Europe

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s central bank followed other central banks in undertaking a big increase to its key interest rate to combat inflation, saying Thursday that high prices are undermining people’s purchasing power and making it tough for households and companies to plan their finances.

Riksbanken said the hike of three-quarters of a percentage point pushes the key rate to 2.5% — the highest in 14 years, according to Swedish news agency TT — and is meant “to bring down inflation and safeguard the inflation target.”

BRUSSELS (AP) — On winter’s doorstep, European Union nations have not been able to surmount bitter disagreements as they struggle to effectively shield 450 million citizens from massive increases in their natural gas bills as cold weather sets in.

An emergency meeting of energy ministers Thursday only shows how the energy crisis tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine has divided the 27-nation bloc in almost irreconcilable blocs.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian lawmakers on Thursday gave their final approval to a bill that significantly expands restrictions on activities seen as promoting gay rights in the country, another step in a years-long crackdown on the country’s embattled LGBTQ community.

The new bill expands a ban on what authorities call “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” to minors, established by legislation dubbed the “gay propaganda” law. It was adopted by the Kremlin in 2013 in an effort to promote “traditional values” in Russia.

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A summit of four Central European leaders in Slovakia on Thursday could be set to redefine a regional alliance that’s under strain from diverging approaches to the war in Ukraine.

Fault lines within the bloc known as the Visegrad Four — Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary — have appeared in recent months over Hungary’s lukewarm support for Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion, which has alienated Budapest’s populist government from some of its strongest regional allies.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — About 70% of the Ukrainian capital was left without power, Kyiv’s mayor said Thursday, a day after Moscow unleashed yet another devastating missile and drone barrage on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Wednesday’s renewed Russian attack on Ukrainian infrastructure caused power outages across large parts of the country, further hobbling Ukraine’s already battered power network and adding to the misery for civilians as temperatures plunge. The strikes also caused power outages in neighboring Moldova.

VILNIANSK, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian rocket struck the maternity wing of a hospital in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing a newborn boy and critically injuring a doctor. The overnight explosion left the small-town hospital a crumbled mess of bricks, scattering medical supplies across the small compound.

It was the second deadly strike on the small town of Vilniansk in a week, and Mayor Nataliya Usienko said she feared it would not be the last.

PARIS, November 23. /TASS/: The European Parliament during a session in Strasbourg on Wednesday adopted a resolution designating Russia as a ‘state sponsor of terrorism’, according to the text of the document published on its website. The session was broadcast live on the European Parliament's website.

According to the resolution, the European Parliament "recognizes Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and as a state which uses means of terrorism."

LONDON, November 23. /TASS/: The UK Supreme Court denied Scotland the power to hold a new referendum on the region’s independence, Supreme Court President Robert Reed said on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, November 23. /TASS/: The Russian State Duma at its Wednesday session approved the second reading of a bill banning propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations, pedophilia and information capable of causing someone to seek gender reassignment surgery.

About 400 legislators, including Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, are among the bill’s authors. As Volodin noted during the meeting, the bill is being approved exclusively in the interests of Russians. "We should do everything in order to protect our children and those who want to lead a normal life," he emphasized.

BAKHMUT, Ukraine/KYIV, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Speaking amid the boom of artillery on Ukraine's frontlines, the masked soldier said his ultimate goal was to liberate a land farther east - the Russian republic of Chechnya.

Maga, his nom-de-guerre, is part of a unit of Chechen fighters helping Ukraine battle Russian troops in eastern Ukraine.

Many of his kinsmen also famously support the other side - powerful Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov calls himself Russian President Vladimir Putin's "foot soldier" and sent members of his personal army to Ukraine to fight for the Russians.