Europe

MOSCOW, July 15. /TASS/: The Kremlin hopes journalist Kirill Vyshinsky who is facing high treason and illegal arms possession charges in Ukraine will be ultimately released, Russian president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

"We are keeping a close eye on the situation around Vyshinsky, on his court trial. We hope he will be released, better sooner than later," he told journalists.

BRUSSELS, July 15. /TASS/: Violating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear program is unacceptable, German Minister of State for Europe Michael Roth told reporters upon arrival for a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Monday.

"Violating the nuclear agreement is completely unacceptable for us," he said. "As the European Union, we should speak with one voice on the matter," Roth added.

MOSCOW, July 15. /TASS/: Armored units in the Nizhny Novgorod Region in the Volga area are holding drills at the Mulino practice range, using T-72B3 tanks, Grad multiple launch rocket systems and unmanned aerial vehicles, the press office of Russia’s Western Military District reported on Monday.

As part of the drills, the armored units went on alert and headed for the training range while practicing defense against air raids and attacks by subversion groups. The personnel will sharpen the skills of defensive and offensive operations and hold a gunnery exercise.

MOSCOW, July 15./TASS/: Moscow’s Lefortovo court has put under house arrest Sergey Meshcheryakov, a staffer of the Heat Exchange and Aerogas Dynamics Center at the Central Research Institute of Machine Building (TsNIImash), suspected of high treason, court sources told TASS on Monday.

"The Lefortovo district court of Moscow has chosen house arrest until September 3 as a pre-trial restraint for Meshcheryakov Sergey suspected of committing a crime under Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code (High Treason)," a court representative said.

MOSCOW, July 15. /TASS/: All Russian nationals banned from entering South Korea have left the country, the Russian embassy in South Korea said in a Facebook statement on Monday.

"According to recent information, 26 Russian nationals who arrived in South Korea on an S7 flight overnight into July 14, 2019, failed to prove the purpose of their visit," the statement reads. It is the reason why the South Korean immigration service banned them from entering the country, the embassy added.

15 July 2019; MEMO: The European Union fully backs Iraq’s efforts to de-escalate growing tensions between the United States and Iran because conflict will have dire consequences for all sides, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Saturday according to a report by Reuters.

15 July 2019; DW: Croatia has consistently denied illegally deporting refugees to neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina. But in a recent TV interview, the Croatian president admitted border guards were forcing migrants back over the border.

Croatia, a member of the European Union since 2013, is aiming to join the border-free Schengen area. But it has become increasingly clear to what lengths the government will go so Croatians can enjoy this freedom of movement.

LONDON (AP) — An anti-Brexit activist who won a major legal case against the British government said Sunday she will go to court again if the next prime minister tries to force the U.K. out of the European Union without a deal.

Businesswoman Gina Miller said she instructed her lawyers to serve notice to Conservative Party lawmaker Boris Johnson in anticipation of him becoming the next prime minister.

MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/: An increase in water levels has been registered in the Oka, Iya and Uda rivers in the flood-stricken Irkutsk Region, the regional department of the Russian Emergencies Ministry reported on its website on Sunday.

"According to the Irkutsk Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring Department, on July 14, rising water levels ranging from 15 to 45 centimeters were registered in the Oka, Iya and Uda rivers," the ministry said. "Fluctuations ranging from 10 to 40 centimeters are expected within the next 24 hours, which is below a critical level."

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The mystery of the 1983 disappearance of the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican employee took yet another twist Saturday following excavations this week at a Vatican City cemetery. The Vatican said it had discovered two sets of bones under a stone slab that will be formally opened next week.

The new discovery came after Vatican on Thursday pried open the tombs of two 19th-century German princesses in the cemetery of the Pontifical Teutonic College in hopes of finding the remains of Emanuela Orlandi.