria, following talks with Erdogan.

The main task is to restore the territorial integrity of Syria and to continue joint efforts for a political settlement of the situation, including work within the framework of the Constitutional Committee, said Putin.

BERLIN, Oct 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands of farmers drove their tractors into German cities on Tuesday, in protest at the government’s new agricultural policies which they say will hurt their livelihoods and make them scapegoats for climate change.

Long convoys of tractors held up traffic at the main protest sites in Berlin and Bonn, both home to federal government offices, while thousands more honked their horns and blocked roads in cities including Munich, Hanover and Stuttgart.

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was appalled after 39 bodies were found in a container east of London.

“I’m appalled by this tragic incident in Essex,” Johnson said.

“I am receiving regular updates from the Home Office and will work closely with Essex Police as we establish exactly what has happened,” he said. “My thoughts are with all those who lost their lives & their loved ones.”

OSLO (Reuters) - China is likely to become the first country in the world to start mining seabed minerals if the international rules for exploitation are approved next year, the head of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) said.

The quest for exploiting seabed minerals, such as polymetallic nodules containing nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese is driven by demand for smart phones and electric car batteries, and the need to diversify supply.

LONDON (Reuters) - British police found the bodies of 39 people inside a truck container believed to have come from Bulgaria at an industrial estate to the east of London on Wednesday.

The discovery was made in the early hours after emergency services were alerted to people in the container, on a gritty industrial site in Grays, about 20 miles from central London.

Police said the driver of the truck, a 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland, had been arrested on suspicion of murder. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was appalled.