Europe

STOCKHOLM, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- After 131 days without government, the Swedish Parliament approved on Friday Stefan Lofven as Prime Minister for a second four-year term.

A total of 115 MPs voted yes, 153 voted no and 77 abstained. To be elected, Lofven did not need to secure a majority of the vote. As long as fewer than 175 of the 349-member parliament voted against him, he would be elected.

"I take on this mission with humility and determination," Lofven said at the press conference held soon after the announcement.

MOSCOW, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Two pilots have been found and rescued at sea following a collision between two Su-34 fighter jets over the Sea of Japan, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.

The pilots were brought up on board rescue choppers and their conditions are satisfactory, the ministry said in a statement.

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s maritime rescue service says it has saved 472 people who were trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe over the past two days.

The service says that 17 people, including one woman, were rescued early Thursday from two inflatable rafts like those used at beaches and swimming pools.

The spokeswoman, who wasn’t authorized to be identified in media reports, said that 455 migrants were rescued Wednesday — 124 in the Strait of Gibraltar, and 331 further east.

16 Jan 2019; AFP: Russia on Wednesday dismissed as ridiculous reports questioning whether US President Donald Trump has acted as an agent for Russia as controversy mounted over his alleged ties to the Kremlin.

Trump has denied explosive news reports that he hid details of discussions with President Vladimir Putin and that the FBI investigated him as a potential national security risk who might be acting on behalf of Russia.

17 Jan 2019; DW: Police conducted raids on several properties throughout Germany thought to be connected to an extremist group that associates itself with the Ku Klux Klan. A total of 17 people are at the center of the investigation.

German police on Wednesday raided 12 apartments in eight different German states belonging to suspected members of an extreme-right group calling itself the National Socialist Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Deutschland.

16 Jan 2019; DW: Stockholm has been trapped in deadlock, with no party wanting to govern with the far-right Sweden Democrats. Social Democrat PM Stefan Lofven is set to retain his post by promising to bring his party to the right.

Sweden looked set to finally resolve four months of political deadlock on Wednesday and allow Prime Minister Stefan Lofven to take a second term in office. The Left party said it would abstain in a crucial vote on Friday, clearing the way for Lofven and his patchwork coalition.

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on Western countries to abandon unfair competition practices such as sanctions.

Responding to a question from a journalist from Iceland, who stated the negative impact of anti-Russian sanctions on his country's economy, Lavrov explained why Russia decided to use counter sanctions in relation to European agricultural products.

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. Russia’s Investigative Committee has found evidence proving a gas leak triggered an explosion in a residential building in the southern Russian town of Shakhty, but no residues of explosive devices were spotted at the scene, the committee’s Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko told reporters on Wednesday.

"Staff members of the Investigative Committee’s Main Forensics Department did not find any residues of explosives while searching the crime scene with a gas analyzer. Chemical examinations are to be done on collected wipe samples," she said.

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. Specialists will try once again to regain control over Spektr-R radio telescope on January 21 when the distance to the apparatus will be minimal, science advisor to the Roscosmos's chief Alexander Bloshenko told TASS on Wednesday.

"The next step is to repeat today's program on Monday when the distance to the spacecraft will be minimal. The distance currently stands at around 300,000 km," Bloshenko said.

ATHENS, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The government of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras won a confidence vote in the Greek parliament on Wednesday, while a new crucial vote for the ratification of the Macedonia name deal will follow it in the coming days.

A total of 151 lawmakers voted to back the government, while 148 voted against and one was absent during the roll call voting in the 300-member strong assembly, which was broadcast live on Greek national broadcaster ERT.