Europe

MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/: Russia illuminated Moldova’s authorities on the need to abandon discriminatory action against Russian-language mass media, Moscow’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday at a news conference on the results of the negotiations with Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Nicolae Popescu.

MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/: The Russian Interior Ministry has developed a bill on simplified procedure for obtaining citizenship by foreign graduates of Russian universities. The bill has been published on Wednesday on the federal website of legal information.

MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/: Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree on cancelling regulatory enactments of the USSR and the RSFSR as part of the ‘regulatory guillotine' mechanism.

"I signed a decree earlier today on cancelling USSR and RSFSR regulations by the end of this year, more specifically - starting January 1, 2020," he said in an interview aired by the Rossiya-24 TV news channel on Wednesday.

Medvedev did not rule out the pilot application of a number of approaches within the ‘regulatory guillotine' in certain Russian regions.

MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday he had no plans to predict how US National Security Adviser John Bolton’s dismissal could influence relations between Moscow and Washington.

Lavrov told reporters that he had known Bolton since 1990s. "When I was sent to work in New York, I contacted with him sometimes and we went out and had a cup of coffee. He is such good company, he is a competent and intelligent man, it’s pleasant to talk to him."

MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/: Russia’s first two amphibious assault ships will be laid down at the Zaliv shipyard in Crimea in May 2020, two sources in Russia’s shipbuilding industry told TASS on Wednesday.

"Two amphibious assault ships with water displacement of up to 15,000 tonnes will for the first time in the Russian history be laid down at the Zaliv shipyard in Kerch in 2020," the source said.

He added that the first helicopter carrier will be delivered to the Russian Navy before the current state armament program expires at the end of 2027.

MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/: Washington’s policy in Latin America is only aimed at pursuing selfish US interests in the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the National Institute of Information of Suriname published on Wednesday.

11 September 2019; AFP: Britain has never apologised for the 1919 massacre at Amritsar in India but the head of the Church of England prostrated himself to say sorry in a personal capacity and "in the name of Christ".

British troops fired on thousands of unarmed men, women and children in Amritsar on April 13, 1919, killing 379 people according to colonial-era records. Indian figures put the total closer to 1,000.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s governing Conservatives retain a significant lead over the opposition Labour Party according to a poll published on Wednesday as the country could soon hold an election to break the Brexit stalemate.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s party had the support of 38% of voters in the Kantar online survey conducted between Sep. 5 and Sep. 9 whilst the opposition Labour Party took 24%. Both parties are down four percentage points.

Just over half of respondents also support any final Brexit deal being put to another referendum.

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday there was still every chance for Britain’s divorce from the European Union to take place with a deal although Berlin is prepared for a disorderly Brexit in case that does not happen.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s stated aim is to persuade the EU to give him a new deal at a summit on Oct. 17-18. Parliament has passed a law compelling him to ask Brussels to delay the departure until 2020 unless he can strike a deal but Johnson has said he will not request an extension.

PARIS (Reuters) - Three alleged victims have come forward in a French investigation into whether late U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein committed any sex crimes in France, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday.

The people were questioned in recent weeks, it said. A broader appeal for further potential victims to get in touch with investigators has now been launched on social media, the prosecutor’s office added.