Europe

MADRID, Dec 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Spanish government authorised nearly 150 million euros in subsidies to ease the strain on its migrant-processing system after a recent spike in arrivals from Latin America overwhelmed its social services.

Government spokeswoman Isabel Celaa, who announced the measure at a weekly briefing, said the subsidies will be complemented by 25 million euros from European funds.

Provoked by national crises in Spanish-speaking countries like Venezuela and Colombia, the number of people seeking asylum in Spain has skyrocketed.

LONDON, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Clashes broke out in central London on Friday as hundreds of protesters took to Downing Street to "defy Tory rule" after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's election victory.

A heavy police presence was seen close to the Cenotaph in Whitehall, which was cordoned off as clashes broke out.

Videos on social media showed a huge police presence trying to contain the crowds, who could be seen scuffling with officers.

GENEVA, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency UNHCR on Friday appealed for intensified support for displaced Afghans, saying that Afghans are the single largest group of asylum seekers arriving in Europe.

Speaking ahead of the first ever Global Refugee Forum in Geneva next week, Babar Baloch, spokesperson for UNHCR, told a press briefing here that of the roughly 70,000 migrant arrivals in the Eastern Mediterranean so far this year, 37.4 percent had been Afghans.

ATHENS, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The 41st Meeting of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs was held here on Friday, ending with a call for closer cooperation within the group, with the EU and other organizations to promote economic growth, peace and stability.

Greece, which hands over the rotating six-month chairmanship-in-office to Romania in January 2020, welcomed officials from the 12-member organization for an assessment of work done in recent months and planning for next steps.

MADRID (AP) — Countries remain deadlocked in talks over combating climate change as U.N. talks drag on beyond the official deadline.

Officials from almost 200 countries met early Saturday to examine new texts drafted overnight.

Many nations and observers said the latest versions risked backtracking on existing commitments made in the 2015 Paris climate accord and didn’t reflect the urgent warnings from scientists that greenhouse gas emissions need to fall sharply, and soon.

13 Dec 2019; MEMO: Ariel Bulshtein, adviser to the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has announced that Israel has refused to sell weapons to Georgia, at Russia’s request. He also stated a month and a half ago, that Israel had

MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/: If Kiev seeks to introduce changes to the Minsk Agreements, other members of the Normandy Four group will need time to review this possibility, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"I would like everyone to cast their thoughts back to Monday’s summit in Paris, and point out that the parties agreed a document, which can be considered a success," Peskov said.

VIENNA, December 13. / TASS /: Russia's Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz are holding talks in Vienna on the Russian-Ukrainian gas cooperation on Friday. The meeting is attended by the head of Gazprom Alexei Miller and the leadership of Naftogaz Ukraine, a TASS correspondent reports.

As expected, the main topic will be the extension of the contract for gas transit from Russia to Europe through the Ukrainian territory after 2019, since the current ten-year contract expires at the end of the year.

MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Nicaraguan counterpart Denis Ronaldo Moncada Colindres plan to discuss bilateral military and technical cooperation at the talks.

"Our relations with Nicaragua are that between good friends and strategic partners," Lavrov said opening the meeting on Friday. "We have a busy and comprehensive agenda, which includes economic, humanitarian issues and, of course, military and technical cooperation. We look forward to discussing all that in detail today."

MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/: Russian airlines in January - November 2019 increased transportation compared to the same period a year earlier by 10.6% to 119.2 mln passengers, according to the Federal Air Transport Agency. Over the past year, Russian airlines carried 116.2 mln passengers.

"In just 11 months of this year, Russian airlines transported 119.2 mln passengers, an increase of 10.6% compared to the same period last year; passenger turnover rose to 300 bln passenger kilometers (+13%)," the agency said.