Three Congo opposition areas excluded from presidential election
Voters in three Congolese cities known as opposition strongholds will be excluded from presidential elections on security and health grounds, officials said, in a move that looks certain to inflame political tensions before Sunday’s ballot.
Special Report: Oil output goes AWOL in Venezuela as soldiers run PDVSA
Last July 6, Major General Manuel Quevedo joined his wife, a Catholic priest and a gathering of oil workers in prayer in a conference room at the headquarters of Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA.
Putin says Russia is ready to deploy new hypersonic nuclear missile
President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would deploy its first regiment of hypersonic nuclear-capable missiles next year, saying the move meant his country now had a new type of strategic weapon.
Martial law expires in Ukraine
Martial law, imposed on Nov. 25 in some Ukrainian areas after Russia captured three Ukrainian ships, expired on Wednesday, President Petro Poroshenko told the country’s security council.
Russia sentences Ukrainian man to eight years in jail for spying: Kommersant
A Russian court has sentenced a Ukrainian man to eight years in a maximum security prison for espionage and trying to illegally obtain and export military goods, Russia’s Kommersant newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Two held for sparking panic with dummy guns at Paris CDG airport
French police arrested two people who brandished dummy guns at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris on Wednesday, causing panic and a temporary evacuation of a terminal, airport authorities and local media said.
Magnitude 4.8 earthquake in Sicily causes damage, injuries
An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 hit an area north of Catania on the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily early on Wednesday, damaging buildings and injuring about 30 people, officials said.
Russia says Israeli strikes on Syria threatened two civilian flights: Ifax
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday that Israeli missile strikes in Syria the previous day had directly threatened two civilian flights, Interfax news agency reported.
Iran in talks with Afghan Taliban: Iranian state media report
Iran has been holding talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban with the knowledge of the Afghan government, a senior Iranian security official was quoted by the official news agency IRNA as saying on Wednesday during a visit to Kabul.
Putin oversees successful test of hypersonic missile system: RIA cites Kremlin
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday oversaw the successful test of a new Russian hypersonic missile system called Avangard which can carry nuclear and conventional warheads, the RIA news agency cited the Kremlin as saying.
