GUINEA: Authorities in Guinea have released three civil society activists who had spent between four and 10 months in prison.

The men, from the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution, were freed after a day of protests against the military junta which seized power in September 2021.

The protesters have accused the military leaders of delaying a return to civilian rule.

ARMENIA: Armenian and Azerbaijani troops exchanged artillery fire today along their tense border, leaving at least one soldier dead and several others wounded in the latest bout of escalation between the longtime adversaries.

Authorities from each country traded blame for triggering the clashes and accused each other of trying to undermine negotiations on a prospective peace deal.

GERMANY: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised a further €1 billion on Wednesday for communities struggling to provide housing, schools and other basic services to a growing number of migrants.

But the government failed to reach an agreement with state leaders on the underlying issue of federal funding.

The pledge was part of a package of measures agreed between Chancellor Scholz and the governors of Germany’s 16 states who have been arguing for months over who has to pay for the rising costs.

POLAND: Poland is reverting to using its historical name for Kaliningrad, the Russian city and administrative region that sits on its border.

The Poles said the city will be redesignated on Polish maps as Krolewiec, based on the recommendation of the government commission for geographic names abroad.

The Kremlin reacted angrily to the announcement, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling it a “process bordering on insanity,” going beyond Russophobia.