Reuters

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard said it is evaluating whether other bridges nationwide are at risk after a cargo ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in March, killing six people and destroying the Patapsco River crossing.

Coast Guard Vice Admiral Peter Gautier said at a U.S. House hearing on Wednesday that the "size and complexity of ships has grown over the years, placing greater... (continue reading...)

By Nailia Bagirova

KHOJALY, Azerbaijan (Reuters) - Russia shut down a military base in Azerbaijan on Wednesday where nearly 2,000 of its troops had been deployed, after Azeri forces captured the area last year despite a two-year Russian mission to prevent war between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

A total of 1,960 Russian peacekeepers had been housed in 10 barracks at the base in Khojaly, a town in the Karabakh region. Despite the deployment,... (continue reading...)

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was publicly challenged over post-war plans for the Gaza Strip on Wednesday by his own defence chief, who vowed to oppose any long-term military rule by Israel over the ravaged Palestinian enclave.

In a televised news conference, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that, since soon after the conflict erupted with a shock Hamas attack on Oct 7, he had tried to promote a blueprint for an... (continue reading...)

(Reuters) - A Hungarian judge on Wednesday granted house arrest in Budapest to an Italian anti-fascist activist held in Hungary for allegedly assaulting far-right militants, the Italian Foreign and Justice ministers and her lawyer said.

Ilaria Salis, a 39-year-old teacher, has been in a Hungarian jail for more than a year in a case that prompted the Italian Green and Left Alliance to nominate her among their candidates at the European ballot.

(Reuters) - Former U.S. Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday he would be "disappointed" if the Bank of England did not debate the possibility of publishing its own projections for the likely path of interest rates.

Bernanke, who authored a review into the BoE's forecasting and communication procedures, said there were positives and negatives to publishing interest rate projections.

He stopped short of recommending that the... (continue reading...)