Europe

LONDON (AP) — Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt stepped up his attacks Monday on front-runner Boris Johnson in the race to be Britain’s next prime minister, challenging him to face public scrutiny amid the fallout from a reported quarrel with his girlfriend that prompted a police visit.

Writing in the Times of London, Hunt said Johnson needs to earn the public’s trust by facing television debates before the voting on the Conservative Party leadership post takes place among some 160,000 Conservative Party members. The winner of the contest will replace Theresa May as prime minister.

ROME, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese vice minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Qu Dongyu was elected as new head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) here on Sunday.

MINSK, June 24. /TASS/: The Russian national team has reinforced its top position in the overall medals standings after Day 2 of the 2019 European Games in the Belarusian capital of Minsk having won 21 more medals on Sunday.

Thirty-eight sets of medals were contested on June 23 and the athletes of the Russian national team grabbed ten gold, five silver and six bronze medals.

After two days of the 2019 European Games’ competitions, the Russian team is in the lead packing 19 gold, 10 silver and 10 bronze medals.

UFA, June 24. /TASS/: A knife-wielding man stabbed three people to death and wounded two more in one of the villages of the Karmaskalinsky district in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan, the press service of the local Interior Ministry announced to TASS on Monday.

"A police department of the Karmaskalinsky district received a call that a man carrying a knife had been attacking people in one of the remote villages," the press service stated. "A police patrol set off immediately to the scene."

ROME (AP) — Members of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have started voting to elect the new head of the U.N. food agency, and China’s candidate is seen as the front-runner.

The 194 member countries, convened at the FAO’s headquarters in Rome for the agency’s 41st conference, were picking the new director general on Sunday among three candidates from China, France and Georgia who all have extensive experience in the sector. The candidates for the first time include a woman.

BERLIN, June 22 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday that the world should work together for peaceful resolution of the dispute between Iran and the United States and warned against isolationism.

"I say that (a political solution) should not just be a hope, but it should be worked towards with the utmost seriousness," Merkel told audience at a gathering of Protestant churches in Dortmund on Saturday.

MOSCOW, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Russia intends to work with any new British prime minister who is willing to cooperate with Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday.

He made the remarks when commenting on the ongoing election in Britain during an interview with Russia's Rossiya-1 TV Channel.

"We will treat this (the results of election of British prime minister) with respect and we will work with all who want to work with us," Putin said.

MOSCOW, June 22. /TASS/: Flights of Georgian airlines to Russia will be suspended from July 8, according to the Russian Transport Ministry.

"The reason for the suspension of flights is the need to ensure a sufficient level of aviation security, as well as overdue debts for air navigation activities before State ATM Corporation," the Ministry said.

The total amount of Georgia’s debt for air navigation services is slightly below $793,000. At the same time, another 592,200 rubles ($9,391) of debt have not been repaid since 2008.

MOSCOW, June 22. /TASS/: In its approaches to the use of nuclear weapons, the United States is returning to the concept of "limited nuclear war" and for this they could be planning to abandon the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Artem Kozhin said on Saturday in a statement.

TASS, June 23: Two followers of the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia), who were planning attacks on law enforcement officers have been killed in the Russian North Caucasus region of Dagestan, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) told TASS on Sunday.