Europe

MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/. The United Kingdom blocks rotation at the Russian diplomatic mission, delaying visa issuance for Russian diplomats, since visa processing times take on average between 12 to 18 months, Russia’s Ambassador to London Alexander Yakovenko said in a televised interview with the Rossiya-24 channel on Saturday.

5 Aug 2018; AFP; Moscow has appointed US actor Steven Seagal as a special envoy, dealing with humanitarian links with the United States, the Russian foreign ministry announced Saturday.

"Stephen Seagal has been appointed special representative of the ministry of foreign affairs of Russia on Russian-American Humanitarian Ties," the foreign ministry said on its website

"The task is to promote the further development of Russian-American relations in the humanitarian sphere, including interaction in the field of culture, art, public and youth exchanges and more," it added.

Birmingham, Aug 4 (PTI) India skipper Virat Kohli today rued the lack of application and poor shot selection by his batsmen after their meek surrender paved the way for an England victory in the opening Test here.

The hosts drew first blood in the five-match series with a 31-run win at the Edgbaston.

Chasing 194, Kohli stood out again with a combative 51 but lacked support at the other end, as India were all out for 162.

By Chetan Narula

Birmingham, Aug 4 (PTI) India suffered a heartbreaking 31-run loss to England as skipper Virat Kohli's heroics went in vain amid yet another abject batting capitulation in a riveting opening Test at the Edgbaston today.

It was virtually Kohli versus England and when the Indian captain was trapped lbw off Ben Stokes in the 47th over, the absorbing game was only heading the home team's way.

ROSTOV-ON-DON, August 3. /TASS/. The family of Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who is serving his 20-year sentence in an American prison in the city of Danbury, Connecticut, will not be able to visit him this summer, ahead of his daughter’s school year, and the trip was postponed, the pilot’s wife, Viktoria, told TASS.

The pilot’s family, who lives in Rostov-on-Don, have not seen him for about seven years.

MOSCOW, August 3. /TASS/. Around 890,000 Syrian citizens can return to their home country in the coming months, Head of Russia’s National Defense Control Center Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev said on Friday.

"According to data provided by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, about 890,000 civilians are expected to return to Syria in the coming months," Mizintsev said at a meeting of the interdepartmental coordination headquarters supervising the return of refugees to Syria.

MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/. A Mi-8 helicopter has crashed in the north of Krasnoyarsk region, East Siberia, killing 18 people aboard, a source at the emergency services told TASS.

"There were three crewmembers and 15 passenger abroad the Mi-8 that belonged to Utair airline," he said. "All of them died."

A well-informed official in the law enforcement agencies told TASS the helicopter had taken off from the town of Igarka, located on the River Yenisei to the north of the Arctic Circle.

2 Aug 2018; DW; An AfD state youth leader called the German officer who attempted to assassinate Hitler a "coward" and "traitor." The Facebook post has landed him in hot water within the right-wing populist party.

The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Thursday tried to distance itself from comments made by a regional party youth leader who labeled a German officer who tried to kill Adolf Hitler a "traitor."

BRUSSELS, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- As Europe's scorching heat wave continues to spread across the continent, forecasters are now saying the all-time temperature record in Europe could be broken in the coming days.

The temperature in Spain and Portugal, in particular, are expected to rise dramatically over the weekend.

Europe's weather warning group, Meteoalarm, has already issued red warnings - categorized as very dangerous and posing a risk to life - for much of southern Portugal and for the Badajoz province in Spain.

4 Aug 2018; AFP; A 28-year-old woman wearing a niqab on Friday became the first person in Denmark to be fined for violating a new controversial law banning full-face Islamic veils in public places, media reported.

Police were called to a shopping centre in Horsholm, in the northeastern region of Nordsjaelland, where the woman had become involved in a scuffle with another woman who had tried to tear her niqab off, police duty officer David Borchersen told the Ritzau news agency.