Iran seizes 8.8 tonnes of narcotics destined for Europe
AFP, Tehran
Iran has seized 8.8 tonnes of narcotics destined for Europe and uncovered one of the country’s largest trafficking rings, police said Thursday.
“This huge narcotics shipment, which was hidden in a petrol tanker and reached here via Iran’s eastern border, was supposed to be offloaded and then smuggled to European countries,” state television reported from the northwestern city of Urmia, not far from the Turkish border.
Kurz favoured to return as Chancellor in Austria election
AP, Vienna
Austrians vote Sunday in an election meant to restore political normality after a scandal that brought down ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s coalition government with the far-right Freedom Party in May.
The 33-year-old conservative is strongly favored to return to power, but it is unclear whether Kurz would revive the same coalition with the nationalists whose troubles finished off his previous government or tack leftward to seek an alliance with new partners.
Heavy rains kill 17 in western India
AFP, Mumbai
Seventeen people were killed Thursday in flooding caused by torrential rains in western India including five who were sleeping in a mosque, officials said.
Twelve people including a nine-year-old boy were killed in flash floods and as walls collapsed in various parts of Pune district in Maharashtra state, police said. The mosque was washed away in a rural part of the state, police official Sandip Patil told AFP.
Saudi Crown Prince hosts Iraq PM for talks on oil attacks
AFP, Riyadh
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hosted Iraq’s Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi for talks on Wednesday focused on attacks on the kingdom’s oil infrastructure, which Washington has blamed on Iran.
“The meeting dealt with regional developments, particularly the sabotage attacks on Saudi Aramco plants in Abqaiq and Khurais, stressing Iraqi keenness on the security and stability of the kingdom,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
