Europe

LONDON (AP) — New British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing his first electoral test — a special election that could see the Conservative government’s working majority in Parliament cut to just one vote.

Voters are electing a new lawmaker for the seat of Brecon and Radnorshire in Wales on Thursday after Conservative incumbent Chris Davies, was ousted. He was dumped by a petition of electors after being convicted of expenses fraud.

Davies is running to regain the seat but faces a strong challenge from the Liberal Democrats in a vote overshadowed by Brexit.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A new Dutch law has come into force banning face-covering clothing — including the burqa and niqab worn by conservative Muslim women — on public transport, in government buildings and at health and education institutions.

The Netherlands, long seen as a bastion of tolerance and religious freedom, is the latest European country to introduce such a ban , following the likes of France, Germany, Belgium, Austria and Denmark.

LONDON (AP) — New British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday finished his rocky debut tour of the U.K. in Northern Ireland, where he faces a doubly difficult challenge of restoring the collapsed Belfast government and finding a solution for the Irish border after Brexit.

LONDON, Jul 31 (APP): The Commercial section of Pakistan High Commission London was planning to explore markets for Pakistani products in big retail stores of the United Kingdom (UK) to propel exports, a senior official said.

“We are making efforts to make the access of Pakistani products to mega retail stores of the United Kingdom to boost Pakistani exports and discussions were in progress with interested companies for making a comprehensive strategy in this regard”, Muhammad Shoaib Zafar, Commercial Consular at Pakistan High Commission London told APP here on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/: The head of Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC), Ella Pamfilova, said on Wednesday she discussed the ongoing election campaign, including in Moscow, with Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland.

"I informed him in detail about our stance on the election situation so that he could have the entire picture," Pamfilova told the Central Election Commission’s meeting on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/: Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanai and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov have exchanged opinions on the situation around the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program and on the developments in the Persian Gulf region, the Iranian embassy wrote on Telegram.

PSKOV, July 31. /TASS/: The Airborne Platoon contest of the annual Army Games will open in the Pskov Region on August 3 with a show of waltzing combat vehicles, the press-service of the region’s administration issued a news release on Wednesday.

"After the gala opening of the contest at the Zavelichye proving ground the audience will be treated to a vast and diversified entertainment program. Combat vehicles’ drivers will demonstrate their skill to the tune of a waltz on a tiny strip of land," the news release says.

MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/: An air regiment of the Western Military District stationed in the Tver Region in central Russia has completed its rearmament with the generation 4++ Su-35S fighter jets under the defense procurement plan, the District’s press office told TASS on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/: Russia calls on Twitter to unblock the official account of the Russian diplomatic mission in Damascus, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Twitter on Wednesday.

"The official account of the Russian Embassy in Syria was blocked by Twitter yesterday without any explanation. We consider it an act of censorship and flagrant violation of freedom of speech committed by the social media administration," the ministry stressed. "We urge Twitter to immediately unblock the Russian Embassy in Syria."

MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/: A terror attack at an infrastructure facility in Russia’s Tatarstan in the Volga Federal District has been thwarted and two militants of the Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia), who are suspected of plotting it, have been detained, the Federal Security Service said.

"The Russian Federal Security Service jointly with the Russian Interior Ministry have foiled a terror attack at an infrastructure facility in Tatarstan as part of an earlier opened criminal case," the FSB said.