Europe

19 May 2023; AA: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on the military alliance’s member countries Thursday to step up their defense spending and indicated his expectation for an agreement to be reached on the matter at their summit in Lithuania. 

During a press conference with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa in Lisbon, Stoltenberg praised Portugal’s support to Ukraine, including the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks and its contribution via NATO’s comprehensive assistance package.

19 May 2023; AA: The funeral and associated events honoring Queen Elizabeth II, which took place during a period of national mourning, incurred an estimated cost of £162 million (nearly $200 million) to the government, the Treasury said Thursday. 

The state funeral was held on Sept. 19 last year, 11 days after the Queen's passing.

During this period, hundreds of thousands of people visited Westminster to pay their respects as she lay in state.

18 May 2023; AA: On the eve of general elections that will determine who will lead Greece for the next four years, the ruling conservative New Democracy (ND) party emphasized the need for stability as opposition parties highlighted a growing living cost crisis.

Greece, with its economy mostly dependent on the service sector and tourism, was struck hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Greek economy consequently contracted by nearly 10% in 2020.

MOSCOW, May 18. /TASS/: The US is not ready either at this stage or in the foreseeable future for any kind of constructive action with regard to the settlement in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news conference on Thursday following talks with Ugandan counterpart Jeje Odongo.

"The United States is not ready either at this stage or, in my opinion, in the foreseeable future, for any constructive action regarding the settlement of the situation in Ukraine, which they themselves created the conditions for over many years," he said.

MINSK, May 18. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday that a new document is needed as the basis for talks on the Ukrainian settlement, the BelTA news agency reported.

"[Russia and Ukraine should] take not that document (which was worked out during the Russia-Ukraine talks in Belarus in 2022 - TASS). A new one. In order to stop the war," the Belarusian president said.

MOSCOW, May 18. /TASS/: Russia will not let the unfriendly actions of other countries go unanswered, adhering to the principles of reciprocity and responding appropriately, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

MOSCOW, May 18. /TASS/: The Russian side has extended the Black Sea grain deal for another two months, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

"We can confirm that the Russian side has also decided to extend the so-called Black Sea [grain] deal for a period of two months," Peskov said.

He added that, "there is a relative result in the negotiations with the participation of representatives of Turkey, Ukraine and the UN."

STOCKHOLM, May 18 (NNN-XINHUA) – Tenants in Sweden face the highest rent increase in three decades, local media reported, yesterday.

The average increase will be 4.2 percent, following negotiations between the Swedish Union of Tenants and the landlords, Swedish TT news agency reported.

“It has been an incredibly tough and long round of negotiations,” Erik Elmgren, head of the Swedish Union of Tenants told TT about the increased rent for nearly 1.1 million apartments for the coming year.

MOSCOW, May 18 (Reuters) - Rail traffic has been suspended between Simferopol, capital of the Crimean peninsula, and the city of Sevastopol, after a freight train carrying grain derailed, the region's Russian-installed leader said on Thursday.

The derailment was caused by "interference by outsiders", Crimean railways said in a statement.

In a statement posted on Telegram, Sergei Aksyonov said that wagons loaded with grain had derailed and no one was injured.

CASTEL BOLOGNESE, Italy, May 18 (Reuters) - Floods that killed nine people in Italy's northern Emilia-Romagna region caused billions of euros' worth of damage and hit agriculture particularly hard, the regional governor said on Thursday.

Torrential rains this week devastated the eastern side of the region, known as Romagna, with up to 300 landslides, 23 overflowing rivers, some 400 roads damaged or destroyed, and 42 flooded municipalities.