Europe

MOSCOW, January 11. /TASS/: Berlin rejects the sanctions against Nord Stream 2 as it is a commercial project, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin after the talks in Moscow on Saturday.

"It is an economic project," she said. "Therefore, we believe it to be right."

According to Merkel, Germany does not support the extraterritorial sanctions of the United States, which are targeting the participants in the NordStream 2 project.

SUKHUM, January 12. /TASS/: Abkhazia’s Central Election Commission has set March 22 as the date of the rerun presidential election after the previous vote’s outcome was canceled by the Supreme Court, its chief Tamaz Gogiya told reporters on Sunday.

"March 22 [has been set as the election date]. Everyone voted and this decision was passed almost unanimously", he said.

VALLETTA (Reuters) - Political newcomer Robert Abela was set to become Malta’s new prime minister having been elected leader of the ruling Labor Party following a vote on Saturday.

Joseph Muscat is stepping down as leader and prime minister amid claims that he protected associates who had links to people allegedly involved in the 2017 murder of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

LONDON (Reuters) - Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney said on Sunday the European Union would not be rushed in negotiations with Britain to thrash out their post-Brexit relationship.

“The European Union will approach this on the basis of getting the best deal possible - a fair and balanced deal to ensure that the UK and the EU can interact as friends in the future - but the EU will not be rushed on this,” he told the BBC.

ATHENS, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of protesters marched in the centre of Athens and Thessaloniki in northern Greece on Saturday, chanting slogans against the U.S. airstrike in Iraq which killed Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

"Get your hands off Tehran", screamed banners held by demonstrators outside the U.S. embassy in Athens.

KIEV, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani apologized over the downing of a Ukrainian plane and has promised that everyone responsible for the tragedy will be punished, the Ukrainian president's press service reported on Saturday evening.

Following a conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on his official Twitter page that "acknowledging the shooting down of the plane is a step in the right direction."

Ukraine (AP) --- The theory took root in vague form well before Donald Trump laid claim to the White House in 2016. The candidate’s close confidant tweeted about it. His campaign chairman apparently spoke about it with people close to him.

What if, the idea went, it was actually Ukraine — and not Russia — that was interfering in the 2016 election?

12 Jan 2019; MEMO: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Libyan peace talks will be held in Berlin, as Turkey and Russia appealed to Libya’s warring factions to enter a ceasefire, Reuters reports.

During a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday, Merkel said: “We hope that the joint efforts by Russia and Turkey will lead to success, and we will soon send out invitations for a conference in Berlin.”

Valletta, Jan 12 (AFP/PTI) Outsider Robert Abela is set to become Malta's new premier on Sunday after Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's downfall over the murder of an investigative journalist.

Abela, who is seen as representing continuity, was elected leader of the Labour Party, meaning he automatically takes the role of prime minister.

KIEV, Ukraine, Jan 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Ukrainian Prime Minister, Oleksiy Honcharuk, said, on Saturday, that, Ukraine would pay 200,000 hryvnia ($8,350) each, to the families of those who died in a plane crash in Iran this week.

He said, Ukraine International Airlines, would make payments to the families of the crew members, who died in the crash.

The airline’s spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.

Honcharuk also said, Ukrainian diplomats were working on how to receive compensation from the Iranian authorities.