UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday warned against attempts to contain Iran.

There are attempts to weaken Iran's position in order to stabilize Yemen, Syria and Iraq. But that would be unrealistic, said Lavrov.

"Not a single country with such history, population and civilizational values as Iran can be locked in a cage within its borders," he told a news conference at UN Headquarters in New York.

WASHINGTON; 29 Sep 2018; (AP) — Reversing course, President Donald Trump bowed to Democrats’ demands Friday for a deeper FBI investigation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh after Republican Sen. Jeff Flake balked at voting for confirmation without it — a sudden turn that left Senate approval newly uncertain amid allegations of sexual assault.

MOSCOW, September 28. /TASS/. Russia may build the first manned base on the surface of the Moon in 2030, the chief of the nuclear planetology department at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Space Research Institute, Igor Mitrofanov, told TASS on Friday.

On Monday, Roscosmos corporation said Russia had plans for building its own base for space crews on the surface of the Moon. The possibility of cooperation with NASA or BRICS countries is being considered, the corporation said.

CAIRO, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian governor has decreed that images of Disney figures on the walls of kindergartens be removed, local media reported.

Alaa Abdul-Halim Mohammed Marzouk, governor of Egypt's Qalyubia, north of Cairo, said pictures of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck need to be replaced by images of famous Egyptians and military martyrs whom children will look up to as role models.

"These characters are U.S.-made, whereas we have our own noble figures who can deepen children's patriotism and love of country," he told local media.

GUIYANG, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's self-developed FTC-2000G versatile aircraft successfully conducted its maiden flight Friday in the city of Anshun in southwest China's Guizhou Province, according to its developer.

The FTC-2000G was developed by the Guizhou Aviation Industry Corporation under the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China.

The multi-functional military aircraft can be used for attacking, combat, as well as daily training.

MOSCOW, September 28. /TASS/. European human rights organizations are concerned about the predicament of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church believers, Bishop Victor of Baryshevka, a vicar of the Kiev Diocese, said on Friday in an interview with the Church’s Information Department, following a Warsaw meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California told automakers Friday they must still comply with the state’s strict vehicle mileage standards even if President Donald Trump rolls back federal rules.

The action by California Air Resources Board was widely expected. It sets up a likely court battle if the Trump administration follows through with an attempt to revoke California’s unique authority to set its own vehicle emissions standards. Those standards have been adopted by 12 other states that account for about a third of vehicle sales in the United States.

29 Sep 2018; AFP: The UN General Assembly may be one of the most unwieldy events on the diplomatic calendar, with non-stop speeches by 193 leaders and hundreds more side events, all in a few blocks along New York's East River.

But for Maria Fernanda Espinosa, the newly-elected president of the General Assembly who watches over the gathering, the format is spot-on.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed an 854-billion-U.S.-dollar spending bill to avoid a government shutdown before the new fiscal year begins on Monday.

The bill, approved by the Congress earlier this week, would provide the U.S. Departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education with the funding for the full fiscal year ending on Sept. 30, 2019, as well as two months' funding for other government agencies.

Srinagar, Sept 28; PTI:  Normal life was affected in Kashmir on Friday due to a strike called by separatists to protest killing of a civilian during a cordon and search operation in the city yesterday.

Authorities have imposed restrictions in parts of Srinagar to maintain law and order.

New York, Sept 27; PTI: The attitude of only one country is hampering the spirit of the SAARC, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Thursday as he accused India of being an obstacle in regional cooperation.

Qureshi's comments after he participated in the the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation council of foreign ministers meet here on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also attended the meeting but left early.

Qureshi said he did not talk to his Indian counterpart.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's Belt and Road Initiative is a public good China offers the world, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday.

Addressing the General Debate of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly, Wang said the initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping has grown into the largest platform for international cooperation.