Europe

LONDON, Jan 15 (NNN-Xinhua) — Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon hit back at British Prime Minister Boris Johnson after he rejected paving the way for a new independence referendum for Scotland.

Prime Minister Johnson has written to the Scottish National Party l(SNP) leader saying that she and her predecessor Alex Salmond had made a personal promise that the first referendum in 2014 would be a once-in-a-generation vote.

Scottish voters backed remaining as part of the UK by 55 to 45 in the 2014 referendum.

ZAGREB (Reuters) - Croatia said it will send a request for bids on Wednesday to seven states seeking to buy a squadron of new or used fighter jets in an effort to modernize its air force.

A year ago Croatia’s intention to buy 12 used F-16 fighter jets from Israel fell through after Israel said it could not get approval from the United States for the sale.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he wanted to give parliament the power to choose Russia’s prime minister along with other responsibilities, but said he would like to keep Russia’s strong presidential system in place.

The comments, at Putin’s state of the nation address, come as observers watch for clues as to how he might reform the political system before 2024 when his current presidential term ends and the constitution requires him to step down.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Britain, France and Germany on Tuesday ratcheted up pressure on Iran to stop violating its landmark nuclear deal in a last-ditch effort to resolve their differences through talks while also starting a process that could bring back punishing U.N. sanctions on Tehran.

The three European Union countries are being pressed on one side by U.S. President Donald Trump to abandon the agreement like he did unilaterally in 2018, and on the other side from Iran to provide enough economic incentives for them to roll back their violations.

London, Jan 14 (AFP/PTI) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday rejected a request by Scotland's devolved government for powers to hold another referendum on independence.

In a letter to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the leader of the Scottish National Party, Johnson noted that a previous referendum held in 2014 had been billed as a "once in a generation" vote.

Scots voted then by 55 percent to 45 percent against breaking away from the rest of the United Kingdom, and Johnson said Edinburgh had agreed to abide by that decision.

MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/: The United States’ Indo-Pacific strategy is destructive as it is geared to divide the countries of that region into "interest groups," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Sri Lanka’s The Daily News newspaper.

MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/: About 1,000 people and 59 vehicles have left militants-controlled areas of the Idlib de-escalation zone via the al-Hader and Habit humanitarian corridors, Major General Yuri Borenkov, chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, said on Monday.

MOSCOW, January 14. /TASS/: Russia’s first two amphibious assault ships will be laid at the Zaliv shipyard in Crimea in early May, a defense industry source told TASS on Monday.

"In line with the plan, the helicopter carriers are to be laid in early May, [the ceremony is] to coincide with celebrations of the 75th anniversary of victory [over the Nazi Germany]," the source said.

In his words, the ceremony is supposed to take place on VE Day (May 9), with the participation of top officials from the Russian Foreign Ministry, but the exact date is yet to be announced.

MOSCOW, January 14. /TASS/: Iran’s airstrike on the Ain Al-Asad US air base in Iraq was a ‘necessary action,’ Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami was quoted as saying by the country’s IRNA news agency on Monday.

"[US President Donald] Trump was mistaken, arrogantly believing that killing one person would stop resistance. As a result, the United States increased the cost of their presence in the region," Amir Hatami said during a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Ali Abdullah Ayyoub.

MOSCOW, January 14. /TASS/: Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander Khalifa Haftar, who left Moscow early on Tuesday without signing a ceasefire deal with the the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Sarraj, said the proposed document ignored some of LNA’s demands.

"The draft [agreement] ignores many of the Libyan army’s demands," the Al Arabiya TV channel quoted him as saying.