Germany and the European Commission are hosting a conference Tuesday in Berlin to discuss the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine and to show the international community’s ongoing support. The conference involves representatives from national governments, academic institutions and international organizations. The EU says the talks will cover how to prioritize Ukraine’s needs and what options …
Bees pollinate 71 of the 100 crop species that provide 90% of food worldwide. They also pollinate wild plants, helping sustain biodiversity and the beauty of the natural world. But climate change, pesticides and parasites are taking a terrible toll on bees, and they need protecting, said European beekeepers, who held their annual congress in …
Read more “Europe’s Bees Stung by Climate, Pesticides and Parasites”
Despite rebuffs from Western nations, Russia continued to accuse Ukraine of preparing to use a “dirty bomb” and said it would bring the matter to the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday. Diplomats said Russia has told council counterparts it will bring up the issue during a closed-door meeting of the 15-member body. Russia’s Ambassador to …
Read more “Russia to Bring ‘Dirty Bomb’ Allegations to UN as West Rebuffs Claims”
A Spanish man trekking from Madrid to Doha for the 2022 FIFA World Cup has not been heard from since the day after he crossed into Iran three weeks ago, his family said Monday, stirring fears about his fate in a country convulsed by mass unrest. The experienced trekker, former paratrooper and fervent soccer fan, …
Read more “Spanish Man Trekking to World Cup Reported Missing in Iran”
U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner “does not expect miracles” at her appeal hearing on Tuesday against a nine-year Russian jail term for having cannabis oil in her luggage, her lawyers said in a statement. The two-time Olympic gold medalist was arrested on February 17 at a Moscow airport with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, which …
Read more “Jailed US Basketball Star Griner ‘Not Expecting Miracles’ at Russian Appeal”
In marking World Polio Day, advocates for a polio-free world are urging nations to commit to a new five-year strategy to eradicate this crippling disease and consign it to the trash bin of history. An estimated 350,000 children were paralyzed by polio when the World Health Organization launched its Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988. …
Former chancellor Rishi Sunak won the backing of Conservative Party lawmakers Monday to become Britain’s new prime minister, following the resignation last week of Liz Truss, who spent under two months in office. He is expected to visit King Charles III on Tuesday to accept the invitation to form a government. Economic challenges Sunak will …
Read more “Britain Faces Challenge to Rebuild Global Image Amid Political Chaos”
Tensions between Turkey and Greece are escalating over a number of territorial disputes. Analysts say the countries have a long history of managing such tensions. They say that expertise will be tested with the approaching Greek and Turkish elections, where both leaders are expected to play to nationalist sentiments. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …
The European Union is aiming to clinch deals on three new laws to fight climate change in time for the annual United Nations climate negotiations next month, in a bid to boost its political clout at the talks. Nearly 200 countries agreed at last year’s U.N. COP26 negotiations to upgrade their climate pledges by this …
Read more “EU Seeking Deals on Three Climate Laws in Time for UN Summit”
Former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak is set to become Britain’s next prime minister after winning the Conservative leadership race Monday — and now faces the huge task of stabilizing the party and country at a time of economic and political turbulence. Sunak will be Britain’s first leader of color, and the nation’s third leader just this year. …
Read more “Rishi Sunak to Become Britain’s Next Prime Minister”
Ukraine rejected Russian allegations that Ukrainian forces might detonate a radioactive device, and accused Russia of planning to carry out such an act and blame it on Ukraine. “Russian lies about Ukraine allegedly planning to us a ‘dirty bomb’ are as absurd as they are dangerous,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted. Ukrainian President Volodymyr …
Climate protesters threw mashed potatoes at a Claude Monet painting in a German museum to protest fossil fuel extraction Sunday but caused no damage to the artwork. Two activists from the group Last Generation, which has called on the German government to take drastic action to protect the climate and stop using fossil fuels, approached …
Read more “Climate Protesters Throw Mashed Potatoes at Monet Painting”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban made veiled comparisons Sunday between the Soviet troops that attacked Hungary during the 1956 revolution and the institutions of the European Union today. Marking the 66th anniversary of that crushed uprising, Orban suggested that the EU, which has sought to rein in democratic backsliding in Hungary, would end up like …
Read more “Orban Lashes Out at EU as He Marks 1956 Anti-Soviet Revolt”
A right-wing politician and a centrist independent candidate will face each other in a runoff presidential election in Slovenia after no candidate achieved an outright victory in the first round of voting Sunday, partial results showed. Former Foreign Minister Anze Logar was leading the race with 34% of the vote, followed by lawyer Natasa Pirc …
Read more “Vote Count Shows Slovenia Presidency to be Decided in Runoff”
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson pulled out of the contest to become Britain’s next leader on Sunday, saying he had the support of enough lawmakers to progress to the next stage but far fewer than front-runner former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak. “There is a very good chance that I would be successful in the election …
Read more “Boris Johnson Pulls Out of UK Conservative Leadership Race”
Russia’s military leadership has withdrawn its officers in the Russian-annexed city of Kherson across the Dnieper River in anticipation of an advance of Ukrainian troops, the Institute for the Study of War think tank said Sunday. To delay the Ukrainian counteroffensive as the Russians complete their retreat, Moscow has left newly mobilized, inexperienced forces on …
Read more “Military Think Tank: Russia Withdraws Officers From Kherson”
Former British Treasury chief Rishi Sunak was frontrunner Sunday in the Conservative Party’s race to replace Liz Truss as prime minister, as he garnered the public support of over 100 Tory lawmakers to forge ahead of his two main rivals — ousted former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and ex-Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt. But widespread uncertainty …
Read more “Sunak Leads in Race for UK Leader; Johnson Yet to Declare “
A Russian fighter plane crashed into a residential building in the Siberian city of Irkutsk on Sunday and the two pilots were killed, officials said. In a post on Telegram, Irkutsk governor Igor Kobzev said the plane crashed into a two-story house in the city. The emergencies ministry said the pilots died, but there were …
Norwegian oil and gas workers normally don’t see anything more threatening than North Sea waves crashing against the steel legs of their offshore platforms. But lately they have noticed a more troubling sight: unidentified drones buzzing in the skies overhead. With Norway replacing Russia as Europe’s main source of natural gas, military experts suspect the …
Read more “Fears Over Russian Threat to Norway’s Energy Infrastructure”
Two Russian Indigenous Siberians were so scared of having to fight the war in Ukraine, they chanced everything to take a small boat across the treacherous Bering Sea to reach American soil, Alaska’s senior U.S. senator said after talking with the two. The two, identified as males by a resident, landed earlier this month near …
Read more “Alaska Asylum Seekers are Indigenous Siberians From Russia”
The general carrying out President Vladimir Putin’s new military strategy in Ukraine has a reputation for brutality — for bombing civilians in Russia’s campaign in Syria. He also played a role in the deaths of three protesters in Moscow during the failed coup against Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991 that hastened the demise of the Soviet …
Read more “New Face of Russian War Has Reputation as ‘General Armageddon’”
Boris Johnson returned to Britain on Saturday as he considers an audacious attempt to win a second term as prime minister only weeks after he was forced to step down, with some colleagues warning his comeback could create more political chaos. Potential candidates to replace Prime Minister Liz Truss, who quit on Thursday after six …
Read more “Boris Johnson Returns to Britain in Bid for Rapid Political Comeback”
Thousands of Iranians were among an estimated 80,000 people who joined in a rally Saturday in Berlin, the largest of several protests in cities around the world showing solidarity with women-led protests in Iran. Iranians traveled to Berlin for the protests and were in other demonstrations in Sweden, Italy, France, Switzerland and other European …
Read more “Thousands Rally in Berlin, Elsewhere in Support of Iranian Women”
Some 80,000 people joined a Berlin rally Saturday in solidarity with women-led protests in Iran sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a police spokesman told AFP. “Today, thousands of people are showing their solidarity with courageous women and demonstrators in Iran,” tweeted Germany’s Green Party minister for family affairs, Lisa Paus. “We …