Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says will raise defensive capabilities: Tasnim
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday it will continue increasing the country’s defensive capabilities, and will not surrender to pressure over its missile program.
Right-winger Bolsonaro gains ground in Brazil presidential poll
Right-wing frontrunner Jair Bolsonaro’s support has grown ahead of Brazil’s presidential election in October, while second-place environmentalist Marina Silva edged up in a new Datafolha poll released on Wednesday.
Austria says shares EU stance on Russia despite Putin visit
Austria is firmly rooted in the European Union and fully shares its stance towards Russia, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Wednesday, aiming to reassure critics after Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the Austrian foreign minister’s wedding.
China’s Xi says internet must be ‘clean and righteous’
The internet must be “clean and righteous” and vulgar content must be resisted in the field of culture, Chinese President Xi Jinping told a meeting of senior propaganda officials, state media said on Wednesday.
Afghanistan seeks Russian help to press Taliban into peace talks
Afghanistan hopes Russia can press Taliban insurgents into holding peace talks with the government, Afghanistan’s top security official said on Wednesday after he met Russia’s ambassador in Kabul.
British Typhoons scrambled from Romania to shadow Russian jets
Two British Typhoon jets were scrambled from Romania to investigate suspected Russian fighter aircraft operating near NATO airspace over the Black Sea, the Royal Air Force (RAF) said on Wednesday.
Scotland’s budget gap falls, Sturgeon warns of Brexit danger
Scotland’s large budget deficit shrank in the last financial year to its lowest since 2012 but remained far larger in percentage terms than that of the United Kingdom as a whole, Scottish government data showed on Wednesday.
Bulgarian government approves roadmap to euro membership
Bulgaria’s government approved an action plan on Wednesday that envisages the country entering the “waiting room” for euro membership and also joining the European Union’s banking union by the end of June next year.
Merkel shares much of Maas ideas on how to counter U.S. policies
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government shares many of the views expressed by Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in an article where he called for more European unity to counter U.S. policies disliked by the bloc, her spokesman said on Wednesday.
Thailand seizes huge $45-million haul of methamphetamines
Thai police have seized more than 14 million methamphetamine pills worth 1.48 billion baht ($45 million) that were bound for neighboring Malaysia and beyond, authorities said on Tuesday, in one of its biggest ever drug busts.
