Iran arrests second British-Iranian national since mid-April: Iran Wire agency
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Iran has detained a British-Iranian dual national who works as a security analyst, the independent news site Iran Wire reported on Wednesday, the second such arrest since mid-April.
Armenian protest leader pauses strike for talks with ruling party
YEREVAN (Reuters) – The leader of a protest movement that has rocked Armenia on Tuesday called a pause in a campaign of civil disobedience while he seeks assurances that the ruling party will back him to be the next prime minister.
Slovakia says unlikely Vietnam used its plane in ex-oil executive’s kidnapping
BRATISLAVA (Reuters) – Slovakia’s prime minister tried on Wednesday to distance his government from media reports that Vietnamese agents used a Slovak government plane to smuggle home a former oil executive they kidnapped in Germany last year.
‘I was part of the problem,’ pope quoted telling Chile abuse victims
ROME (Reuters) – Pope Francis told Chilean victims of clerical sexual abuse “I was part of the problem” and apologized for dismissing accusations of a cover-up by Catholic bishops, one of the victims said on Wednesday.
Suicide attackers storm HQ of Libya’s election commission, 12 dead
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Suicide bombers stormed the head offices of Libya’s electoral commission in Tripoli on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people and setting fire to the building in an attack claimed by the Islamic State militant group.
Basque separatist group ETA says it has ‘completely dissolved’
MADRID (Reuters) – Basque separatist group ETA has completely dismantled all its structures, ending a 50-year guerrilla campaign, it said in a letter dated April 16 and published by the Spanish online newspaper El Diario on Wednesday.
Armenian roads blocked after protest leader calls for civil disobedience campaign
YEREVAN (Reuters) – Protesters blocked roads across Armenia on Wednesday, responding to a call from opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan for a civil disobedience campaign to force the ruling party to make him prime minister.
Ukraine to mirror U.S. sanctions on Russian tycoons
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine has decided to expand sanctions on Russian companies and entities to mirror those of the United States, which has blacklisted tycoons and allies of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Wednesday…
Slovak public broadcaster under fire after sacking four reporters
BRATISLAVA (Reuters) – Slovakia’s public TV and radio broadcaster has come under fire for sacking four reporters last week who had signed an open letter warning of creeping political pressure in state media.
Germany confident Eurofighter supplier issue can be resolved soon
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany said on Wednesday it hoped to resolve the restricted supply of certain components for its fleet of 129 Eurofighter jets in coming weeks, and the issue should not derail its plans to resume air policing in the Baltic region fr…
