Europe

By Aditi Khanna

London, Oct 4 (PTI) Britain's Communities Secretary James Brokenshire embarked on a three-day visit to India on Thursday to promote business and technology ties of the country with the Midlands region of England.

The UK Cabinet minister, who is also the British government's Midlands Engine Champion , is set to bring together senior British and Indian officials and businesses to re-affirm a post-Brexit commitment to the Midlands-Maharashtra Technology Partnership.

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian space capsule with three men onboard has safely landed in a barren steppe in Kazakhstan after a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

The Soyuz MS-08 carrying Russia’s Oleg Artemyev and NASA’s Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold touched down at 5.44 p.m. Kazakh time (1144 GMT).

The two Americans performed three space walks to carry out maintenance during their 197-day stay at the orbiting lab. Artemyev conducted one spacewalk together with a fellow Russian.

KIEV, October 4. /TASS/. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, endorsed a presidential draft law on Thursday to extend the special status of Donbass until December 31, 2019.

The draft law, which was submitted to the parliament by Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko on October 3 and marked as "urgent," was backed by a total of 245 MPs

KOROLYOV /Moscow Region/, October 4. /TASS/. The Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft with three participants in the prolonged space expedition 55/56 has separated from the International Space Station (ISS) and begun the journey home, Mission Control near Moscow told the media on Thursday.

"The Soyuz MS-08 has been detached from the ISS. According to the telemetry data, the procedure was normal. The commander said he had no critical remarks to make," Mission Control's spokesman said.

MOSCOW, October 4. /TASS/. Russia denies there is an agreement to exchange Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, serving a prison term in Russia, for Russian citizens in US jails, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Thursday.

"We’ve taken note of reports in a number of mass media about some plans for exchanging Oleg Sentsov, convicted of plotting a terrorist attack in Russia, for Russian citizens in US custody. We reacted to these rumors with surprise."

STOCKHOLM; 3 Oct 2018; DW: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was on Wednesday awarded to two Americans and a British man.

Frances H. Arnold (US), George P. Smith (US) and Sir Gregory P. Winter (Britain) will share the award.

The three scientists helped develop proteins that  "solve humankind's chemical problems," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said, adding that they "have taken control of evolution and used it for purposes that bring the greatest benefit to humankind."

THE HAGUE, Netherlands; 3 Oct 2018; (AP) — The United Nations’ highest court on Wednesday ordered the United States to lift sanctions on Iran that affect imports of humanitarian goods and products and services linked to the safety of civil aviation.

The ruling by the International Court of Justice is legally binding, but it remains to be seen if the administration of President Donald Trump will comply.

MOSCOW, October 2. /TASS/. US foreign policy during Donald Trump’s presidency has lost an ideological footing and has turned into an instrument for attaining economic objectives, including the ones in the energy sector, Frants Klintsevich, a member of the defense and security committee in the upper house of Russian parliament told TASS on Tuesday.

He said it in a comment on the findings by US public opinion researchers, who have registered a slide of popularity rankings of the US and its President across the world.

MOSCOW, October 2. /TASS/. Russia and India plan signing more than 20 documents at the end of the talks that Russian President Vladimir Putin is going to have with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a visit to New Delhi on October 4-5, Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Tuesday.

"Apart from a conversation tete-a-tete, the sides will have talks with restricted attendance, then the talks in an extended format, and then a working breakfast as a continuation of the latter talks where ministers and leading businessmen will be present," Ushakov said.

ROME, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- The mayor of an Italian town which has been known for integrating refugees was put under house arrest on Tuesday for allegedly favoring illegal migration.

Domenico Lucano, the mayor of southern Italian town Riace, was also accused of organizing "marriages of convenience" between local men and foreign women and setting up systems aimed at bypassing rules for migrants to be allowed to live in Italy. His partner Tesfahun Lemlem faces the same accusations.