Europe

MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/: The West is currently betting on continuing the war, Washington does not allow Kiev to think or talk about peace, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday.

"Now is the moment when Western countries are betting on the continuation of the war. This means that the moment continues when Western countries, under the leadership of Washington, do not allow Ukrainians to think or talk about peace," Peskov said in an interview with Rossiya-1 TV channel.

PARIS, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Fifteen people have been arrested in France on suspicion of being part of a people-smuggling ring that was involved in one of the deadliest incidents seen in the English Channel.

In November 2021, 27 people died when their flimsy boat sank near Calais as they tried to make the dangerous journey across the Channel to reach the UK.

Seven months on, French police have now indicted 13 men and two women.

Some could face charges of involuntary manslaughter and people smuggling.

ROME, July 3 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and the leader of the 5-Star Movement Giuseppe Conte will meet on Monday to try to resolve tensions which could bring down Draghi's 16-month old government.

Conte, who was Draghi's predecessor as premier, took the reins of the 5-Star Movement after his own government collapsed in February last year, but relations with Draghi have grown more difficult as 5-Star's fortunes have waned.

LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Germany and Ireland on Sunday told Britain there was no legal or political justification for Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to override parts of the Brexit deal governing trade with Northern Ireland.

The British parliament is considering a new law which would unilaterally change customs arrangements between Britain and Northern Ireland that were initially agreed as part of its exit deal from the European Union.

MOSCOW, July 2 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Saturday Ukraine had tried to strike military facilities on Belarusian territory three days ago, but all its missiles had been intercepted, the state-run Belta news agency reported.

Lukashenko, who did not provide evidence for the claim, said Belarus did not want war with Ukraine, but would fight if its own territory was invaded.

The Ukrainian military did not immediately comment.

PRAGUE, July 3 (Reuters) - Czech fighter jets will guard neighbouring Slovakia's air space as of September, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Sunday.

Slovakia asked its NATO allies to patrol its skies as it decided to ground its Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets, which could be sent to neighbouring Ukraine to help Kyiv defend itself against Russia's invasion.

"I don't see any problem there, the government will certainly approve it," Fiala said in a televised debate with his Slovak counterpart Eduard Heger.

Advertisement · Scroll to continue

KYIV/KOSTYANTYNIVKA, Ukraine, July 3 (Reuters) - Russia said on Sunday its forces had taken control of Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region after capturing the final Ukrainian holdout of Lysychansk in heavy fighting, though Ukraine did not confirm the claim.

Control of Luhansk, a key war aim for Russia, would come after weeks slow advances, hand Moscow a limited political win and shift the battlefield focus to neighbouring Donetsk region, where Ukraine still controls substantial territory.

LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - A Russian scientist who was arrested in Siberia last week on suspicion of state treason and flown to Moscow despite suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer has died, his lawyer told Reuters on Sunday.

The scientist, Dmitry Kolker, had been taken to Moscow's Lefortovo prison, lawyer Alexander Fedulov said.

"He died yesterday. Tomorrow we will lodge a complaint over his detention," he said.

ATHENS, July 2 (Xinhua) -- A group of 28 Romanian firefighters was welcomed by Greek authorities in Athens on Saturday during the launch of a European pilot program for forest protection against fire this summer, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

ROME, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Euro currency zone economies are responding unevenly to the economic turbulence of recent weeks, raising the stakes for the European Central Bank (ECB) as it prepares to raise interest rates for the first time in more than a decade.

The economic indicator most economists are keeping an eye on is inflation. Prices across the 19-nation currency zone rose a record 8.6 percent in June compared to the same month in 2021, according to Eurostat.