Europe

MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/: Two more participants in mass riots during an unauthorized rally in downtown Moscow on July 27 have been detained, Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Friday.

According to official data, a criminal investigation against 12 people has been launched.

Two persons, Aidar Gubaidulin and Danila Beglets, born in 1993 and 1992, respectively, have been detained as part of a criminal case into mass riots and use of violence against law enforcement personnel.

MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/: Foreign media outlets interfering in Russia’s affairs particularly through publications concerning the recent unauthorized rallies in Moscow may be barred from working in the country, Head of the United Russia party’s parliamentary faction and State Duma (the lower house of parliament) Deputy Speaker Sergei Neverov said in response to a TASS question on Friday.

RYAZAN, August 9. /TASS/: Russia’s Aerospace Force will employ the Kinzhal airborne hypersonic missile systems for the first time at the Aviadarts competition of the International Army Games, the Army Games’ press office reported on Friday.

MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/: Iran must ensure security in the Persian Gulf, which it considers as its sovereign territory, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Friday.

"Iran has historic responsibility for protecting the Persian Gulf. We consider it as part of our territory and believe that the presence of foreign forces there is unacceptable," Mousavi was quoted by the IRNA news agency as saying.

MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/: The Northern Fleet’s warships have deployed to the boundary of the Barents and Norwegian Seas in naval maneuvers to search for a notional enemy’s submarines, the Fleet’s press office reported on Friday.

MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has welcomed Kiev’s decision to allow a Russian aircraft to enter Ukraine’s airspace to avoid a thunderstorm.

"Great news! Thank you!" Zakharova wrote on Facebook.

On Thursday, Ukraine’s aviation authority said that on August 7, a Globus flight en route from Italy’s Bari to Moscow had been allowed to enter Ukraine’s airspace to avoid a thunderstorm that threatened the safety of the aircraft. The plane spent 26 minutes in Ukraine’s airspace.

09 August 2019; DW: The contraction was the first since 2012 and comes ahead of the UK's planned exit from the European Union. Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid promised the "fundamentals of the British economy are strong."

The United Kingdom's gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.2% in the second quarter of 2019, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) said on Thursday.

09 August 2019; DW: New British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a plan to fast-track top scientists seeking to immigrate to the UK. Brexit uncertainties have many leading research institutions worried about funding and talent.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled plans on Thursday for a new fast-track visa to encourage the "best and brightest" of the world's scientists to emigrate to Britain.

LONDON, Aug 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled plans for a new fast-track visa route for “the brightest and best”, in a bid to attract the world’s top scientists to Britain after Brexit.

The “shake-up” of immigration rules is aimed at encouraging elite researchers and specialists in science, engineering and technology to immigrate, the premier’s Downing Street office said in a statement.

BELGRADE, Aug 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Serbian government has granted citizenship to Thailand’s former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra who fled her homeland in 2017 to avoid negligence charges.

Shinawatra, 52, went to Dubai and joined her brother Thaksin, another former Thai prime minister who also fled in 2006 to avoid a prison sentence for corruption.

The Serbian government decided to grant Yingluck citizenship on June 27, citing a legal provision that “a foreign citizen can also be granted Serbian citizenship if that is in line with the country’s interests”.