istanbul — Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday sued the main opposition leader and Istanbul’s powerful mayor over allegedly slanderous remarks made at a protest rally a day earlier, the Anadolu news agency reported. Filed on Friday, the two separate lawsuits targeted Ozgur Ozel, head of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem …
Read more “Erdogan sues opposition chief, Istanbul mayor for slander”
Moldova’s Constitutional Court on Thursday validated the results of last month’s referendum, formally recognizing the country’s decision to join the European Union. The “yes” result, however, was an incredibly close one, much closer than polls had predicted, and the road toward EU membership for Moldova is not expected to be smooth either. Supporters of the …
Read more “What’s at stake in Moldova’s weekend run-off election?”
When the U.S. Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on three companies belonging to Denis Postovoy on Wednesday, it was yet another move to break up what U.S. authorities say was an international scheme to violate sanctions. A month earlier, on September 16, law enforcement officials arrested the 44-year-old Russian national in Sarasota, Florida. He was …
Read more “Before US sanctions violations arrest, Russian businessman faced charges in Hong Kong”
BELGRADE, SERBIA — Eight people were killed and two hospitalized on Friday when the roof of a railway station in the Serbian town of Novi Sad collapsed, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said in a televised statement. Local television stations showed emergency services at the scene, including medical staff who were preparing stretchers nearby. Two large diggers …
Read more “Eight die in Serbian railway station roof collapse”
CHIVA, SPAIN — The death toll from historic flash floods in Spain climbed to least 205 people Friday, with many more believed to be missing, as the initial shock gave way to anger, frustration and a wave of solidarity. Spanish emergency authorities said 202 of the victims were in the Valencia region, and officials warned that …
Read more “Spanish floods’ death toll climbs to 205; shock turns to anger, frustration”
The United States is watching growing cooperation between Russia and China in the Arctic closely and some of their recent military collaboration in the region sends “concerning signals”, the U.S. Arctic ambassador said. Russia and China have stepped up military cooperation in the Arctic while deepening overall ties in recent years that include China supplying …
Read more “US envoy sees some ‘concerning signals’ in Russia-China military cooperation in Arctic”
TOKYO — Japan and the European Union announced a sweeping new security and defense partnership in Tokyo on Friday. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell hailed it as a historic and “very timely” step. Borrell and his Japanese counterpart, Takeshi Iwaya, unveiled the pact to develop cooperation on joint military drills, the exchange of information related …
Europe is bracing for former President Donald Trump’s potential return to power — even as his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, remains a mostly unknown quantity. Many Europeans believe much is at stake in the nail-biting U.S. elections: from NATO and the transatlantic alliance to Russia’s war on Ukraine, trade relations and the future …
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its defenses shot down 83 Ukrainian drones over six regions early on November 1. “36 drones were shot down over the Kursk region, 20 over the Bryansk region, 12 over Crimea, eight over the Voronezh region, four over the Oryol region, and three over the Belgorod region,” the ministry said in …
moscow — North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui has arrived in Moscow and will hold strategic consultations with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the ministry, in a post on her official Telegram channel, published photographs of Lavrov meeting Choe at a Moscow train …
Read more “North Korean foreign minister arrives in Moscow for talks”
moscow — A Russian former employee of the U.S. Consulate in Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok has been sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison for “secret collaboration with a foreign state,” Russian agencies said Friday. Robert Shonov worked for more than 25 years for the U.S. Consulate until 2021, when Moscow imposed …
Read more “Russia gives former US Consulate employee nearly 5-year jail term”
New York City recently hosted the world’s largest Halloween parade, bringing together the city’s spookiest and most spectacular characters. Here’s Aron Ranen with the story. Camera: Aron Ranen …
Washington — For regular audiences of Polish public broadcaster Polskie Radio, the headlines on its website appeared strange: “The unacceptable truth: The EU will manage without Poland” and “Ukraine will stay outside of the EU.” The pro-Russian, Euroskeptic narratives didn’t align with the broadcaster’s usual coverage. But at first glance, the website appeared legitimate. Those who …
Read more “Russian disinformation campaign creates ‘climate of chaos,’ say experts”
Chisinau, Moldova — Moldova’s pro-Brussels leader Maia Sandu is in a tough fight in Sunday’s presidential election with a challenger who wants closer ties with Moscow only two weeks after she won an EU membership referendum by a razor-thin margin. With Georgia reeling from a disputed election which returned its Moscow-friendly ruling party to power, all …
Read more “Moldova faces decisive vote under shadow of Russian interference”
Washington — As North Korean troops prepare to join Russian forces in the war on Ukraine, Kyiv is stepping up a psychological warfare campaign to target the North Korean soldiers, a high-ranking Ukraine official said. The effort is liable to get a boost from a team of South Korean military observers that Seoul’s defense minister, Kim …
Read more “Ukraine doubles down on psychological campaign against North Korean troops”
A shadowy Russian political operator with close ties to the notorious Wagner Group and its late founder Yevgeny Prigozhin is detained in Chad on unexplained charges, adding a fresh chapter to his long career of mystery and intrigue. Russian officials and state-controlled media maintain that Maxim Shugaley, who was detained on September 19 along …
Read more “Mystery surrounds detention of Wagner Group operative in Chad “
Germany will close three Iranian consulates in response to Iran’s announcement of the execution of Jamshid Sharmahd, a German Iranian national and a U.S. resident, earlier this week. “We have repeatedly and unequivocally made it clear to Tehran that the execution of a German citizen will have serious consequences,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said …