MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/. Meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin was fruitful marking the beginning of friendship, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in an interview with TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman.

"I am very pleased with the visit," he said. "I was received with wonderful hospitality, that was a very warm welcome. I would say that friendly relations have emerged as well. At the end, before saying good-bye, we told each other about that."

MOSCOW, October 24. /TASS/. Moscow sees threats to Russian security in Washington's actions, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday.

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Oct 25 (PTI) An influential Republican lawmaker on Wednesday urged the Trump administration to bring an end to discrimination against Asian-American students applying for admission to higher educational institutions in the US.

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher wrote a letter in this regard to the Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in the wake of the ongoing court case against the prestigious Harvard University.

BEIJING, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in Beijing Thursday afternoon for an official visit to China.

At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Abe will visit China from Oct. 25 to 27. It is the first official visit by a Japanese prime minister in seven years.

Addis Ababa, Oct 25 (AFP) Ethiopia on Thursday appointed a woman to the largely ceremonial position of president for the first time.

In a unanimous vote, Ethiopian lawmakers picked career diplomat Sahle-Work Zewde to replace Mulatu Teshome who resigned.

Sahle-Work, who is in her late 60s, has been Ethiopia's ambassador to France, Djibouti, Senegal and the regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

Just prior to her appointment as president she was the UN's top official at the African Union.

VERONA, October 25. /TASS/. European companies refusing to work with Iran, as well as a possible ban on imports of Iranian oil, could have serious consequences for the European economy, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said at the Eurasian Economic Forum.

By Muhammed Enes Can, Basak Akbulut Yazar and Murat Kaya

ISTANBUL; 25 Oct 2018; AA: Turkish investigators have recorded statements of 38 employees of the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, as part of a probe into killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, judicial sources said on Thursday.

RIYADH, October 25. /TASS/. Russian Railways will soon submit an application for the construction of railways in Saudi Arabia, head of the Russian Direct Investments Fund (RDIF), a member of the board of directors of Russian Railways, Kirill Dmitriev, told reporters on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative forum.

PARIS, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- A French court on Thursday rejected former President Nicolas Sarkozy's appeal over charges of illegal campaign financing in 2012, maintaining an earlier decision to put him on trial, according to local report.

After losing the appeal, Sarkozy, 63, would face trial over allegation of false accounting during his election campaign that allowed him to exceed spending limits.

If convicted, the former head of state risks a one-year jail sentence.

PARIS, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron told Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that France would take action against Riyadh if an investigation proves it was behind the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In a press release late Wednesday, the president's office said the two leaders discussed the investigation into Khashoggi's death during a phone conversation.

"Macron expressed his profound indignation and asked that all light be shed on the circumstances that led to this tragedy," the Elysee added.

PARIS, October 25. /TASS/. The European Parliament has awarded the 2018 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Oleg Sentsov, convicted of terrorism in Crimea, whom Kiev considers to be a Ukrainian national.

The European Parliament's President Antonio Tajani announced the winner.

The Sakharov Prize honors individuals and organizations for achievements in the field of human rights. Sentsov was nominated by the European People's Party. The award ceremony is scheduled to be held in Strasbourg on December 12.

RIYADH, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday that an investigation has been launched into Turkey's information indicating the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was "planned," Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The announcement was made by the General Attorney in a statement carried by SPA, which said the Turkish information was sent through the Joint Working Team between the two countries.