Europe

LONDON, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Boris Johnson, Britain's former foreign secretary, remains favorite to become the new occupant of 10 Downing Street, but latest odds show the gap between him and his trailing rival has narrowed.

Current Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has been given new hope of catching up and overtaking Johnson in the race to become Theresa May's successor as Britain's prime minister.

LONDON, June 26. /TASS/: British parliamentarians’ refusal to support the restoration of the rights of the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) deliberately violates the principle of sovereign equality of states, a spokesman for Russian Embassy in London told TASS on Wednesday.

He was commenting on the fact that the majority of the UK delegation members voted against the resolution allowing Russian parliamentarians to take part in the June session of PACE.

MOSCOW, June 26. /TASS/: Russian air defense systems have destroyed two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which were used by militants to try to attack the Hmeymim air base, chief of the Russian Center for reconciliation of the conflicting sides in Syria Alexey Bakin said on Wednesday.

KUBINKA, June 27. /TASS/: Russia has offered to sell another batch of Su-35 fighter jets to China, the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation told TASS on the sidelines of the "Army-2019" forum.

"We are expecting a response from China on our offer to purchase modern weapons and military equipment manufactured in Russia, including additional batches of Su-35 fighter jets," the service said.

China was the first country to purchase Russia's Su-35 fighter jets. The contract on the purchase of 24 fighter jets worth around $2.5 bln was signed in 2015.

MOSCOW, June 26. /TASS/: Russia will deliver S-400 Triumf missile defense systems to Turkey by the end of this year, the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation said on Wednesday.

"We plan to fulfill our commitments on delivering equipment and training specialists by the end of this year," the service said.

The contract is being fulfilled in accordance with the timeframe coordinated by the sides, the service added. "As Turkish officials repeatedly stated, the equipment can be delivered as early as next month," the service noted.

MOSCOW, June 27. /TASS: Twenty-two people were injured when an An-24 plane made an emergency landing in Russia's Buryatia region, local medical services told TASS on Thursday.

"Twenty-two people were injured, 15 of them received medical assistance on the site, while seven other people were hospitalized," medical services said.

Two crewmembers died during the emergency landing. There were 46 people on board, including four crewmembers.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper made it clear to Turkey on Wednesday that it will face economic sanctions if it goes ahead with the purchase of a Russian missile defense system, as the standoff between the two NATO allies dragged on.

Esper met with Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar during a NATO meeting, delivering a familiar U.S. message: If Turkey buys the Russian S-400 system, it will not be allowed to buy the high-tech F-35 fighter jet. The meeting, however, ended with no discernable results.

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech coalition government led by populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis has survived a no-confidence vote in Parliament over European Union subsidies that were paid to his former business empire.

The opposition requested the vote after a preliminary EU report concluded the subsidies amounted to a conflict of interest because he still formally controls the businesses.

Only 85 of the opposition lawmakers voted early morning Thursday at the end of an almost 19-hour debate to oust the Cabinet, well short of the 101 needed in the 200-seat lower house.

26 June 2019; DW: A right wing terror group was allegedly planning a civil war-like rebellion in Berlin before they were stopped by police. Chemnitz has emerged as a center of extreme-right groups.

German prosecutors charged a right-wing group with terrorism offenses, officials confirmed on Tuesday.

Members of Revolution Chemnitz were alleged to have the formed the group in September with the intention of planning and carrying out terror attacks.

26 June 2019; DW: He's a wealthy entrepreneur — the second-richest citizen of the Czech Republic, in fact — and the country's prime minister. When billionaire Andrej Babis came into office two years ago, he garnered support by vowing to take on corruption and the country's political elite.