Czech far-right leader becomes Parliament speaker
PRAGUE (AFP) — Czech lawmakers elected Tomio Okamura the country’s first-ever far-right Parliament speaker on Wednesday, a month after a general election allowed his party to join an emerging government coalition. The ANO movement of billionaire ex-premier...
Belgium probes drone sightings after flights halted overnight
BRUSSELS (AFP) — Belgian authorities on Wednesday investigated drone sightings that halted air traffic overnight at several airports, as flights resumed after hundreds of passengers were left stranded. The main airport in Brussels and another in Liege had to suspend...
Putin tells officials to submit plans for possibly resuming nuclear tests after Trump’s remarks
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered officials on Wednesday to submit proposals for a possible resumption of nuclear tests in response to President Donald Trump’s statements last week that appeared to suggest the U.S. will restart its own...
Colombian survivor of US ‘drug submarine’ strike released without charge, source says
BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — The Colombian survivor of a U.S. attack on a suspected narco-submarine in the Caribbean was released without charge after being treated for his injuries, authorities told AFP on Tuesday. On Oct. 18, the 34-year-old was repatriated to Colombia...
Targeted by the ICC for war crimes, former Libyan police chief faces prosecution in Libya
(CN) — Libya’s prosecutor’s office said Wednesday it has detained former police commander Osama Almasri Najim, also known as Osama Almasri Njeem, in Tripoli on charges of torturing inmates and abusing their rights, nearly 10 months after the International Criminal...Manhunt underway after more inmates mistakenly freed from London prison
MANCHESTER, England (CN) — British police are hunting for a 24-year-old Algerian man who was mistakenly released from a south London prison, while authorities confirmed a second inmate was freed in error earlier this week. Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, was released from...
Partisan tensions erupt as government shutdown becomes longest ever
WASHINGTON (CN) — A month of partisan breakdown in Congress was laid bare Wednesday morning, as Republican leaders and a Democratic lawmaker traded public barbs as the ongoing government shutdown lurched into record territory. House Republicans, gathered around the...
GOP sues to block California’s voter-approved congressional district redraw
(CN) — California voters led by a Republican member of the state Assembly filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to stop what they call the unconstitutional redrawing of congressional district lines. The suit, filed in the Central District of California, followed the...
Virginia Democrats celebrate blue ‘tsunami’
RICHMOND, Va. (CN) — Democrats in Virginia awoke Wednesday to a sweep of statewide offices and a blue wave in the state Legislature. “Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship,” Democratic Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger said at a watch party Tuesday...