Europe

VIENNA, March 8. /TASS/: Chances of restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for the Iranian nuclear program remain and Russia is determined to continue negotiations to complete the work as soon as possible, Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors.

MOSCOW, March 8. /TASS/: Russia and Turkey would like to hold a four-party meeting at the level of deputy foreign ministers in Moscow next week, but so far there has been no response from Syria and Iran, Russia’s special presidential representative for the Middle East and African Countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told TASS.

MOSCOW, March 8. /TASS/: The US and the UK are using the tactics of controlled leaks in the issue of the Nord Stream explosions in a bid to build an agenda that suits them, but the truth will come out, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Washington and London follow the beaten path of using controlled leaks in this matter, shaping up the agenda that suits them," she said. "But the truth will come out, I’m sure," the diplomat said on Telegram.

TBILISI, March 8 (Reuters) - Thousands of people staged a second straight day of protests in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Wednesday, rallying against a "foreign agents" law which critics say signals an authoritarian shift and harms Georgia's chances of closer ties with Europe.

Parliament on Tuesday passed a first reading of the legislation, which requires any organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from overseas to register as "foreign agents" or face substantial fines.

ZURICH, March 8 (Reuters) - A concert cellist linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin moved millions of francs through Swiss bank accounts without any proper checks, Swiss prosecutors said on Wednesday at the start of a trial of four bankers accused of helping him.

Prosecutors alleged that Sergey Roldugin, a close friend of the Russian president, deposited millions of francs in Swiss bank accounts between 2014 and 2016.

TBILISI, March 7 (Reuters) - Protesters in the small ex-Soviet state of Georgia threw petrol bombs and stones at police on Tuesday night after parliament gave its initial backing to a draft law on "foreign agents" which critics say represents an authoritarian shift.

Police in the centre of the capital Tbilisi used water cannon and tear gas in attempting to disperse thousands of demonstrators, who fear the draft law could hurt the South Caucasus country's hopes of European Union membership.

KYIV, March 8 (Reuters) - The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group said on Wednesday his forces had taken full control of the eastern part of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut and NATO'S secretary general said it could all fall to the invading army in the next few days.

If Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin's claim is true, it would mean Russian forces now control nearly half the city in their costly push to secure their first big victory in several months.

But as one of the bloodiest battles of the year-long war ground on amid the ruins, Ukrainian defenders remained defiant.

STOCKHOLM/BERLIN, March 8 (Reuters) - Western allies on Wednesday warned against reaching premature conclusions on who was responsible for blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines, with Germany suggesting the attack could also have been a "false flag" operation to blame Ukraine.

A New York Times report, citing intelligence reviewed by U.S. officials, said on Tuesday a pro-Ukrainian group may be behind the blasts that became a flashpoint between the West and Russia after last year's Russian invasion of Ukraine.

PARIS (AP) — French train and metro drivers, refinery workers, garbage collectors and others held further strikes Wednesday against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age to 64, maintaining pressure on the government as senators debated the reforms.

New protest actions focused on women — and the retirement reform’s impact on working mothers — were expected, to coincide with International Women’s Day. Feminist activists see the pension reform as unfair to women, especially because they say it would further deepen gender inequalities.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Nearly a decade after a brazen diamond heist at Brussels airport, it looks like a near-perfect crime.

While one person was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison and a small part of the loot — estimated in 2013 to be worth $50 million — was recovered, 18 other people were acquitted in 2018 and four more were acquitted on appeal Wednesday, leaving it unclear whether the mastermind will ever be found.