Europe

PARIS, June 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that it will be “very difficult” for the United States to return to the nuclear deal with Iran if ongoing negotiations drag on.

“There will come a time when, yes, it will be very difficult to return to the parameters established by the agreement,” the head of US diplomacy said during a joint press conference with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves le Drian.

PARIS, June 25 (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog on Friday demanded an immediate reply from Iran on whether it would extend a monitoring agreement that expired overnight, prompting an Iranian envoy to respond that Tehran was under no obligation to provide an answer.

The agreement continued the International Atomic Energy Agency's collection of data on some of Tehran's activities, cushioning the blow of Iran's decision in February to reduce cooperation with the agency.

BATUMI, Georgia, June 26 (Reuters) - The British destroyer Defender, which angered Russia by sailing through waters off Crimea, docked at the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi on Saturday.

Russia said it had fired warning shots at the Defender, and later threatened to bomb British naval vessels in the Black Sea if there were further "provocative" actions off Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The peninsula is still recognised internationally as part of Ukraine.

LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was under mounting pressure on Saturday to fire his health secretary after the admission that he broke COVID-19 guidelines by kissing an employee sparked accusations of blatant hypocrisy.

Matt Hancock, 42, has been at the centre of the government's fight against the pandemic, routinely telling people to follow strict rules and even welcoming the resignation last year of a senior scientist who broke restrictions in a similar manner.

LISBON, June 26 (Reuters) - Over 70% of coronavirus cases in the Lisbon area are from the more contagious Delta variant, which is quickly spreading to other parts of the country, a report said late on Friday, as authorities scramble to stop a worrying rise in infections.

The national health institute, Ricardo Jorge, said in its report that the Delta variant, first identified in India, represented 51% of cases in mainland Portugal, showing the variant is "spreading rapidly" as it happened in Britain.

LJUBLJANA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Slovenia celebrated Statehood Day on Friday to mark the 30th anniversary of the country's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia.

The main ceremony started on Republic Square at 9 p.m. (1900 GMT) and was divided into two parts -- the first part dedicated to the declaration of independence, and the second marking the start of Slovenia's presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) on July 1.

LONDON (AP) — Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party formally endorsed Jeffrey Donaldson as its new leader on Saturday, a position that will likely see him become the country’s first minister.

Donaldson received 32 votes of the party’s 36-strong electoral college, which is made up of the party’s 28 lawmakers in the Northern Ireland assembly and its eight members of parliament in London.

26 June 2021; MEMO: The Russian government on Friday ratified an agreement to establish a technical-logistical support point for the Russian fleet in Sudan.

On 1 June, the Sudanese Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Muhammad Othman Al-Hussein announced Khartoum's intention to renegotiate the agreement signed with Russia regarding the establishment of the logistics centre.

On 23 June, the Russian government handed a decree to President Vladimir Putin to sign.

25 June 2021; MEMO: In the latest episode of UK Labour's internal row over Israel and Palestine, party officials have blocked a debate on sanctions against the occupation state. Members were expected to debate a motion yesterday calling for sanctions on Israel but senior officials stepped in to prevent the discussion from taking place over fears that it would trigger "anti-Semitic behaviour".

WUERZBURG, Germany (AP) — Investigators were looking Saturday for a motive behind an attack in the German city of Wuerzburg in which a man armed with a long knife killed three people and wounded at least five others.

The suspect, a 24-year-old Somali, was shot in the leg by police and arrested after the Friday afternoon attack in the southern city’s downtown area. Police said his life was not in danger and he was being questioned in a hospital.