Vatican City — China’s government has recognized the authority of the Catholic bishop of Tianjin, Melchior Shi Hongzhen, the Vatican said on Tuesday, who had previously been placed under house arrest for refusing to join China’s state-backed church structure. “This development is a positive fruit of the dialog established in recent years between the Holy See …
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BEIJING — China called U.S. sanctions on its entities over the Ukraine war “illegal and unilateral” and “not based on facts,” in comments on Tuesday ahead of White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s arrival in Beijing for days of high-level talks. Last week the United States imposed sanctions on more than 400 entities and individuals …
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Paris — French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday ruled out naming a left-wing government to end the country’s political deadlock, saying it would be a threat to “institutional stability.” While Macron said he would start new talks Tuesday to find a prime minister, left-wing parties reacted with fury to his announcement, calling for street protests and …
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rome — Stars from Angelina Jolie to George Clooney will gather this week at the Venice Film Festival, bringing a high dose of Hollywood pizzazz back to the watery city’s sandy Lido. With 21 films vying for the top Golden Lion prize, the 81st edition of the prestigious festival kicks off Wednesday, with Lady Gaga, Daniel …
Read more “Venice will surge with star power, from Lady Gaga to Pitt to Clooney “
Geneva — Switzerland hosted United Nations Security Council members at a meeting in Geneva on Monday to recommit to international humanitarian law, describing an “alarming” global context characterized by over 120 armed conflicts, with Russia the only member absent. Switzerland, which is one of the 15 members, organized the informal meeting to commemorate the Geneva Conventions, …
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London — Police in Iceland called off a search Monday for two tourists initially believed missing after the collapse of an ice cave that killed one person and seriously injured another, saying they now believe no one is missing. Icelandic authorities said they called off the search after examining the tour operator’s records and determining that …
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Paris — French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that the arrest in France of the CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, wasn’t a political move but part of an independent investigation. French media reported that Durov was detained at a Paris airport on Saturday on an arrest warrant alleging his platform has been …
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THIAROYE-SUR-MER, Senegal — Salamba Ndiaye was 22 when she first tried to get to Spain, dreaming of a career as a real estate agent. Without her parents’ knowledge, she made it onto a small fishing boat known as a pirogue, but the Senegalese police intercepted the vessel before it could leave.— A year later Ndiaye tried …
Read more “For Senegalese dreaming of Europe, the deadly Atlantic route is not a deterrent “
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Beijing — China on Sunday expressed its opposition to the latest U.S. sanctions on Chinese companies over their alleged ties to Russia’s war in Ukraine, saying it will adopt necessary measures to safeguard the rights and interests of the country’s businesses. The U.S. announced Friday sweeping sanctions on hundreds of firms in Russia and across Europe, …
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paris — Pavel Durov, billionaire founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested at the Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday evening, TF1 TV and BFM TV said, citing unnamed sources. Telegram, particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union, is ranked as one of the major social media …
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Los Angeles — In a sleepy summer weekend at the box office, holdovers reigned supreme as newcomers landed without a splash. “Deadpool & Wolverine” reclaimed first place at the North American box office in its fifth weekend with $18.3 million. Its cumulative international earnings now sit at over $1.2 billion. The Walt Disney Co., which owns …
Read more “‘Deadpool’ and ‘Alien’ top box office charts again; ‘Blink Twice’ sees quiet opening”
Kyiv — Five people died in Ukrainian shelling in Russia’s border region of Belgorod, officials said Sunday, while Russian forces struck a hotel in eastern Ukraine, leaving one journalist missing and two others injured. Twelve other people were wounded in the Russian village of Rakitone, 38 kilometers (23 miles) from the Ukrainian border, including a 16-year-old …
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Ukraine and Russia conducted their first prisoner-of-war exchange since the beginning of Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. The swap bore symbolism for Ukraine as the country marked its 33rd Independence Day. Anna Chernikova reports from Kyiv. Camera: Vladyslav Smilianets. …
Dubai, United Arab Emirates — U.S. rapper Macklemore has announced he is cancelling an upcoming show in Dubai over the UAE’s involvement in the conflict in Sudan, charges the Gulf state has denied. The rapper best known for hits like 2012’s “Thrift Shop” made the announcement in a post on social media on Saturday. “I have …
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KYIV — Russia launched several missiles and drones overnight targeting northern and eastern Ukraine, injuring at least 29 people, Ukrainian military and local authorities said on Sunday. The attack targeted Ukraine’s frontline regions of Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Donetsk, Ukraine’s air force said on the Telegram messaging app. Russia has been pummeling Ukrainian border regions with …
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FRANKFURT, Germany — The suspect in custody for a stabbing rampage in the western German city of Solingen that killed three people and injured eight is a 26-year-old Syrian man, authorities said early Sunday. The suspect turned himself in and admitted to the crime, Duesseldorf police and prosecutors said in a joint statement. “The involvement of …
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madrid — Sunflower oil has dethroned olive oil as king of the kitchen in Spain, the world´s largest olive oil producer, as rising prices force consumers to switch to cheaper options. Spaniards bought 107 million liters (28.3 million gallons) of all types of olive oil in the first half of 2024 compared with 179 million liters …
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Herat, Afghanistan — Seated in front of a searing furnace, Ghulam Sakhi Saifi teases forth sinews of molten blue glass — the guardian of an Afghan glassblowing trade refusing to break with tradition. “This is our art, our inheritance. It has fed us for a long time,” he told AFP, resting from the work that has …
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NEW YORK — It started a couple of years ago when Juliana Pache was doing a crossword puzzle and got stuck. She was unfamiliar with the reference that the clue made. It made her think about what a crossword puzzle would look like if the clues and answers included more of some subjects that she was …
Read more “US crossword fan creates puzzles celebrating Black heritage”