Armenian protester chosen as premier
YEREVAN, Armenia -- The man who spearheaded weeks of protests in Armenia was chosen Tuesday to be the country's new prime minister, and carries the weight of high hopes for a turnaround in the impoverished former Soviet republic.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian faces an array of challenges, including a parliament dominated by the party he denounced as corrupt and the question of Nagorno-Karabakh, a region of Azerbaijan under the control of ethnic Armenian forces.
In one of his first moves after parliament elected him as prime minister, Pashinian announced he would visit Nagorno-Karabakh today. He said the self-declared government there must be a part of any talks to end the long-standing frozen conflict.
The protests focused on former President Serzh Sargsyan, who tried to hold on to power by switching from president to prime minister, a move that opponents saw as allowing him to remain the country's leader indefinitely.
Faced with weeks of mass protests, Sargsyan left the premiership on April 23, six days after his election.
The unresolved status of Nagorno-Karabakh contributes to the economic problems that are a key issue for Pashinian's supporters. Both Azerbaijan and Turkey have closed their borders with Armenia over the conflict, inhibiting trade and leaving Armenia in semi-isolation.
Russian prime minister gets new term
MOSCOW -- Russia's house of parliament overwhelmingly approved Dmitry Medvedev for a new term as prime minister.
Medvedev was nominated a day earlier by President Vladimir Putin. Putin signed a decree formalizing Medvedev's appointment soon after the parliamentary vote.
Medvedev has been prime minister since 2012, after four years serving as Russia's president while Putin switched to the premiership because of term limits.
He is expected to make changes in the current lineup of deputy prime ministers and department ministers, but it wasn't clear Tuesday when those changes would be announced.
As prime minister, Medvedev will be responsible for implementing the ambitious plan for Russia's development that Putin issued after his inauguration.
The plan calls for heightened efforts to diversify Russia's economy, which is now heavily dependent on oil and gas exports, by strengthening the technology sector and boosting agricultural exports.
School outbreak probed as poisoning
Authorities in Ukraine are investigating an outbreak of sickness believed to be a poisoning that sent 50 students and two teachers to the hospital in the city of Cherkasy.
A spokesman for the emergencies ministry, Olga Kozak, said 11 of the children were in moderately serious condition while the other children and the teachers were in satisfactory condition.
The Tuesday outbreak at the school 110 miles south of the capital, Kiev, caused some students to lose consciousness.
Prime Minister Volodymyr Groisman flew to the city to direct the medical investigation.
Kashmir protesters kill Indian tourist
SRINAGAR, India -- An Indian tourist was killed during a stone-throwing protest in Kashmir, officials said Tuesday, as the disputed region shut down for a third day over the killings of civilians and rebels during weekend gunbattles and anti-India protests.
Meanwhile, a teenage boy who had been shot by Indian troops on Sunday died in a hospital, triggering protests and clashes in his southern Kashmir village.
The tourist, from India's Tamil Nadu state, was critically injured overnight when a stone thrown toward his taxi broke the window and hit his head as he and his parents were on their way back from a resort near western Narbal village, local police official Nazir Ahmed said.
The 22-year-old tourist was transferred to a hospital in the region's main city, Srinagar, where he died overnight, police said.
Separatists challenging India's sovereignty over Kashmir and pro-India Kashmiri politicians condemned his death.
A Section on 05/09/2018