Month: October 2024

VILNIUS, Lithuania — Lithuanians elect a new parliament Sunday in a vote dominated by concerns over the cost of living and potential threats from neighboring Russia, with the opposition Social Democrats tipped to emerge as the largest party but well short of a majority. The outgoing center-right coalition of Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte has seen its …

Read more “Lithuanians elect new parliament amid cost of living, security worries”

WARSAW, POLAND — Poland’s leader said Saturday that he plans to temporarily suspend the right to asylum as part of a new migration policy, pointing to its alleged abuse by eastern neighbors Belarus and Russia. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that “the state must regain 100% of the control over who enters and leaves Poland,” and …

Read more “Poland to suspend asylum rights amid pressure on Belarusian border”

PRISTINA, KOSOVO — Persistent ethnic tension in north Kosovo could trigger a repeat of violence seen in the area last year when four people died in a gun battle and NATO peacekeepers were hurt in clashes, a senior official from the military alliance warned Saturday. Kosovo is predominantly ethnic Albanian, but about 50,000 Serbs in the …

Read more “North Kosovo ethnic tensions at risk for violence, NATO official says”

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Iran has sent two locally made satellites to Russia to be put into orbit by a Russian space vehicle, the semi-official news agency Tasnim reported Saturday, in the latest space cooperation between the two U.S.-sanctioned countries. The development of Kowsar, a high-resolution imaging satellite, and Hodhod, a small communications satellite, is …

Read more “Iran sends satellites to Russia for rocket launch, Tasnim reports”

MOSCOW — An explosion at a gas station in Russia’s southern region of Chechnya killed at least four people, officials said Saturday. The explosion of a gas tank triggered a fire at the service station in the regional capital, Grozny, said Russia’s Emergencies Ministry, adding that two children were among the dead. The fire was extinguished. …

Read more “Explosion, fire at service station in Russia’s Chechnya kills 4”

OSLO, NORWAY — Norway is introducing temporary border checks on its frontiers with other Western European nations after the domestic security agency raised the terror threat level, police said Saturday. The checks will apply until October 22, according to a police statement. It cited “a challenging threat picture” and the October 8 announcement by the security …

Read more “Norway introduces temporary border checks after terror threat level raised”

Kyiv, Ukraine — Russia said on Saturday it had downed 47 Ukrainian drones while Kyiv reported neutralized 24 drones fired by Moscow. The Ukrainian air force said many missiles were fired from the Russian border region of Belgorod, without specifying the number or the type. It said Russia had fired 28 drones at Ukraine, of which …

Read more “Ukraine, Russia each say they foiled dozens of drone attacks”

STOCKHOLM — Meta Platforms said on Friday that it had removed a network of group accounts targeting Russian speakers in Moldova ahead of the country’s October 20 election, for violation of the company’s policy on fake accounts. Authorities in Moldova, an ex-Soviet state lying between Romania and Ukraine, said they had blocked dozens of Telegram channels …

Read more “Meta removes fake accounts in Moldova ahead of presidential election”

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london — The U.K. government was urged Friday to raise the case of jailed pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai with China, after reports that David Lammy, the foreign minister, is heading to Beijing.  Lai, 76, is the founder of the now-shuttered popular Chinese-language tabloid Apple Daily, which supported mass pro-democracy protests in the economic hub.  Detained …

Read more “UK government is urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon’s case with China “

paris — Scientist Jim Wild has traveled to the Arctic Circle numerous times to study the northern lights, but Thursday night he needed only to look out of his bedroom window in Lancaster, England. For at least the second time this year, sky-gazers in many parts of the world were treated to colorful auroras at latitudes …

Read more “Sky-gazers treated to another aurora show “

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — Russian President Vladimir Putin met Iran’s president Friday, at a time when Tehran is supplying weapons for Moscow’s war in Ukraine and concerns are growing over escalating attacks between Israel and Iran and its militant allies. Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian discussed the situation in the Middle East on the sidelines of …

Read more “Russian, Iranian presidents meet as concerns grow over Middle East attacks”

washington — A media watchdog group’s report is prompting renewed scrutiny of the role Serbia is playing in the dissemination of Russian propaganda in the Balkans, particularly as it concerns Moscow’s war on Ukraine.  “Thanks to the Serbian government’s grip on the media and favorable political environment, RT — formerly Russia Today — uses its Belgrade …

Read more “Report focuses attention on Serbia’s spread of Russian propaganda”

London — The European Parliament overwhelmingly passed an emergency resolution Thursday condemning the Chinese government’s persecution of Uyghurs and urging China to immediately and unconditionally release detainees, including Uyghur economist Ilham Tohti and Gulshan Abbas. The resolution is fueled by widespread concern from the international community and highlights its continued concern about the human rights situation …

Read more “EU condemns China for human rights violations against Uyghurs”

zurich — Two months before FIFA is set to confirm Saudi Arabia as the 2034 World Cup host, the soccer body was urged again Friday to allow independent scrutiny of the kingdom’s human rights obligations for the tournament. A group of law and human rights experts plus Saudi activists abroad want FIFA to mandate ongoing reviews …

Read more “FIFA urged to put more human rights scrutiny into 2034 World Cup deal with Saudi Arabia”

kyiv, Ukraine — A Russian missile slammed into a commercial building in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region overnight, killing four people including a 16-year-old girl, regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Friday. It was the fourth Russian attack on the Black Sea port of Odesa and the nearby region in the last five days. Kiper said a …

Read more “Russian strikes on Ukraine’s Odesa region kill 4, governor says”

STOCKHOLM — Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki who are also known as Hibakusha, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.   Below are some facts about the background and efforts of the movement.   Atomic bombing of Japan    In 1945 the United States dropped two atomic bombs on …

Read more “Who are Japan’s Nobel Peace Prize winners Nihon Hidankyo? “

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