Europe

MOSOW/NAPLES, Sept 7 (NNN-ANSA) — A top manager at ODK, a state-run Russian firm that produces engines, has been detained in Italy’s Naples at the request of the United States which accuses him of “economic spying”, Russian media are reporting.

According to the daily Vedomosti, Aleksandr Korshunov, 57, is accused of having illegally appropriated documents from General Electric and information protected by intellectual property rights so as to use them for the Russian PD-14 programme to develop an engine for the MS-21 new civil aircraft.

HELSINKI, Sept 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — An agreement with Britain to avoid a no-deal Brexit now appears impossible as the country is in “quite a mess”, Finland’s prime minister, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said Friday.

“I hope that we can reach a situation where this (Brexit) can be solved so that there is no mess, but it seems not possible now,” Antti Rinne told reporters after a meeting with European Parliament president David Sassoli in Helsinki.

PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Saturday that while it was seeking a political agreement with the Taliban, Washington would not accept just any deal, as a wave of violence has cast a shadow over talks with the United States.

“The United States’ view is that the best way forward is a political agreement and that (is what) we’re working diligently on right now, that doesn’t mean we’ll take any deal,” Esper said during a press conference in Paris with his French counterpart.

LONDON, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Politicians in the unelected House of Lords passed a controversial bill Friday that will block Prime Minister Boris Johnson from taking Britain out of the European Union unless there is a deal in place with Brussels.

The decision by House of Lords paves way for the so-called no deal bill to become law on Monday when it receives Royal Assent from Queen Elizabeth.

As the bill cleared through the House of Lords without any amendments it does not have to return to the elected House of Commons.

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian lawyer who has defended a Ukrainian imprisoned for spying says a widely anticipated exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine is underway.

A prisoner exchange could be a significant step toward easing Russia-Ukraine relations and raising chances for resolving the conflict in Ukraine’s east where fighting between troops and Russia-backed separatists has killed more than 13,000 people since 2014.

Buses from a Moscow prison believed to be carrying Ukrainian prisoners arrived at the capital’s Vnukovo airport on Saturday.

MOSCOW (AP) — A seemingly second-tier local election has evolved into a major challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin, triggering the biggest protests against his rule in seven years and causing divisions among his top lieutenants.

Although the protests were sparked by the exclusion of some opposition and independent candidates from the ballot for the Moscow city council election to be held Sunday, they also reflect growing discontent after Putin’s nearly two decades in power.

MURMANSK, September 6. /TASS/: The Northern Fleet’s flotilla that is making a long-distance voyage to the Arctic left the Yenisei Gulf and entered the Kara Sea, the fleet’s press service said in a statement released on Friday.

VIENNA, September 6. /TASS/: The nomination of candidates for the position of director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency ended on September 5. There are four candidates for the post, Russia’s permanent representative at international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said on Friday.

"The deadline for the nomination of candidates for the vacant post of the IAEA director general has expired. Now we know that four contenders will contest this post. All of them are experienced professionals and well-known to us," Ulyanov tweeted.

MINSK, September 6. /TASS/: Belarus will never turn its back on Russia, but expects Moscow to support Minsk in difficult times, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told reporters in the Belarusian city of Brest on Friday.

"As for Russia, we are one nation, I have said this a thousand times. These are our people, our brothers. We have always been together, they have always lent us a helping hand. And even though we sometimes have issues with Russia, they are not with the Russian people," the BelTA News Agency quotes him as saying.

VLADIVOSTOK, September 6. /TASS/: By claiming that the Red Army brought about alleged repression, Bulgaria is rewriting history and this stance taken by Sofia points to an ominous trend, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in an interview with TASS on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum on Friday.