Europe

MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed the country’s readiness to provide a significant grain volume to the poorest countries free of charge in a telephone conversation with President of Indonesia Joko Widodo, the Kremlin’s press service said on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/: Russia perceives Norway's military preparations near its borders as a course on escalation of tensions in the region, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Wednesday.

MOSCOW/MINSK, November 2. /TASS/: The West seeks to destroy Russia’s economy and military potential, making it impossible for the country to pursue an independent foreign policy, Russian defense chief Sergey Shoigu said at a joint board meeting of the Russian and Belarusian defense ministries on Wednesday.

LISBON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Portugal is likely to scrap its "golden visa" programme giving wealthy foreigners residence rights, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Wednesday, saying that the 10-year-old scheme had already fulfilled its role.

The Authorisation of Residence for Investment Activity for people from non-EU countries, commonly known as the golden visa programme, has been heavily criticised at home for sending house prices and rents up, and the European Commission has called for the end of such national schemes.

Nov 2 (Reuters) - The cost of Russia's military mobilisation and the impact of Western sanctions are set to blow a hole in the government's budget forecasts and drain Moscow's reserves to their lowest level in years, according to analysts' latest calculations.

That will put an ever greater strain on the Kremlin's resources as President Vladimir Putin seeks to fund a conflict with no end in sight and prepares for a possible re-election bid in 2024.

Nov 2 (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday that avoiding a nuclear clash between the world's nuclear powers was its first priority, but accused the West of "encouraging provocations with weapons of mass destruction".

Western capitals have said Moscow is behind a ramping up of nuclear rhetoric since Russia invaded Ukraine in February - most recently by repeatedly accusing Kyiv of planning to use a radioactive "dirty bomb" without offering evidence. Kyiv has denied having any such plan.

STOCKHOLM, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Nuvaxovid, the COVID-19 vaccine created by U.S. company Novavax, should not be given to individuals younger than 30, the Public Health Agency of Sweden said here on Wednesday.

The agency cited research conducted in Australia, which showed an increased risk of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the tissue surrounding the heart) after vaccination.

COPENHAGEN, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- The general election on Tuesday was expected to end the Left-Right polarization that has dominated Danish politics for years and pave the way for a centrist government in Denmark, said local pundits.

But the outcome was anticlimactic and fell short of expectations with the lowest turnout rate since 1990.

LONDON (AP) — A group of winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature urged world leaders on Wednesday to raise human rights issues as they visit Egypt for the COP27 climate change conference.

In a letter sent to various heads of state, the group of 15 Nobel Laureates asked the visiting diplomats and politicians to “devote part of your agenda to the many thousands of political prisoners held in Egypt’s prisons.” In particular, they asked for the case of prominent imprisoned activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah to be raised, as he escalates his hunger strike on the conference’s first day.

MILAN (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday defended her government from criticism that a decree banning rave parties could be used to clamp down on sit-ins and other forms of protest while thousands of fascist sympathizers were allowed to march to the crypt of the country’s slain Fascist dictator.

The decree on illegal raves was among the first actions of Meloni’s far-right-led government. Both the political opposition and judicial magistrates voiced alarm the tough law-and-order stance signaled the government’s possible intolerance of disobedience.