LONDON (AP) — Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has launched her campaign for a second independence referendum, arguing that Scotland would be economically better off outside the United Kingdom. Sturgeon, who leads the Scottish National Party as well as the devolved government in Scotland, said it’s the right time to revisit the case for Scotland to leave the UK.

 

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PARIS (Reuters) - France announced on Wednesday that soldiers from its operation battling terrorist militants in the Sahel region of West Africa had captured Oumeya Ould Albakaye, a senior terrorist figure in Mali. The French Armed Forces ministry said Albakaye was captured by Operation Barkhane forces between the night of June 11 and the early hours of June 12 close to the border between Mali and Niger. Souring relations between France and the military junta in its former colony of Mali have led France to withdraw troops that were deployed in 2013 to push back militants linked to al Qaeda, and later to Islamic State 

 

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QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Authorities in Ecuador arrested the leader of a national Indigenous group on Tuesday, alleging that he was responsible for violence during anti-government protests. Leónidas Iza, president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, was arrested in Pastocalle, in the Andean center of the country, according to police. The confederation had called for protests to demand a reduction in the price of gasoline, the setting of a minimum price for agricultural products and a moratorium on the extension of mining and oil projects.

 

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Three security forces were wounded and 10 suspected criminals killed in a shootout in Mexico State bordering the capital Mexico City, state officials said on Tuesday. Violence has plagued the government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has pledged to pacify the country with a less confrontational approach to dealing with crime. Mexico State’s prosecutor’s office said on Twitter that during an operation in the small municipality of Texcaltitlan “a heavily armed group attacked” its security forces.

 

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ZURICH (Reuters) - Airports in Zurich and Geneva began to ramp up service on Wednesday after a technical problem with the air traffic control system halted takeoffs and landings for hours. “Flight operations at Zurich Airport are running again. Flight operations are planned at 50% capacity until 09:30 (0730 GMT), and at 75% capacity from 09:30,” it said in a statement. It advised passengers to refer to airlines’ flight information. Pan-European air traffic agency Eurocontrol warned airlines in a bulletin to expect “high delays”.