Europe

VLADIVOSTOK, September 5. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he offered his US counterpart Donald Trump the opportunity to purchase the newest kinds of weapons from Russia, including hypersonic ones.

MPs clapped at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday when Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi asked the prime minister to apologise for comparing Muslim women to letterboxes in a “racist” attack.

“If I decide to wear a turban or you decide to wear a cross or he decides to wear a kippah or skullcap or she decides to wear a hijab or burqa, does that mean it is open season for right honourable members of this house to make derogatory and divisive remarks about our appearance?” asked Dhesi, who is a Sikh.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will continue preparing for a no-deal Brexit even if parliament passes a law forcing Prime Minister Boris Johnson to seek a delay because any European Union member state could block that request, Brexit minister Stephen Barclay said on Thursday.

“The legal position on an extension is that it requires the support of every member state, including the United Kingdom,” Barclay told parliament. “So it is the case ... we would need to continue to prepare for no deal because it is within the scope of any member state to block an extension.”

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would produce missiles that were banned under a landmark Cold-War era nuclear pact that ended last month, but that Moscow would not deploy them unless the United States did so first.

Speaking at an economic forum in Russia’s Far East, Putin said he was concerned by U.S. talk of deploying missiles in Japan and South Korea, a deployment he said would cover parts of Russian territory.

KIEV (Reuters) - A Ukrainian court on Thursday released on bail a man suspected of involvement in the downing of a Malaysia Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine in 2014 that killed 298 people.

A judge said that Volodymyr Tsemakh, whom Ukraine’s security service has identified as a former commander of Russian-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, should be released from custody immediately, pending further investigations.

Tsemakh is one of the people who could be handed over to Russia in a widely anticipated prisoner exchange.

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe on Thursday that Tokyo’s military ties with the United States and many other issues made it hard for Japan and Russia to sign a World War Two peace treaty.

Putin made the comment at an economic forum in Russia’s Far East after Abe called on him to resolve a row between the countries over a disputed chain of islands that has prevented the two countries signing a peace treaty.

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson abused his powers by suspending parliament from next week until shortly before Britain leaves the European Union, London’s High Court was told on Thursday.

Johnson announced at the end of August that he would suspend parliament from mid-September to mid-October, just before Britain is due to exit the European Union on Oct. 31, to allow the government to announce a new legislative program.

GENEVA, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday urged nations to come together to work on critical human rights issues in a "concerted, multilateral fashion."

"International agreements such as the Paris climate agreement, the Global Compact for Migration and the Global Compact on Refugees provide solid, pragmatic advice, and of course the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and relevant human rights treaties chart the way," said Bachelet.

Vladivostok, Sep 5 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad and the two leaders discussed ways to diversify the bilateral ties to benefit people in both the countries.

Prime Minister Modi met the Malaysian Prime Minister on the sidelines of the fifth meeting of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) held here in the Russian Far East Region.

ROME, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The new slate of ministers for Giuseppe Conte's second stint as Italy's prime minister appears to put the country on a pro-European Union course, something already being applauded by economic observers.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella won't formally swear in the new ministers until early Thursday, local time.