Europe

PARIS, June 12. /TASS/: The co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring the situation in Georgia have condemned the June 9 parliamentary elections in South Ossetia, calling them illegal.

LONDON (AP) — Boris Johnson solidified his front-runner status in the race to become Britain’s next prime minister on Tuesday, gaining backing from leading pro-Brexit lawmakers.

But he faced calls from his rivals to abandon his low-profile campaign strategy and start answering questions from journalists and the public.

Ten candidates are running to succeed Theresa May, who stepped down last week as Conservative Party leader.

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Parliament is resuming its battle over Brexit, with an attempt by opposition lawmakers to stop the U.K. leaving the European Union without a divorce deal.

The Conservative Party is holding a contest to replace Theresa May as party leader and prime minister. Some of the leading contenders, including front-runner Boris Johnson, vow they will take the country out of the EU as scheduled on Oct. 31, with or without an agreement on the terms.

Most economists say a “no-deal” Brexit would plunge the country into recession.

12 June 2019; MEMO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that a non-aggression pact between Iran and its Arab neighbours would be “useful,” Anadolu reported on Tuesday. Lavrov was apparently responding to a proposal by his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, put forward during his visit to Iraq last month.

12 June 2019; AFP: With celebratory speeches, a new statue and a visit from former US president Bill Clinton, Kosovo will on Wednesday mark 20 years since the NATO intervention that ended its war with Serbia and cleared a path for independence.

June 12, 1999, the day when NATO entered Kosovo after a three-month assault on Serb forces, marks the moment Belgrade effectively lost control of its former province.

12 June 2019; DW: Millions of locusts have invaded the Italian island of Sardinia, seriously affecting farmers' livestock and crop production.

Italian agricultural organization Coldiretti has pleaded for government assistance in fighting the plague.

"We are walking on locust carpets," Coldiretti said in a statement.

The locusts have destroyed 2,500 hectares (6,200 acres) of agricultural land in the province of Nuoro, between the towns of Ottana and Orani.

12 June 2019; DW: Both hostages were freed following a standoff in high security prison in France on Wednesday, French AFP news agency reported officials as saying.

The crisis started when one of the inmates in the Conde-sur-Sarthe facility took a guard and a female trainee hostage during meal time on Tuesday. He apparently used a home-made, improvised weapon.

12 June 2019; DW: A decree adopted by the Italian government on Tuesday would force non-governmental organizations to pay between €10,000 and €50,000 ($11,327 – $56,638) for transporting rescued migrants to Italian ports.

Rescuers who repeatedly dock without authorization risk having their vessel permanently impounded. The fines would be payable by the captain, the operator and the owner of the rescue ship.

12 June 2019; DW: French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday he would support German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the new President of the European Commission.

Macron told Swiss broadcaster RTS on Tuesday that while he could not speak for her, he would support her in any bid to become president of the executive branch of the European Union.

Europe needs "new faces" and strength, he said.

12 June 2019; DW: Political leaders from Germany's formerly communist eastern states are calling for an end to hefty economic sanctions against Russia, deepening political fault lines between the nation's east and west with pivotal regional elections on the horizon.