When Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, many ordinary Ukrainians started helping their military, even if they did not join the fight. Kateryna Markova has the story. Camera – Viktor Petrovych. …
With the world reeling from the economic fallout of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, senior officials from 40 countries met Monday in Berlin for heart-to-heart talks on how to stay focused on fighting climate change and addressing its impact. Organizers have billed the two-day gathering as an opportunity to rebuild trust between rich …
Read more “Berlin Hosts Envoys for Heart-to-Heart Talks on Climate “
A Ukrainian cargo plane carrying 11 tons of munitions from Serbia to Bangladesh crashed in northern Greece late Saturday. The munitions had been bought by the Bangladeshi defense ministry. Explosives disposal experts have been called to the scene. Authorities will not be able to retrieve the Meridian airline plane’s black boxes until the disposal experts …
Read more “Cargo Plane Carrying Munitions Crashes in Northern Greece”
France was on high alert on Monday as the peak of a punishing heatwave gripped the country, while wildfires raging in parts of southwest Europe showed no sign of abating. Forecasters have put 15 French departments on the highest state of alert for extreme temperatures as neighboring Britain was poised to set new heat records …
Read more “France on alert as forest fires rage in scorching southwest Europe “
Cameron Smith charged his way into history on the Old Course, a Sunday stunner at St. Andrews that sent the Australian to his first major by overcoming Rory McIlroy to win the British Open. The stage was set for McIlroy to end his eight-year drought in the majors and cap off a week of celebration …
Read more “Smith Rallies to Beat McIlroy at British Open for First Major”
Diplomatic tensions soared Sunday between Balkan rivals Serbia and Croatia after Croatia refused to allow a private visit by Serbia’s populist president to the site of a World War II concentration camp where tens of thousands of Serbs were killed by pro-Nazi authorities in Croatia. Croatia’s authorities said they learned about the planned visit to …
Read more “Diplomatic Spat Erupts Between Balkan Rivals Serbia, Croatia”
Beautiful and serene in a crown of white flowers, 4-year-old Liza Dmytrieva, who was killed by a Russian missile strike, was buried Sunday in central Ukraine as an Orthodox priest burst into tears and told weeping relatives that “evil cannot win.” Liza, who had Down syndrome, was en route to see a speech therapist with …
Read more “‘Evil Cannot Win’: Killed by Russian Missile, 4-Year-Old Liza Is Buried”
It took her three days by car to escape from Ukraine after the war started. Champion high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh can only guess how long it will take to get back. On her way out, Mahuchikh heard gunfire and could sometimes see shells raining down miles away. Though her hometown of Dnipro was far from …
Read more “Ukraine on Her Mind as High Jumper Goes for Gold at Worlds”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued executive orders late on Sunday sacking the head of Ukraine’s powerful domestic security agency, the SBU, and the prosecutor general. The orders dismissing SBU chief Ivan Bakanov, a childhood friend of Zelenskyy, and Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova, who led the effort to prosecute Russian war crimes in Ukraine, were published …
Read more “Ukraine’s President Fires Security Chief, Prosecutor General”
Soprano Angel Blue says she won’t perform in an opera in Italy this month because blackface was used in the staging of a different work this summer on the same stage. The U.S. singer posted a note on her angeljoyblue Instagram page saying she will be bowing out of “La Traviata” at Verona’s Arena this …
Read more “US Soprano, Offended by Blackface, Pulls Out of Italy Opera”
Russia launched a missile strike Sunday on the southern Ukranian city of Mykolaiv, which has been the target of several strikes in recent weeks. The Associated Press reports that an “industrial and infrastructure facility” was the target. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his daily address Saturday, urged Ukrainians to develop “a kind of emotional sovereignty” …
Read more “Zelenskyy: Develop ‘Emotional Sovereignty’ over Disinformation”
Family by family, house by house, French police rounded up 13,000 people on two terrifying days in July 1942, dispatching them to Nazi death camps simply because they were Jewish. Eighty years later, France is honoring the victims, and trying to keep their memory alive. For the dwindling number of survivors of France’s wartime crimes, …
Read more “Holocaust Survivors Mark 80 Years Since Mass Paris Roundup “
“It’s absolutely crazy to stick yourself to the road with superglue,” admits Lina Schinkoethe. And yet, the 19-year-old recently landed in jail for doing just that, in protest at what she believes is the German government’s failure to act against climate change. Schinkoethe is part of a group called Uprising of the Last Generation that …
Read more “German Climate Activists Aim to Stir Friction with Blockades”
Two landmark new studies in France are bursting myths about immigration at a time when xenophobic far-right discourse has gained ground. They show that the children of immigrants are increasingly melting into French society, but some with African and Asian backgrounds face persistent discrimination. Karima Simmou, a 20-year-old French Moroccan student at the prestigious Paris …
Read more “Studies: France is a Melting Pot, but Discrimination Lurks”
As bullets and bombs fall in Ukraine, Russia is waging an expanding information war throughout Eastern Europe, researchers and officials say, using fake accounts and propaganda to spread fears about refugees and rising fuel prices while calling the West an untrustworthy ally. In Bulgaria, the Kremlin paid journalists, political analysts and other influential citizens 2,000 …
Read more “Russia’s Information War Expands Through Eastern Europe”
A cargo aircraft Antonov An-12 crashed late Saturday near Paleochori Kavalas in northern Greece, the fire brigade said. Eyewitnesses said the aircraft was on fire and that they had heard explosions, Athens News Agency reported. A local man, Giorgos Archontopoulos, told state broadcaster ERT television he had thought something was wrong as soon as he …
Read more “Cargo Plane Crashes in Greece; Explosions Keep Firefighters Away”
Around 1,000 Hungarians demonstrated against Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government Saturday in the latest of a series of smaller demonstrations this week since his right-wing Fidesz party passed legislation sharply raising taxes on small firms. Nationalist Orban is facing his toughest challenge yet since taking power in a 2010 landslide, with inflation at its highest …
Read more “Hungarians Rally Against Orban’s Reforms, Skeptical of Change”
North Macedonia has approved a French proposal that opens the way for negotiations to join the European Union and overcome Bulgarian objections. There were 68 votes in favor of the proposal in the 120-member chamber, with the leftist coalition, which has 61 seats, getting the backing of small ethnic Albanian parties. Opposition lawmakers left the …
Read more “North Macedonia Parliament OKs Deal; EU Talks Start July 19”
The world was sadder and more stressed out in 2021 than ever before, according to a recent Gallup poll, which found that four in 10 adults worldwide said they experienced a lot of worry or stress. Experts say the most obvious culprit, the pandemic — and the isolation and uncertainty that came with it — …
Read more “Why People Worldwide Are Unhappier, More Stressed Than Ever”
Ukraine’s deputy minister of culture said Friday that her country’s heritage is under attack by Russia and must be protected. “The president of Russia, Mr. Putin, announced that Ukrainian culture and identity is a target of this war,” Kateryna Chueva, deputy minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, reminded an informal meeting of the …
Read more “Ukraine’s Cultural Heritage Under Attack, Official Says”
U.S. and Ukrainian officials say U.S. rocket systems provided to Ukraine are having a large impact in the fight against Russia, helping Ukrainian forces to hold off Russia’s military in the eastern Donbas region. A U.S. senior military official speaking on the condition of anonymity Friday to discuss the war said U.S.-supplied rocket systems known …
Read more “Ukraine, US Say Rocket Strikes Significantly Slowing Down Russia “
Liza, a 4-year-old girl with Down syndrome, was en route to see a speech therapist with her mother in central Ukraine when a Russian missile hit. She never made it to the appointment. Now the images that tell the story of her life and its end are touching hearts worldwide. Wearing a blue denim jacket …
Read more “‘Robbed of the Most Precious Thing’: Missile Kills Liza, 4”
Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this past week, as seen from the United Nations perch. ‘Broad agreement’ on deal to export blockaded Ukrainian grain U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday there is “broad agreement” on a deal between Russia and Ukraine, with Turkey …
Across Europe, there is a growing uneasiness that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is serving to overshadow another critical, even existential threat that could do severe damage to the West while serving the Kremlin’s interests. Instability and the rise of terrorism across Africa, according to multiple European and NATO officials, cannot be overlooked no matter how …