Europe

STOCKHOLM, June 29 (Reuters) - Swedish caretaker Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said on Tuesday he would be willing to return to head a government that did not yet have backing for a budget, potentially making it easier for the parliament speaker to ask him to form a new administration.

Lofven resigned after losing a no-confidence vote last week, handing the speaker the job of finding a new prime minister candidate who can pass a vote in parliament.

MATERA, Italy, June 29 (Reuters) - Foreign ministers from the Group of 20 major economies met face-to-face on Tuesday for the first time in two years, with host Italy aiming to push multilateral cures for global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.

The one-day gathering in the heat-soaked southern city of Matera will include debate on how to improve cooperation on an array of issues including global health, the climate emergency and international trade.

GENEVA, June 29 (Reuters) - The U.N. investigator on human rights in Iran has called for an independent inquiry into allegations of state-ordered executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 and the role played by President-elect Ebrahim Raisi as Tehran deputy prosecutor.

Javaid Rehman, in an interview with Reuters on Monday, said that over the years his office has gathered testimonies and evidence. It was ready to share them if the United Nations Human Rights Council or other body sets up an impartial investigation.

ROME, June 28 (Xinhua) -- All regions of Italy on Monday become the so-called "white zone," with the lowest level of anti-coronavirus rules in the country's four-tiered system.

People are no longer required to wear face masks outdoors except for large gatherings. But masks are still mandatory on public transport, in all public offices and indoor spaces.

Masks are "strongly recommended" in the presence of the vulnerable, such as the elderly, according to the technical-scientific committee advising the government on the coronavirus emergency.

PARIS, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Infections with the more contagious COVID-19 Delta variant "now account for about 20 percent of new cases" in France, French Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Tuesday.

The Delta variant, first detected in India, "is gradually becoming dominant (in France) as it is in all countries in the world," Veran told France info radio.

The same virus variant had represented 9 to 10 percent of new infections according to numbers released a week ago.

LONDON, June 29 (Xinhua) -- British Education Secretary Gavin Williamson on Tuesday called for a ban on cellphones in school classrooms as part of a drive to improve student behavior.

The Department for Education (DfE) announced a plan to ask teachers and school leaders for views on managing good behavior, including on the use of cellphones in the school day.

Williamson's call came ahead of plans to update government guidance later this year on behavior and discipline in schools, as well as student suspensions and permanent exclusions.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s asylum agency said Tuesday that the number of people seeking international protection in Europe hit its lowest level last year since 2013, but that the drop was due mostly to coronavirus travel restrictions.

The European Asylum Support Office, or EASO, said in a new report that 485,000 asylum applications were made in the 27 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland in 2020. That’s a 32% decrease over the previous year.

Paris, Jun 28 (PTI) Star Indian archer Deepika Kumari on Monday regained the number one position in global rankings following her hat-trick of gold medals at the World Cup Stage 3 here.

The 27-year-old from Ranchi, who had achieved the top spot for the first time in 2012, on Sunday claimed gold medals in three recurve events -- women's individual, team and mixed pair.

"This is going to take Deepika to the number one spot in the world rankings on Monday," World Archery had tweeted on its official handle after Deepika's gold rush.

BERLIN (AP) — German investigators said Tuesday that an Islamic extremist motivation for last week’s fatal knife attack in Wuerzburg appears likely, but they haven’t so far found any propaganda or other extremist material. They also plan more checks on the suspect’s mental health.

Friday’s assault in and outside a store in the center of the Bavarian city left three women dead and another six people seriously injured. The suspect, a 24-year-old Somali man, was shot in the leg by police and arrested after people surrounded him and tried to hold him at bay with chairs and sticks.

MOSCOW, June 28. /TASS/: New unique weapon systems will shortly go on combat duty in Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with graduates of military universities in the Kremlin on Monday.

"Hypersonic weapons — the Avangard and Kinzhal systems have already gone on combat duty. Coming next are other unique armaments that include the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, the Tsirkon shipborne hypersonic missile, S-500 ‘Prometei’ surface-to-air missile systems and others," the Russian leader said.