Europe

MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/: Russia has recently seen some signals from the US on the readiness to improve dialogue, in particular at the high level, but all of this should be backed by specific actions, Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov said, speaking at the Primakov Reading Forum.

"Some signals - or, let’s say, gestures - could be seen from the [US] administration recently regarding the improvement of dialogue in some areas, including the high-level dialogue. It is desirable that these signals should be backed by specific actions," the presidential aide said.

MOSCOW (AP) — Preliminary results show an ally of Kazakhstan’s former president has won the presidential election.

The Central Election Commission in this Central Asian country said Monday that Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won nearly 71 percent of the vote with all the ballots counted.

LONDON (AP) — Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is stepping up his campaign to be Britain’s next prime minister by challenging the European Union over Brexit terms.

Johnson told the Sunday Times he would refuse to pay the agreed-upon 39 billion-pound ($50 billion) divorce settlement unless the EU offers Britain a better withdrawal agreement than the one currently on the table.

MOSCOW (AP) — Police detained hundreds of people in Kazakhstan amid unauthorized protests of a presidential election Sunday that opponents alleged was a fake exercise in democracy.

Officers, some in riot gear with shields and helmets, broke up the demonstrations in the capital, Nur-Sultan, and in Almaty, the Central Asian country’s main commercial city. Some 500 protesters were taken to police stations, a government official said.

9 June 2019; AFP: EU members Hungary, Poland, Portugal and soon Austria are strengthening ties with China by issuing attractive "panda bonds" that help Beijing raise its profile on international financial markets.

Italy might join the trend as well, despite EU concerns that China may be seeking a way to increase its influence on the continent.

9 June 2019; AFP: The ex-Soviet state which lies between Ukraine and Romania has been in political chaos since the elections in February. A deadline to form a government expired this weekend. 

After months of talks, an unprecedented alliance was finally formed on Saturday between the pro-European ACUM group and pro-Russian Socialist Party of President Igor Dodon. ACUM's Maia Sandu, a former minister and World Bank adviser, was named prime minister on Saturday afternoon.

9 June 2019; DW: The European Parliament elections on May 26 made it clear that Germany's young generation is far more interested in politics than many had believed. Indeed, almost 20 million young Germans turned out to cast their ballot, causing a minor political earthquake.

9 June 2019; DW: Nearly 60,000 people had signed a petition by Saturday afternoon demanding that Italy drop criminal proceedings against German boat captain Pia Klemp and other crew members who have rescued thousands of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea.

In an interview with the Basler Zeitung daily on Friday, Klemp said that a trial against her was due to begin soon after she and some of her compatriots were charged in Sicily with assisting in illegal immigration.

9 June 2019; DW: Boris Johnson, the current favorite to become the next British prime minister, has said he would withhold divorce payments to the European Union unless the bloc offered a better Brexit deal.

Johnson also implied he would scrap the accepted border arrangement with Ireland.

The former foreign secretary's comments came in an interview with The Sunday Times, his first newspaper interview since announcing his bid for premiership.

MOSCOW, June 9. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold his annual televised question and answer session dubbed ‘The Direct Line’ on June 20, the Kremlin press service said on Sunday.

"On June 20, 2019 at 12:00 Moscow Time the annual special program will be aired by Channel One, Rossiya-1, Rossiya-24, NTV, OTR, Mir TV channels, and Mayak, Vesti FM and Radio Rossiya radio stations," the statement said.