AFP, London
Queen Elizabeth II’s 96-year-old husband Prince Philip was due to undergo hip surgery on Wednesday at a private hospital in London, Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
The royal residence said Prince Philip would have “planned surgery on his hip” at King Edward VII’s Hospital in central London, which often treats members of Britain’s royal family.
West accused of fomenting new Cold War
AP, Moscow
Top Russian defense and security officials are accusing the West of fomenting a new Cold War in a bid to retain waning influence in global affairs.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu says NATO is using “the non-existent Russian threat to methodically boost its military potential” and beef up its forces near Russia’s borders.
France suffers 2nd day of mass rail strikes
AFP, Paris
Millions of French travellers suffered a second day of major disruption Wednesday as rail workers pressed on with rolling strikes that pose one of the toughest challenges yet to President Emmanuel Macron.
Only one in seven high-speed trains and one in five regional trains were running in stoppages set to continue two days out of every five until June 28, unless Macron backs down on his bid to overhaul heavily-indebted state rail operator SNCF.
Egypt arrests news editor
AP, Cairo
Egyptian officials say authorities have arrested the editor of an independent news website for operating without a license, the latest episode in a crackdown on independent media.
They say Adel Sabri was arrested late Tuesday and taken to a Cairo police station, while the offices of the Masr al-Arabia website were shuttered. Prosecutors are questioning him Wednesday.
Fire in Indonesian port city kills 4
AP, Jakarta
Waters off an Indonesian port city reek like a gas station after an oil spill and fire that killed four people over the weekend, an official said Wednesday.
Balikpapan city secretary Sayid Fadli said that the city on the island of Borneo was in its third day of a state of emergency following the weekend spill around Semayang Port.
US adds Pak party to terror list
AP, Islamabad
The United States has placed a small Pakistani political party on its list of foreign terrorist groups, calling it a front for the militants behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
The U.S. State Department says the Milli Muslim League is a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant group founded by Hafiz Saeed, a Muslim cleric who lives freely in Pakistan. The U.S. has offered a $10 million reward for his capture, and the U.S. and U.N. consider Lashkar-e-Taiba a terrorist group.
