MEXICO CITY – Mexican authorities say federal police have destroyed a marijuana plantation containing more than 72 metric tons of plants. The National Security Commission says in a statement that the plantation covered a little over 3 acres (about 13,500 square meters). It was located in the town of Ixtlan …
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AMMAN, Jordan – A government official says Jordan’s state security court sentenced 12 defendants to prison terms ranging from one to 15 years in what local media described as a plot by the Islamic militant Hamas group to carry out attacks in the West Bank. The official says eight defendants …
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ATHENS, Greece – Greece’s coast guard says a tug boat is heading to a ferry that ran aground overnight outside port on the Aegean island of Kassos with 282 passengers and crew on board. The Vitsenzos Kornaros had been on a route from the main port of Piraeus to Rhodes …
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BEIJING – The more than 2,000 members of China’s top political advisory body have convened their annual meeting to put forward proposals for the national congress. Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, opened the session in Beijing on Tuesday, two days before the National People’s Congress …
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BRUSSELS – The European Union is concerned that Russia might want to enforce its old gas contract with Ukraine once their current arrangement runs out, saying it could contravene Moscow’s peace obligations. EU energy chief Maros Sefcovic said Thursday that any return to the previous contract between Russia’s Gazprom and …
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ROME – The U.N. envoy for Libya is calling for the European Union mount a naval blockade of Libya’s coasts to help ensure security and prevent any violence from reaching Europe. In an interview published Saturday with Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Bernardino Leon says he not only favors a …
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CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuela’s Congress has approved President Nicolas Maduro’s request for expanded powers, which he says he needs to protect the socialist South American country from U.S. “imperialism.” Maduro’s request to enact laws for up to six months without consulting Congress was given initial approval by lawmakers Tuesday. It’s …
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BUCHAREST, Romania – Romanian prosecutors have arrested a district mayor on charges of taking bribes and money laundering, the latest high-level figure to face corruption charges. Bucharest district mayor Marian Vanghelie, an influential figure in the ruling Social Democracy Party until recently, was arrested Saturday and charged with taking a …
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BRUSSELS – The European Union presidency says that no new sanctions will likely be imposed on Russia at this week’s EU summit over the conflict in Ukraine because the peace agreement is generally being respected. Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics of Latvia, which holds the EU presidency, said Tuesday he did …
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YEREVAN, Armenia – The defense ministry of the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region said three of its soldiers were killed and another four were wounded Thursday while repelling an Azerbaijani incursion. It said an unspecified number of Azerbaijani invaders were killed during the clash, which lasted about two hours. Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry, …
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