With a message that blends Christianity, motherhood and patriotism, Giorgia Meloni is riding a wave of popularity that next month could see her become Italy’s first female prime minister and its first far-right leader since World War II. Even though her Brothers of Italy party has neo-fascist roots, Meloni has sought to dispel concerns about …
Read more “Far-Right Italian Leader Meloni Rides Popular Wave in Polls “
Al-Qaida’s affiliate in Mali claimed Monday it had killed four mercenaries from Russia’s private military firm, the Wagner Group, in an ambush around Bandiagara in central Mali. The media unit for Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), said in a statement its fighters clashed with the mercenaries Saturday in the Mopti region, according to a …
Read more “Al-Qaida Affiliate Claims It Killed Four Russian Mercenaries in Mali”
Officials in Cameroon are urging people to eat local foods instead of imports, following protests over shortages and price spikes caused in part by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. President Paul Biya last week ordered ministers to explain to the public that Russia’s Black Sea blockade, not local taxes, has caused a nearly 60% increase …
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South Africa’s Defense Minister Thandi Modise has arrived in Russia for a Moscow-hosted conference on international security. The visit comes amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and as Russian forces there are occupying Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. It also comes just days after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited South Africa in part …
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The defense lawyers for jailed U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, who was sentenced to serve nine years in a Russian penal colony on drug smuggling charges, say they have filed an appeal against her sentence. It was not known when the appeal would be heard. Griner was convicted August 4, about six months after she …
Read more “Brittney Griner’s Lawyers Appeal Her Prison Sentence”
People who live in the poorest regions of England are diagnosed with serious illnesses earlier and die sooner than their counterparts in more affluent regions, according to a new study. The Health Foundation study, published Monday, found that “A 60-year-old woman in the poorest areas of England has a level of ‘diagnosed illness’ equivalent to …
Anastasiia Aleksandrova doesn’t even look up from her phone when the thunder of nearby artillery booms through the modest home the 12-year-old shares with her grandparents on the outskirts of Sloviansk in eastern Ukraine. With no one her age left in her neighborhood and classes only online since Russia’s invasion, video games and social media …
Read more “Boredom, Loneliness Plague Ukrainian Youth Near Front Line”
Ukraine’s military reported Monday heavy shelling by Russian forces in the eastern Donbas region, as well as in areas in southern Ukraine, including towns around Kherson and Mykolaiv. The report from the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces also cited tank fire and aerial attacks in towns to the east and south of Zaporizhzhia. Tensions …
Russian President Vladimir Putin told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un the two countries will “expand the comprehensive and constructive bilateral relations with common efforts,” Pyongyang’s state media reported Monday. In a letter to Kim for Korea’s liberation day, Putin said closer ties would be in both countries’ interests and would help strengthen the security …
Read more “Putin Says Russia, North Korea to Expand Bilateral Relations – KCNA”
A strong explosion at a fireworks storage area tore through a popular market in Armenia’s capital Sunday, killing at least two people, injuring 60 others and setting off a large fire. Firefighters labored into the night after the early afternoon blast at the Surmalu market to put out the blaze that sent a towering column …
Read more “Fireworks Blast at Market in Armenia Kills 2, Injures 60”
As battles raged around Kyiv, one Russian advance was stopped in front of Maria Metla’s home. Artillery gutted most of the house, while the rest was pulverized by tank fire. Metla, 66, is now counting on her neighbors to have somewhere to live this winter. Crews of volunteers turn up on most mornings to pack …
Read more “In Ukraine, Rebuilding Starts With Neighbors’ Help”
Scotland’s police said Sunday they are investigating a report of an “online threat” made to the author JK Rowling after she tweeted her condemnation of the stabbing of Salman Rushdie. The Harry Potter creator said she felt “very sick” after hearing the news and hoped the novelist would “be OK.” In response, a user said, …
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Germany’s environment minister said the mass die-off of fish in the Oder River is an ecological catastrophe and it isn’t clear yet how long it will take for the river to recover. Steffi Lemke spoke Sunday at a news conference alongside her Polish counterpart, Anna Moskwa, after a meeting in Szczecin, a Polish city on …
Read more “German Minister Decries Ecological Catastrophe in Oder River”
In a very special bakery in Kyiv, thousands of loaves of bread are being baked every week and sent out to those in need. Anna Kosstutschenko has the story. …
Before the pandemic, before the war in Ukraine, before new came to define normal, Netchanok “Love” Promkao and Dmytro Denysov met in a Bangkok restaurant when Netchanok’s friends asked the solo traveler to join them. A gym-fit Ukrainian with dark blond hair, Denysov was “breaking bad, drinking and smoking” in September 2019, with Bangkok another …
Italy’s worst drought in decades has reduced Lake Garda, the country’s largest lake, to near its lowest level ever recorded, exposing swaths of previously underwater rocks and warming the water to temperatures that approach the average in the Caribbean Sea. Tourists flocking to the popular northern lake Friday for the start of Italy’s key summer …
Read more “Italy’s Lake Garda Shrinks to Near-Historic Low Amid Drought”
French firefighters tackled wildfires raging in the country’s southeast Saturday as officials kept a wary eye on a huge blaze that appeared to be contained farther west. France has been buffeted this summer by a historic drought that has forced water use restrictions nationwide, as well as a series of heatwaves that experts say are …
Poland’s environment minister says laboratory tests following a mass fish die-off have detected high salinity levels but no mercury in the Oder River. That means the mystery is continuing as to what killed tons of fish in Central Europe. …
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The United Nations is calling for immediate access to a nuclear power plant as Russia and Ukraine again Friday accused the other of firing weapons near the plant. Ukrainian officials said Russian forces fired more than 40 rockets at the city of Marhanets, which is across the Dnieper River from the power plant. The region’s …
Read more “Russia, Ukraine Trade Accusations of Firing at Nuclear Plant”
A man went on a shooting rampage Friday in the streets of this western Montenegro city, killing 10 people, including two children, before being shot dead by a passerby, officials said. Montenegrin police chief Zoran Brdjanin said in a video statement shared with media that the attacker was a 34-year-old man he identified only by …
Read more “Gunman in Montenegro Kills 10, Is Shot Dead by Passerby”
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine has been shelled in recent days, opening up the possibility of a grave accident about 500 kilometers from the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident, the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. On Thursday United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on both Russia and Ukraine to halt all fighting …
Read more “Zaporizhzhia, the Nuclear Plant in the Eye of the War in Ukraine”
Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, one of Europe’s busiest, has agreed to reimburse travelers who missed flights because of staff shortages that have thrown the airport into chaos for months. Since April, Schiphol has seen staff shortages at security checkpoints that led to lengthy lines, which could take hours to clear, causing thousands of travelers to miss …
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German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said in a statement that because Malian leaders of the U.N. mission to Mali, MINUSMA, denied overflight rights, the German mission must stop all reconnaissance and transport operations until further notice. The comments from Lambrecht were posted Friday to the defense ministry’s Twitter account. In them, Lambrecht said she had …
Read more “Germany Suspends Elements of Military Mission in Mali”