Europe

30 May 2023; MEMO: Ukrainian legislators have approved a Bill imposing 50 years of sanctions on Iran over its supply of drones to Russia, a lawmaker said, Anadolu Agency reports.

Yaroslav Zheleznyak said on Telegram, Monday, which the Parliament, also known as the Verkhovna Rada, approved the Bill with 328 votes in favour of the measures.

31 May 2023; MEMO: The city of Geneva has decided to ban a Palestinian exhibition that highlights the suffering of Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails, Israeli media reported yesterday.

According to Ynet News, this came following pressure from the Israeli Embassy in Switzerland and several pro-Israel organisations.

Secours Rouge Geneva, in collaboration with Samidoun Geneva, prepared for the exhibition, which should have lasted from 25-27 May.

MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/: Kiev has chosen the path of intimidating Russian citizens by attacking civilian facilities, which is a clear sign of terrorist activity, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/: A bill has been put forward in Russia banning gender affirmation surgeries for any reason other than to treat congenital abnormalities.

Thus, the law on health protections of Russian nationals is supplemented with a provision banning "medical interventions geared to swap gender," including surgeries to change primary or secondary sex characteristics.

MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/: The Ukrainian army has lost over 16,000 troops, 16 aircraft and over 400 tanks and other armored vehicles over the past month, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday.

"Russian forces continue to inflict an effective fire impact on the enemy. Its losses this month alone totaled over 16,000 troops, 16 aircraft, 5 helicopters, 466 drones, over 400 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, and 238 field artillery pieces and mortars," Shoigu said during a conference call.

MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/: The NATO-led international security force in Kosovo known as KFOR has turned into a source of unwarranted violence and escalation in the region, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement followed an outbreak of violence against Serbs in Kosovo.

ATHENS, May 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Five Greek border police officers were arraigned Tuesday as suspected accomplices of a smuggling network that illegally brought migrants into the country from Turkiye.

The five men appeared before a prosecutor in the northeastern city of Orestiada, a day after the police department’s internal affairs division said they had been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes and breach of duty.

MOSCOW, May 30 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin is working in the Kremlin and has been briefed about drone attacks on Moscow, his spokesman said on Tuesday.

Dmitry Peskov also said Russian air defences and the defence ministry had worked well in dealing with the assault and added that there were currently no plans for Putin to comment on the drone attack, which Moscow has blamed on Ukraine.

Earlier, Russia's defence ministry said air defences had destroyed eight drones.

LONDON/SYDNEY, May 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar steadied after climbing to a two-month high and European stocks flattened on Tuesday as relief that a possible default by the U.S. government had been averted gave way to concern that the deal could face a rocky path through Congress.

The U.S. dollar index and longer-dated U.S. Treasuries rallied as traders welcomed the deal to suspend Washington's borrowing limit until January 2025 in exchange for caps on spending and cuts in government programmes.

LULEA, Sweden, May 30 (Reuters) - Top U.S. and European Union officials meet in Sweden on Tuesday to weigh how best to deal with China and cooperate on artificial intelligence and other future technology as well as EU complaints about Trump-era tariffs and U.S. green subsidies.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager will attend the fourth ministerial meeting of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) for two days in Lulea, just below the Arctic Circle.