Month: October 2024

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Kiseljak, Bosnia and Herzegovina — Heavy rains that flooded towns and touched off landslides left at least 14 people dead in Bosnia on Friday, authorities said. Jablanica, some 70 kilometers (43 miles) southwest of Sarajevo, appeared to bear the brunt of the 24 hours of downpours, which cut it off from the outside world. Photos on …

Read more “Bosnia floods kill 14 people “

KYIV, Ukraine — The Ukrainian air force said on Friday that Russia attacked critical infrastructure in the country with 19 drones overnight. Air defenses shot down nine drones, with seven more likely impacted by electronic jamming, it said in a statement, without saying what happened to the other three. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said an apartment …

Read more “Ukraine says Russia attacked its critical infrastructure with 19 drones”

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london — The British government agreed Thursday to hand sovereignty of the long-contested Chagos Islands, an archipelago of more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean, to Mauritius, in a deal to secure the future of a strategically important U.K.-U.S. military base.  British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the agreement would secure the future of the …

Read more “UK gives sovereignty of long-contested Chagos Islands to Mauritius “

vienna — Thousands of people protested in Austria’s capital, Vienna, on Thursday against a possible return to power for the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), which topped national elections on Sunday. The FPOe won almost 29% of the vote in Sunday’s general election, ahead of the conservative People’s Party (OeVP) with just over 26%. “The Austrian Freedom …

Read more “Thousands rally in Austria against far right “

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Two Swedish teenagers were jailed Thursday in pretrial detention in connection with two predawn explosions in the vicinity of the Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen a day earlier. Prosecutors said investigators were establishing “whether the motive could be a terror attack.” No one was injured in the blasts on early Wednesday in a neighborhood …

Read more “Denmark jails 2 Swedish teens over blasts near Israeli Embassy”

Tbilisi, Georgia — The speaker of the Georgian parliament signed into a law Thursday a bill that severely curtails LGBTQ+ rights in the country and mirrors legislation adopted in neighboring Russia. Shalva Papuashvili, the parliament speaker, said on social media that the legislation does “not reflect current, temporary, changing ideas and ideologies, but is based on …

Read more “Georgian parliament speaker signs anti-LGBTQ+ law after president refuses to”

MOSCOW — The trial of a 72-year-old American man whom Russia accuses of working as a mercenary for Ukraine will take place behind closed doors, and the verdict will be announced Monday, Russian state media reported. Stephen Hubbard is accused of signing a $1,000-per-month contract with a Ukrainian territorial defense unit in the city of Izyum …

Read more “Russia to try American accused of being Ukrainian mercenary in secret”

Vienna — The European Union is set to vote Friday on a massive tariff increase on Chinese electric vehicles that Germany fears could spark a trade war with Beijing. Reuters reported Wednesday that the measure already has enough votes to pass, with support from France, Greece, Italy and Poland, whose populations make up 39% of the …

Read more “EU to vote on tariff hike for Chinese EVs as Germany fears retaliation”

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London — A surge in support for far-right parties in Europe is driving calls for a toughening of migration laws, while also raising questions over the future of military aid to Ukraine. Austria’s Freedom Party, which was founded by former Nazis after World War II, is the latest European far-right party to score a shocking win, …

Read more “Far-right gains in Europe drive debate on migration, Ukraine aid”

Europe looks set to toughen migration laws amid a surge in support for far-right parties across the continent. Austria’s Freedom Party – which campaigned on a platform of ending migration and opposing military aid for Ukraine – finished first in Sunday’s election, although its rivals have said they will refuse to enter a coalition. Henry …

Read more “Far-right gains in Europe drive debate on migration, Ukraine aid”

Israel’s campaign against Hamas in the aftermath of the October 7 attack has seen Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the forefront of condemning Israel. However, analysts say Turkey is becoming increasingly sidelined from efforts to end the crisis in a region where Erdogan once sought to play a leading role. Dorian Jones reports from …

Read more “A year after Gaza war started, Turkey battles isolation”

TALLINN, Estonia — Four Russian journalists went on trial in Moscow on Wednesday after being accused of working for an anti-corruption group founded by the late Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny, which was designated by authorities as an extremist organization in 2021. Antonina Favorskaya, Artyom Kriger, Sergey Karelin and Konstantin Gabov were arrested earlier this year …

Read more “4 Russian journalists accused of working for Navalny group go on trial”

Geneva — Russian authorities have subjected hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners of war to “widespread and systematic torture” while supervisors in detention facilities aware of that treatment did nothing to stop the abuse, according to a report published by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. “We have interviewed 174 Ukrainian prisoners of war, …

Read more “Russian authorities systematically torture Ukrainian POWs, UN says”

LONDON/DUBAI — An OPEC+ panel is unlikely this week to recommend any changes to its current deal to reduce production and to start unwinding some cuts from December, despite recent sharp declines in oil prices, five sources from the producer group told Reuters. Top ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led …

Read more “OPEC+ unlikely to change output policy”

Copenhagen — Police in Denmark and Sweden said on Wednesday they were probing explosions and gunfire around Israeli embassies in their capitals that took place amid spiraling Middle East tensions. In Denmark, police said three Swedish nationals had been arrested after two blasts were reported in the “immediate proximity” of the Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen early …

Read more “Blasts, shooting happen near Israeli embassies in Nordic capitals”

Vatican City, Holy See — Pope Francis opened the second phase of his big Catholic reform project Wednesday, with widespread calls for women to take up more positions of responsibility in the church topping the agenda but ordained ministry still ruled out.  Francis presided over an opening Mass in St. Peter’s Square with the 368 bishops …

Read more “Women’s role in Church tops agenda as Pope opens second phase of big reform project”

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