World News Roundup: EU election; US-Iran tensions; Islamic State's new guerrilla manual

Ex-U.S. marine held in Russia on spying charge says he's being threatened: TASS

An ex-U.S. Marine held in Russia on suspicion of spying on Friday accused a security service investigator of subjecting him to threats and asked a court to have the man removed from his case, the TASS news agency reported. Paul Whelan, who holds the U.S., British, Canadian and Irish passports, was detained in a Moscow hotel room on Dec. 28 and accused of espionage, a charge he denies. If found guilty, he faces up to 20 years in jail.

Fire in shopping center in India kills at least seven

A fire broke out in a shopping center in India on Friday killing at least seven people, a fire service official said. Television channels said some people had jumped off the building in the western city of Surat to escape from the fire.

Pro-EU Dutch parties see surprise gains in first results of EU election

Dutch mainstream, EU-supporting political parties made gains in the first test of the European Parliament election, according to an exit poll that showed a surprise Labour victory and a weak showing for eurosceptics in the Netherlands. The Netherlands and Britain were the first of 28 member states to vote in the EU election on Thursday. Irish and Czech voters were casting their ballots on Friday and the other 24 countries were due to vote on Sunday.

Why U.S.-Iran tensions could quickly escalate into a crisis

Three years ago, when Iran's military captured 10 U.S. sailors after they mistakenly strayed into Iranian waters, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif jumped on the phone in minutes and worked out the sailors' release in hours. Could a similar crisis be so quickly resolved today?

Instructions from headquarters: Islamic State's new guerrilla manual

After losing territory, Islamic State fighters are turning to guerrilla war - and the group's newspaper is telling them exactly how to do it. In recent weeks, IS's al-Naba online newspaper has encouraged followers to adopt guerrilla tactics and published detailed instructions on how to carry out hit-and-run operations.

Trump orders intelligence community to cooperate with review on Russia probe origins

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the intelligence community to cooperate with Attorney General William Barr's review of the events that prompted an investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Russia. The directive comes as the White House spars with congressional Democrats over the work of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who led a two-year investigation into whether Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. election and if there were any ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Spanish parliament suspends jailed Catalan leaders' rights as lawmakers

The Spanish parliament's governing body on Friday suspended the lawmaker rights of the four jailed Catalan members of parliament while they face trial over the northeastern region's failed 2017 independence bid, lower house speaker Meritxell Batet said. It was not immediately clear what would happen to the seats as it's up to the four lawmakers to decide if they want to leave them empty for now or if they'd rather resign and pass the position to a fellow politician.

North Korea blames U.S. for failed summit, urges 'new calculation'

North Korea said on Friday an "arbitrary and dishonest" U.S. position had resulted in the failure to reach a deal during a second North Korea-U.S. summit, warning the nuclear issue would never be resolved without a new approach. A spokesman for North Korea's foreign ministry accused the United States of trying to shift the blame for the breakdown of the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump in February by raising a "completely irrelevant issue". He did not elaborate.

Tearful Theresa May resigns, paving way for Brexit confrontation with EU

Fighting back tears, Theresa May said on Friday she would quit, setting up a contest that will install a new British prime minister who could pursue a cleaner break with the European Union. May's departure deepens the Brexit crisis as a new leader, who should be in place by the end of July, is likely to want a more decisive split, raising the chances of a confrontation with the EU and potentially a snap parliamentary election.

Greek PM says EU poll is also vote of confidence in his policies

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Friday that the European Parliament election was also a vote of confidence in his policies, and a minister who is close to him said an early national election was possible depending on the result. Tsipras, whose term ends in October, this month announced a package of tax breaks and benefits for pensioners, hit hard since 2010 when the debt crisis broke out. His Syriza party trails the conservative New Democracy party in opinion polls.