Europe

BERLIN, Sept 12 (Reuters) - German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht on Monday again rejected demands to supply Kyiv with main battle tanks.

"No country has delivered Western-built infantry fighting vehicles or main battle tanks so far," she said in Berlin.

"We have agreed with our partners that Germany will not take such action unilaterally."

BRUSSELS, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Fossil fuel firms may have to share their excess profits to help European households and industries cope with red-hot energy bills, a draft European Union plan showed on Monday as the cost of the West's "energy war" with Russia took a growing toll.

Energy prices and inflation have surged as Moscow slashed gas supplies in response to Western sanctions imposed over its actions in Ukraine, prompting France to tell consumers they would have to share some of the pain while Britain is among countries facing the threat of recession.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A populist anti-immigration party surged to become Sweden’s second largest political force in a weekend election dominated by fears of gang violence that has made the once-safe Scandinavian country one of Europe’s most dangerous.

Overall, a conservative opposition bloc including the anti-immigration party, the Sweden Democrats, had an extremely narrow lead over the incumbent center-left with 94% of the votes counted.

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — King Charles arrived in Edinburgh on Monday to accompany his late mother’s coffin on an emotion-charged procession through the historic heart of the Scottish capital to a cathedral where it will lie for 24 hours to allow the public to pay their last respects.

Charles and his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, were driven from the airport to the royal family’s official residence in Edinburgh, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin lay overnight in the Throne Room.

KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine kept the counteroffensive momentum in its war against Russia going Monday, saying it liberated one village after another and claiming that in one region it pushed the invaders back right up to the border.

“In some areas of the front, our defenders reached the state border with the Russian Federation,” said the regional governor of the northeastern Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov. Russian troops crossed the border in the region on Feb. 24, the first day of the invasion.

12 Sep 2022; MEMO: Head of Hamas' Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, arrived in the Russian capital Moscow on Saturday accompanied by a senior delegation from the movement's leadership.

In a statement, Haniyeh's media adviser, Taher Al-Nono, said the Hamas leader "arrived in Moscow on a visit during which he intends to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and a number of Russian leaders and officials."

MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 52,829 over the past day to 20,066,610, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Sunday.

As many as 2,185 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day. The number of hospitalized patients declined in 70 regions, while in 1213 other regions the figure increased. A day earlier, 3,977 people were rushed to hospitals.

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, September 11. /TASS/: Russia does not reject negotiations with Ukraine, but their further delay by Kiev will complicate the possibility of reaching an agreement with Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Rossiya-1 TV channel.

MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/: Austria continues to support all anti-Russian sanctions because of the situation in Ukraine, but not all nations want to participate in restrictions, Austria's former Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl said in an interview with TASS.

MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/: It is necessary to establish a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant as soon as possible, consultations on this matter have already begun, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi said on Sunday.