Category: News

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Athens — Nearly six years after wildfires killed more than 100 people at a Greek resort, an Athens court on Monday convicted six people of involuntary manslaughter and criminal negligence.  None of the politicians among the 21 people prosecuted were convicted, however, sparking fury among relatives of the victims present in court, media reports said.  Six …

Read more “Six convicted amid fury over 2018 wildfires that killed 104 at Greek resort”

Madrid — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday ended days of speculation about his future by saying he will continue in office “with even more strength.”   Sánchez shocked his country last Wednesday by taking five days off to think about his future, following the decision by a court to open preliminary proceedings against his wife …

Read more “Spain’s Prime Minister Sánchez says he’ll continue in office after days of reflection “

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SYDNEY — Australia, one of Ukraine’s largest non-NATO donors, has announced a military aid package worth around $65 million to support Kyiv’s war effort following Russia’s invasion. The package includes funding for drones, short-range air defense systems, inflatable boats and generators, as well as equipment like helmets, masks and boots. The additional funding was announced by …

Read more “Australia boosts military aid to Ukraine “

BERLIN — Two Ukrainian men were stabbed to death in southern Germany, police said Sunday, and a Russian man was arrested by authorities as a possible suspect in the killings. The two Ukrainians, who were 23 and 36 years old and lived in the southern German county of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, were killed on the premises of a …

Read more “German police arrest Russian man in fatal stabbings of 2 Ukrainian men”

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Tbilisi, Georgia — Thousands of Georgians marched through the capital, Tbilisi, on Sunday, as protests built against a bill on “foreign agents” that the country’s opposition and Western countries have said is authoritarian and Russian-inspired. Georgia’s parliament said it would hold the bill’s second reading on Tuesday, with opposition parties and civil society groups calling for …

Read more “Thousands protest in Georgia against ‘foreign agents’ bill”

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Rome — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced Sunday she will be a candidate at June’s European elections in a bid to boost support for her Brothers of Italy party, though she will not take up a seat if elected.  The June 6-9 European Parliament vote is a key test of strength for her 18-month-old rightist …

Read more “Italy PM Meloni announces candidacy at EU election “

BEIRUT — French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné arrived in Lebanon Sunday as part of diplomatic attempts to broker a de-escalation in the conflict on the Lebanon-Israel border.  Séjourné was set to meet with United Nations peacekeeping forces in south Lebanon and with Lebanon’s parliament speaker, army chief, foreign minister and caretaker prime minister.  The Lebanese militant …

Read more “French diplomat in Lebanon to broker halt to Hezbollah-Israel clashes  “

KYIV — Russian drones early Sunday struck the Black Sea city of Mykolaiv, setting a hotel ablaze and damaging energy infrastructure, the local Ukrainian governor reported, while ammunition shortages continued to hobble Kyiv’s troops in the more than 2-year-old war.  Vitaliy Kim, the governor of Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv province, said that Russian drones “seriously damaged” a …

Read more “Russian drones set a hotel ablaze in a Ukrainian Black Sea city “

madrid — Thousands of supporters and members of Spain’s Socialist party rallied outside the party’s national headquarters in Madrid on Saturday to show support for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and urge him not to step down.  Sanchez stunned Spain when he announced Wednesday that he was canceling his itinerary while he considers whether to resign after …

Read more “Thousands rally in Madrid to urge Spanish PM not to resign”

london — Former U.S. President Donald Trump said he is ready to renew a right-wing alliance with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban if he wins the presidential election in November.     The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee made the comments in an address to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Europe, which was held in Budapest …

Read more “At conservative conference, Orban, Trump revive right-wing alliance”

LONDON — Two Russian journalists were arrested by their government on extremism charges and ordered by courts there on Saturday to remain in custody pending investigation and trial on accusations of working for a group founded by the late Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny. Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin both denied the charges. They will be …

Read more “2 Russian journalists jailed for alleged work for Navalny group”

Former U.S. President Donald Trump says he is ready to renew a right-wing alliance with Hungary’s Viktor Orban if he wins the election in November. The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee made the comments in an address to the CPAC conservative conference in Budapest. As Henry Ridgwell reports, analysts say Orban seeks a global conservative …

Read more “Trump, Orban seek leadership of global conservative movement at right-wing conference”

MOSCOW — A Moscow court has detained another suspect as an accomplice in the attack by gunmen on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed 144 people in March, the Moscow City Courts Telegram channel said Saturday.  Dzhumokhon Kurbonov, a citizen of Tajikistan, is accused of providing the attackers with means of communication and financing. The …

Read more “New suspect arrested in Russia concert hall attack that killed 144”

ISLAMABAD — Germany’s ambassador to Pakistan faced backlash on social media Saturday for asking pro-Palestinian demonstrators to leave a human rights conference instead of “shouting” and interrupting his speech. Alfred Grannas was speaking on civil rights at the live-streamed event in the eastern city of Lahore when a young man rose from his seat and spoke …

Read more “Demonstrators in Pakistan disrupt German ambassador’s speech”

LONDON — British troops may be tasked with delivering aid to Gaza from an offshore pier now under construction by the U.S. military, the BBC reported Saturday. U.K. government officials declined to comment on the report. According to the BBC, the British government is considering deploying troops to drive the trucks that will carry aid from …

Read more “British troops may deliver Gaza aid, BBC report says”

SYDNEY — The Asian Development Bank holds its annual meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia, next week, with discussions on climate change and the world’s aging population high on the agenda. The four-day summit, starting Thursday, marks the first time that the ADB’s 68 members have gathered for a meeting in Georgia, which joined the multilateral development bank …

Read more “Georgia to host development summit; climate change, aging on agenda”

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched a barrage of missiles against Ukraine overnight, in attacks that appeared to target the country’s energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, Russia said its air defense systems had intercepted more than 60 Ukrainian drones over the southern Krasnodar region. Ukraine’s air force said Saturday that Russia had launched 34 missiles against Ukraine overnight, of …

Read more “Russia renews attacks on Ukrainian energy sector”

Lausanne, Switzerland — The head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, has backed the World Anti-Doping Agency in a row over its handling of positive drug tests by 23 Chinese swimmers. “We have full confidence in WADA and the regulations and that WADA have followed their regulations,” Bach told AFP in an exclusive interview Friday …

Read more “Olympic chief backs world doping body over positive Chinese tests”

KIGALI, Rwanda — Rwanda says it’s ready to receive migrants from the United Kingdom after British Parliament this week approved a long-stalled and controversial bill seeking to stem the tide of people crossing the English Channel in small boats by deporting some of them to the East African country. There is even a place ready and …

Read more “Rwanda’s genocide survivor housing now ready for migrants from Britain”