Europe

LONDON, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May won a vital confidence vote in the House of Commons Wednesday, averting a snap general election that could have ushered in a Labour government.

After seeing off a challenge that would have triggered a battle for control of Downing Street, May announced she would be having immediate talks with leaders of opposition parties to thrash out a new Brexit deal.

London, Jan 17 (PTI) Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May won a confidence vote on Wednesday and averted a general election, a day after her government suffered a historic parliamentary defeat over her Brexit divorce deal with the European Union.

Her government won by 325 votes to 306 - a majority of 19.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn argued that May's "zombie" administration had lost the right to govern during a six hour debate on his motion.

His party has not ruled out tabling further no-confidence motions.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s foreign minister says that the U.S. has ignored Moscow’s proposal to inspect a Russian missile that Washington says has violated a nuclear arms treaty.

Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that Russia offered during talks in Geneva earlier this week that U.S. experts see the missile. He said the U.S. negotiators stonewalled the offer, repeating Washington’s demand that Russia destroys the weapon it claimed violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

LONDON (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel says there’s still time for negotiations between the European Union and Britain over its departure from the bloc.

Merkel says that she regretted the decision by British lawmakers to oppose the agreement negotiated by British Prime Minister Theresa May and the EU.

Merkel told reporters in Berlin that “we will of course do everything to find an orderly solution, but we are also prepared if there is no orderly solution.”

16 Jan 2019; AFP: Prime Minister Theresa May faced a confidence vote on Wednesday after MPs overwhelmingly rejected her deal on leaving the European Union, raising fears of a disorderly "no-deal" Brexit.

The humiliating defeat left the process in limbo with 73 days to go before the official departure date and raised warnings of Britain crashing out of the bloc.

16 Jan 2019; DW: A parliamentary worker for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been accused of ordering a false flag arson attack in an attempt to discredit Ukraine's government.

Three men are on trial in Poland following last February's firebombing of a Hungarian culture center in Uzhorod, western Ukraine. According to Polish authorities, the attack was to be attributed to Ukrainian neo-Nazis in order to sour relations between Ukraine and Hungary.

16 Jan 2019; DW: More Germans are applying for basic weapons licenses according to the country's Interior Ministry. As of December 31, 2018, some 610,937 citizens had been issued licenses.

The jump of 53,377 gun permits over 2017 represents a 9.6 percent increase in the number of Germans now licensed to carry gas pistols, flare guns, pepper spray and other weapons not intended for deadly use.

16 Jan 2019; DW: French President Emmanuel Macron met with about 600 mayors across the Normandy region on Tuesday in his first session of a two-month national debate tour he promised in response to the country's "yellow vest" movement.

In his opening remarks to the gathering in the northern town of Grand Bourgtheroulde, Macron said he was there to hear the concerns of the French and promised that the questions raised by the citizens would be given consideration.

MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/. Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Nikolai Patrushev has said that Ukraine could lose its statehood, if Kiev continues to pursue its current policy.

"The continuation of such policy by the Kiev authorities can contribute to the loss of Ukraine’s statehood," he said in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta. According to Patrushev, "the Kiev authorities are doing everything to split Ukraine, implementing the West’s scenario to break Ukraine away from Russia, while ignoring the interests of its own people."

MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/. Russia and Zimbabwe signed a range of agreements for implementation of a joint project on development of the Darwendale platinum group metals deposit. Documents were signed in presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa after their talks.