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.

By Kubra Chohan

ANKARA; 4 Aug 2018; AA; Turkey’s presidential aide Ibrahim Kalin on Saturday called an article by U.S.-based Newsweek magazine “one of the worst pieces on Turkey”.

“PKK and Gulenist/FETO propaganda presented as facts and ideological paranoia as analysis,” Kalin said in a tweet.

He added: “Now the June 24 elections are over, is Newsweek calling for another coup attempt in Turkey?”

From India News Network (INN)

Srinagar, August 4: Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Youth Federation (JKDYF) held a protest demonstration in Srinagar led by its President Wahid Sultan and General Secretary Abdul Rashid Itoo. Hundreds of JKDYF activists carrying banners and placards, shouted slogans in favour of Article 35A at Press Colony Srinagar.

TASS, August 5. President of the Venezuelan Constituent Assembly Diosdado Cabello tweeted on Saturday that the attempted murder of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was organized by the right political forces.

"The right-wing compatriots insist on violence to occupy the positions which [they] failed to gain through elections. Our brother President Nicolas Maduro and the supreme political and military command came to no harm in the terror attack. They won’t overcome us," Cabello stated.

5 Aug 2018; AFP; Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro escaped an "attack" Saturday when multiple drones carrying explosives detonated near him as he gave a speech at a military ceremony Saturday, his government said, adding seven soldiers were wounded.

"This is an attack against President Nicolas Maduro," Communication Minister Jorge Rodriguez said following the incident that was caught during a live broadcast.

5 Aug 2018; DW; UK trade minister Liam Fox has accused the European Union of pushing Britain toward an exit from the bloc without a trade deal. He said Brussels was obsessed with EU rules, rather than focusing on economic well-being.

Britain's international trade secretary, Liam Fox, has put the odds of the UK leaving the European Union without agreeing terms to formally finalize its exit at 60-40.

Mumbai, Aug 4 (PTI) Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan today accused the BJP government of working hand in glove with global tech giants and turning Aadhaar into a surveillance tool.

The senior Congress leader also alleged that in 2016 the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIADI) had asked global tech companies to embed Aadhaar encryption into their technology.

"BJP Government working in cahoots with global tech giants and turning AADHAR into a surveillance tool. Government must come clean," Chavan said in a tweet.

4 Aug 2018; AFP; North Korea on Saturday said the US was acting with "alarming" impatience on the issue of denuclearisation, after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed the need to maintain full sanctions pressure on Pyongyang.

The contrasting comments at a security forum in Singapore came after a new UN report showed Pyongyang was continuing with its nuclear and missile programmes and evading sanctions through ship-to-ship oil transfers.

By Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Aug 4 (PTI) Imran Khan, who is set to become Pakistan's new Prime Minister, may take oath of the office on the country's Independence Day on August 14, a media report said today.

Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) emerged as the single largest party in the July 25 elections, winning 116 National Assembly seats out of the contested 270 parliamentary constituencies.

New Delhi, Aug 4 (PTI) Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra today asked budding lawyers and judges not to get swayed away by infighting and distractions that come their way and suggested them to deal with such situations courageously.

He was addressing law students at the sixth convocation of the National Law University here.

"You are required to develop an attitude not to get swayed away by the infighting and distractions that come your way. Remain firm and courageous," CJI Misra told the students.

MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/. The Russian mountaineer Alexander Gukov, who was rescued in Pakistan after a six-day ordeal, has been airlifted to Moscow aboard a Sukhoi Superjet 100 plane of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, the ministry’s press service told TASS on Saturday.

"The Russian Emergencies Ministry has completed the sanitary evacuation from Islamabad to Moscow by air of the injured Russian climber, who spent nearly a week on the slope of Latok 1 mountain in Pakistan," the spokesperson said.