2 Explosive Devices Disarmed at a Market in Kiev, Mayor Says

A general view of Kiev, Ukraine. (AFP)
A general view of Kiev, Ukraine. (AFP)
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2 Explosive Devices Disarmed at a Market in Kiev, Mayor Says

A general view of Kiev, Ukraine. (AFP)
A general view of Kiev, Ukraine. (AFP)

Two explosive devices were disarmed at a Kiev market on Tuesday following an anonymous tip to the police, the Ukrainian capital's mayor said.

Local police received a call Tuesday saying bombs were planted under two mobile kiosks at the site in northern Kiev, Vitali Klitschko said on his Facebook page.

"Law enforcement officers and bomb specialists verified the information and found the dangerous objects. People were immediately evacuated. The perimeter around the kiosks was sealed by law enforcement and rescuers," Klitschko said, adding that the devices, placed between a car and the mobile kiosks, were disarmed.

Police in Kiev said they were also checking information about possible explosives planted on a square near the Minska metro station, which is in close proximity to the market.

Earlier on Tuesday an armed man seized a long-distance bus and took about 10 people hostage in the city of Lutsk 250 miles west of Kiev, prompting an hours-long standoff with the police.



Next Nuclear Talks between Iran and Three European Countries Due on Jan 13

FILE PHOTO: Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
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Next Nuclear Talks between Iran and Three European Countries Due on Jan 13

FILE PHOTO: Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo

The next round of nuclear talks between Iran and three European countries will take place on Jan. 13 in Geneva, Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency cited the country's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi as saying on Wednesday.
Iran held talks about its disputed nuclear program in November, 2024 with Britain, France and Germany.
Those discussions, the first since the US election, came after Tehran was angered by a European-backed resolution that accused Iran of poor cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.
Tehran reacted to the resolution by informing the IAEA watchdog that it plans to install more uranium-enriching centrifuges at its enrichment plants.
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told Reuters in December that Iran is "dramatically" accelerating its enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, closer to the roughly 90% level that is weapons grade. Tehran denies pursuing nuclear weapons and says its program is peaceful.
In 2018, the then administration of Donald Trump exited Iran's 2015 nuclear pact with six major powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to violate the pact's nuclear limits, with moves such as rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.
Indirect talks between US President Joe Biden's administration and Tehran to try to revive the pact have failed, but Trump said during his election campaign in September: "We have to make a deal, because the consequences are impossible. We have to make a deal".