Europe

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — A prominent opponent of Belarus’ authoritarian president was arrested Sunday after the airliner in which he was traveling was diverted to the country after a bomb threat, in what the opposition and Western officials denounced as a hijacking operation by the government.

Raman Pratasevich, who faces charges that could bring 15 years in prison, was aboard the Ryanair flight from Athens, Greece, to the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius when it changed course to head for Minsk.

YEREVAN, May 23. /TASS/: Armenia should boost its military cooperation with Russia and ask Moscow to deploy its military contingent to the Syunik Province bordering on Azerbaijan, MP Gevorg Gorgisyan told a session of the opposition’s Bright Armenia party on Sunday.

"We should keep deepening [cooperation] in the security field with Russia and also make every effort to create Russia’s military contingent in Syunik to counter Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression," Gorgisyan said.

MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/: Russia confirmed 8,951 COVID-19 cases over the past day, bringing the total case tally to 5,001,505, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Sunday.

The COVID-19 incidence grew by 0.18% in relative terms.

The lowest growth rates were registered over the past day in the Tuva Republic (0.04%), the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, the Kamchatka Region, the Khabarovsk Region, the Republics of Adygea and North Ossetia-Alania (0.05%).

MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to discuss with his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky Crimea in the context of border cooperation between the two countries’ regions, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Our Ukrainian vis-a-vis, for example, say: we will discuss Crimea. But if to discuss Crimea in the context of developing border cooperation - Russia has border cooperation between regions and foreign countries - if in this context, I’m sure Putin will be ready," Peskov told Moscow. Kremlin. Putin program on Rossiya-1 TV channel.

VILNIUS, May 23. /TASS/: The Ryanair plane with Roman Protasevich, a former editor-in-chief of the Nexta Telegram channel, which has been recognized as extremist in Belarus, among its passengers was actually compelled to land in Minsk, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Sunday.

"The Belarusian regime’s services compelled the passenger plane flying to Vilnius to land in Minsk," the presidential press service quoted him as saying. He called on NATO and EU allies to immediately react to the threat to international civil aviation from the Belarusian regime.

(Reuters) --- At least 13 people died and three were seriously injured on Sunday when a cable car linking Italy's Lake Maggiore with a nearby mountain in the Alps plunged 20 metres to the ground, local officials and rescuers said.

The Stresa-Mottarone cable car takes tourists and locals from the town on Lake Maggiore, almost 1,400 metres above sea level to the top of the Mottarone mountain in 20 minutes.

23 May 2021; MEMO: Iran's parliament speaker said on Sunday that a three-month monitoring deal between Tehran and the UN nuclear watchdog had expired as of Saturday, Iran's state TV reported, adding that the agency would no longer access images of nuclear sites, reports Reuters.

23 May 2021; MEMO: Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through London and other British cities on Saturday to protest against Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip during fighting with the Islamist group Hamas, reports Reuters.

Protesters called for sanctions on Israel during the march in London. Some were draped in Palestinian flags and set off green and red smoke flares. Others carried banners declaring "Free Palestine", "Stop bombing Gaza" and "Sanctions on Israel".

(Reuters) --- Britain's early plan to combat COVID-19 was a "disaster" and "awful decisions" led to the government imposing lockdowns that could have been avoided, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's former top adviser said.

Dominic Cummings, who left Johnson's staff late last year, made his comments in a series of tweets just days before he is due to give evidence to members of parliament about the government's handling of the pandemic.

ROVINJ, Croatia (AP) — Sun loungers are out, beach bars are open and rave music is pumping. Hotels and restaurants are greeting visitors hoping to get a head start on summer after more than a year of coronavirus lockdowns and travel restrictions.

Croatia has widely reopened its stunning Adriatic coastline for foreign tourists, becoming one of the first European countries to drop most of its pandemic measures. Now, the ability of people to go there depends on each country’s travel rules.