BREAKING NEWS

France seeks release of academic detained in Iran

Iranian authorities have arrested a young French academic on suspicion of espionage, the French Foreign Ministry said Monday, demanding the woman's immediate release. The academic, whose name has not been released, was about to leave Iran after five months of study when she was arrested last week, the ministry said. Speaking on France Info Radio late Monday evening, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the charges were "absurd." In Iran, the French ambassador has protested the young woman's detention, stating that the charges do not add up.