A Russian court has approved the extradition to Colombia of a former Israeli army officer convicted in absentia of training Colombian rightist paramilitaries.

In a turnaround decision, the Migration Court in Malmö has decided to halt the extradition of a 27-year-old Iraqi man to Greece.

Zimbabwe has extradited a former British special forces officer to Equatorial Guinea, where he faces charges of leading a 2004 coup plot to topple the government of the oil-rich West African nation. Peta Thornycroft has more for VOA.

The Turkish Justice Ministry said Thursday that Germany has extradited two Kurds wanted in Ankara.

Britain's ambassador to Russia said London intended to have the suspect in the Alexander Litvinenko murder case extradited from Russia, but believed cooperation with Moscow in the case was impossible at the moment.

President Vladimir Putin said Britain's demand that Russia amend its Constitution to extradite a suspect in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko shows the country retains a colonialist mentality.

Russia's deputy prosecutor-general, Aleksandr Zvyagintsev, said Britain's expulsion of four Russian diplomats over Moscow's refusal to extradite Andrei Lugovoi was politically motivated.

The United States Thursday gave strong support to Britain in its escalating diplomatic dispute with Russia over the Alexander Litvinenko murder case. The State Department says Moscow should comply with Britain's demand for the extradition of a Russian suspect in the case of the murdered former spy.

London and Moscow remain in a diplomatic standoff following Russia's threat to take "targeted" steps against Britain for its expulsion of four Russian diplomats.

Russian officials and media have reacted angrily to Britain's announcement that it will expel four Russian diplomats, a decision taken in response to Moscow's refusal to extradite the main suspect in the killing a former Russian security-service officer on English soil.

The U.K. could expel a number of Russian diplomats following Moscow's refusal to extradite businessman Andrei Lugovoi, the main suspect in the murder of former security officer Alexander Litvinenko, a respected British paper said Monday.

Britain is considering expelling Russian diplomats over Moscow's refusal to extradite the chief suspect of killing former security officer and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London last year, a British newspaper reported Thursday.