World News

Hungarian artists and intellectuals may be forgiven for thinking twice before expressing their thoughts these days. Critics say the center-right government and its allies have effectively launched a “culture war.”

An estimated 10,000 Hungarians have demonstrated late Friday against what critics describe as Europe’s most restrictive media law. Under the legislation, media in Hungary can face heavy fines and sanctions if authorities deem their coverage unbalanced or immoral.

Lithuania is commemorating the 20th anniversary of a deadly clash with Soviet troops that preceded its independence in 1991. The Baltic nation’s president, Dalia Grybauskaite, has urged Lithuanians never to forget the freedom battle, which killed 14 people and injured hundreds, adding that those responsible for the crackdown should be brought to justice.

A Russian report on last year’s plane crash that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others says crew members were pressured by high officials, and indirectly the head of state, to land in Smolensk, Russia despite bad weather. The twin brother of the late president Jaroslaw Kaczynski has already condemned the report.

European Union crisis response chief Kristalina Georgieva says massive toxic flooding in Hungary that killed nine people and injured more than 120 others has underscored the need for a stronger European disaster response.

Chilean rescuers ended a marathon operation Tuesday and freed all 33 miners trapped underground for more than two months. All of the rescued miners were sent for medical treatment and several of them are expected to undergo surgery in the coming days.

Russian officials say the country plans to reimburse Iran, after Moscow canceled the sale of an air defense missile system to Tehran. The announcement comes as the Russian president is on a one-day state visit to Cyprus.

The European Union says flooding in Hungary that has killed four people and injured more than 100 others could affect half a dozen nations as poisonous mud threatens to enter the Danube River, one of Europe’s main waterways. The flooding began on Monday when a dam holding back toxic waste at a metals plant burst west of the Hungarian capital.

Preliminary election results in ethnically divided Bosnia-Herzegovina suggest that its three-person presidency will remain deadlocked over the country’s future, with two leaders of the ethnically divided nation advocating unity and a third pushing for its breakup. Sunday’s vote has been closely watched by the international community.

Iran’s intelligence minister says authorities have arrested what he calls several “nuclear spies.”

Voters in Bosnia-Herzegovina have begun casting ballots in general elections that are seen as crucial for the future of the fractured nation where politicians seek membership in the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). There are international concerns the country will fall apart along ethnic lines.

Voters in Bosnia-Herzegovina will cast ballots Sunday, October 3, in general elections that are seen as crucial for the future of the fragile former Yugoslav republic which is divided between its ethnic Croats, Muslims and Serbs. The United States has expressed concern about remaining nationalist tensions, almost 15 years after a U.S. brokered peace deal ended the Bosnian war.

Al-Qaida allegedly has been planning a major terror attack aimed at Germany, Britain and France. Reports say the attacks were planned in Pakistan and would have seen gun-marauding insurgents on the streets of some of Europe’s largest cities.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad triggered a walkout of U.S. and other delegates when he suggested in a U.N. General Assembly speech Thursday that the United States government staged the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks. The Iranian leader said his country’s nuclear activities are in conformance with international accords.