Europe

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s health minister says he is “anything but happy” that Syria’s government — which has waged a devastating, deadly decade-long war against dissenters — has been selected for a seat on the World Health Organization’s executive board.

Health Minister Jens Spahn said Tuesday that the choice of Syria, which was confirmed with no debate or dissent at a meeting of WHO member nations in Geneva over the weekend, reflected the need to work with some governments for the benefit of their people — especially on health matters.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities have ramped up their pressure on dissent ahead of a parliamentary election, arresting one opposition activist and raiding several others’ homes.

Andrei Pivovarov, the head of the Open Russia movement that dissolved itself last week, was pulled off a Warsaw-bound plane at St. Petersburg’s airport just before takeoff late Monday and was to be taken to Krasnodar in southern Russia Tuesday as part of a criminal probe against him.

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO’s foreign and defense ministers were meeting Tuesday to lay the groundwork for the military alliance’s first summit with U.S. President Joe Biden, setting aside four tumultuous years with the Trump administration.

The ministers will discuss a hefty communique being drafted for the June 14 summit in Brussels, which will reaffirm the unity of the 30-nation security alliance — which has been riven by infighting in recent years — and focus on future threats and challenges.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The trial opened in a Warsaw court on Tuesday of two men accused of spying for China — a Chinese citizen who is a former director of Huawei in Poland and a Polish cybersecurity expert.

The men, Weijing Wang and Piotr Durbajlo, who have both pleaded not guilty, were in court at the start of the trial on Tuesday morning.

Prosecutors requested that the trial be held in secret due to the classified nature of some of the evidence. Though Wang and Durbajlo objected, the court agreed, citing state interests, and journalists were asked to leave.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Eurozone inflation rose to 2.0% in May, driven higher by rising oil prices as other inflationary pressures appeared to remain subdued.

The modest price rise in Europe compares with a much stronger jump in the US that has led to discussion about the inflationary impact of stimulus and relief policies from government spending and central banks.

VIENNA (AP) — The United Nations’ atomic watchdog hasn’t been able to access data important to monitoring Iran’s nuclear program since late February when the Islamic Republic started restricting international inspections of its facilities, the agency said Monday.

MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/: Russia is reliably protected against military threats while its economy has proven its viability and ability to withstand external pressure, Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Nikolai Patrushev said in an interview with the government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta on Monday.

Russia’s security chief summed up the results of implementing the country’s previous national security strategy.

MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/: New Delhi expects a large batch of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine later on Monday, Indian Ambassador to Russia Bala Venkatesh Varma told TASS.

According to the ambassador, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is expected to dispatch three million Sputnik V doses to India on Monday evening.

He recalled that the first batch of 150,000 vaccine doses had been supplied to India on May 1. It was followed by a batch of 60,000 doses on May 16.

MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/: Russia’s Defense Ministry will establish about 20 new military units and formations in the country’s west in response to the activity of the US-led NATO bloc in the western strategic area, Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey  Shoigu said at the ministry’s board meeting on Monday.

MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/: Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has re-addressed to the Belarussian Foreign Ministry the question about "Russian oligarchs'" alleged involvement in provocations during the 2020 elections in the country.

"It is hard for me to make any comments on this. Possibly, it is better to put this question to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry," Peskov told the media on Monday.