Europe

MOSCOW, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Nearly all inhabitants of four Russia-controlled Pacific islands claimed by both Moscow and Tokyo are against the transfer of the disputed territory to Japan, a poll showed Tuesday.

It said 96 percent of the 7,695 polled inhabitants of the four islands north of Japan's Hokkaido, called Southern Kurils in Russia and Northern Territories in Japan, supported this option.

HELSINKI, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Six European liberal democratic prime ministers declared in Helsinki on Tuesday that their parties are the "counter force to populism".

They also called for deepening of the EU single market and continued policies for competitiveness and sustainable growth.

The meeting convened by Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila brought together Helsinki Charles Michel of Belgium, Lars Lokke Rasmussen of Denmark, Juri Ratas of Estonia, Mark Rutte of the Netherlands and Marjan Sarec of Slovenia.

BERLIN, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- China's senior political advisor Gao Yunlong wrapped up a three-day visit to Germany on Tuesday.

Gao, vice chairman of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and chairman council of the China Federation for Peace and Development, was visiting at the invitation of the Koerber Foundation.

19 Feb 2019; AFP: Ireland's deputy prime minister expressed annoyance on Monday at Britain's continued failure to ratify a deal on its orderly withdrawal from the European Union.

"Of course there's frustration," Simon Coveney, who is also Dublin's foreign minister, told reporters after more talks in Brussels with EU colleagues.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May thinks she might be able to get a deal signed with EU leaders in November past the British parliament if it is reworded.

19 Feb 2019; AFP: The known Universe just got a lot bigger.

A new map of the night sky published Tuesday charts hundreds of thousands of previously unknown galaxies discovered using a telescope that can detect light sources optical instruments cannot see.

The international team behind the unprecedented space survey said their discovery literally shed new light on some of the Universe's deepest secrets, including the physics of black holes and how clusters of galaxies evolve.

19 Feb 2019; DW: With fresh tensions boiling between US and the European Union on car imports, EU Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said he believed there would be no immediate tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

"Trump gave me his word that there would be no tariffs for the time being," Juncker told Stuttgarter Zeitung and Stuttgarter Nachrichten papers on Monday.

"I believe this pledge to be reliable," he added.

19 Feb 2019; DW: Germany is prepared to compromise its arms export guidelines to facilitate joint defense projects with France, according to an internal government document. France wants to continue selling weapons to Saudi Arabia.

Germany is working to loosen its arms export control rules to make it easier to continue with joint weapons projects with France, according to an internal strategy paper obtained by Der Spiegel magazine.

19 Feb 2019; DW: Japanese car giant Honda has announced it will close of its only car plant in Britain in 2021. Several carmakers have announced plans to trim UK operations, with concerns that a no-deal Brexit could disrupt supply lines.

Honda will shutter its operations in southwestern England in 2021, the Japanese carmaker announced Tuesday. The move adds to a growing number of car manufacturers scaling down operations in the UK.

ANKARA, February 18. /TASS/. The countries willing to keep Syria from falling apart should deal with President Bashar Assad, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News published on Monday.

"Assad is the legitimate president of Syria; he is the leader of that country. You may or may not like him. He is a state leader, he has a people, armed forces and intelligence. If you want to be among countries that want to save the destiny of Syria, you should deal with Assad," Peskov said.

ABU DHABI, February 18. /TASS/. Russia will complete the deliveries of advanced S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to Turkey by the end of this year, CEO of Russia’s hi-tech corporation Rostec Sergei Chemezov said at the 14th IDEX-2019 international defense show on Monday.

"We have signed the contract and we will complete the deliveries by the end of this year. We will deliver all the systems this year," the chief executive said.