Month: December 2024

Vatican City — Pope Francis called for a ceasefire on all war fronts in his Sunday Angelus prayer ahead of Christmas, condemning the “cruelty” of bombing schools and hospitals in Ukraine and Gaza. “Let the weapons fall silent and let the Christmas carols ring out!” Francis said, delivering his Sunday blessing from indoors due to a …

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Tirana, Albania — Albania’s prime minister said Sunday the ban on TikTok his government announced a day earlier was “not a rushed reaction to a single incident.” Edi Rama said Saturday the government will shut down TikTok for one year, accusing the popular video service of inciting violence and bullying, especially among children. Authorities have held …

Read more “Albanian PM says TikTok ban was not ‘rushed reaction to a single incident’”

Moscow — Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks at the Kremlin on Sunday with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, one of the few European leaders he has stayed friendly with since the eruption of hostilities with Ukraine, according to Russian television. “Putin is currently holding talks in the Kremlin with Slovak Prime Minister Fico,” Russian TV …

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Belgrade — Thousands protested Sunday in Serbia’s capital Belgrade to demand that leaders take responsibility for the collapse of a train station roof that killed 15 people last month. For over seven weeks, the Serbian government has been under pressure from nation-wide demonstrations following the deaths in the northern city of Novi Sad, with many protesters …

Read more “Thousands protest in Serbian capital over fatal train station accident”

SAARISELKA, Finland — Russia poses a bigger threat to European Union security than just defense as Moscow can use illegal immigration and other issues to undermine the bloc, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday. Finland hosted the leaders of Italy, Sweden and Greece, as well as the EU foreign affairs chief, in its northern …

Read more “Italy’s Meloni says security threat posed by Russia is far-reaching “

MAGDEBURG, GERMANY — More details emerged Sunday about those killed when a man drove a car at speed through a Christmas market in Germany, while mourners continued to place flowers and other tributes at the site of the attack. Police in Magdeburg, the central city where the attack took place on Friday evening, said that the …

Read more “German police say Christmas market attack killed 4 women and a boy”

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — French President Emmanuel Macron said his country supports Ethiopia’s quest for access to the sea through discussion and respecting international laws and neighboring countries. Macron spoke on Saturday after a one-day visit to Addis Ababa, where he held bilateral talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. During a news conference, Macron welcomed …

Read more “France supports Ethiopia’s quest for sea access through discussion”

TIRANA, ALBANIA — Albania’s prime minister said Saturday the government will shut down the video service TikTok for one year, blaming it for inciting violence and bullying, especially among children.  Albanian authorities held 1,300 meetings with teachers and parents following the stabbing death of a teenager in mid-November by another teen after a quarrel that started …

Read more “Albania to shut down TikTok for 1 year, says platform promotes violence among children”

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Saturday again condemned Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, a day after an Israeli government minister publicly denounced the pontiff for suggesting the global community should study whether the military offensive there constitutes a genocide of the Palestinian people.  Francis opened his annual Christmas address to the Catholic cardinals who lead the …

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MOSCOW — The airport in the Russian city of Kazan reopened on Saturday after temporarily closing earlier in the day following a Ukrainian drone attack, Russia’s aviation watchdog said.  Russian state news agencies reported the drone attack on a residential complex and other areas in Kazan, some 800 kilometers east of Moscow.  The Defense Ministry said …

Read more “Airports reopen following Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Kazan”

PARIS — France connected the Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor to its grid on Saturday morning, state-run operator EDF said, in the first addition to the country’s nuclear power network in 25 years. The reactor, which began operating in September ahead of the grid connection, is going online 12 years later than originally planned and at a …

Read more “France adds first nuclear reactor in 25 years to grid”

MAGDEBURG, GERMANY — Germans on Saturday mourned a violent attack and their shaken sense of security after a Saudi doctor intentionally drove a black BMW into a Christmas market teeming with holiday shoppers, killing at least two people, including a small child, and injuring at least 60 others. Authorities arrested a 50-year-old man at the site …

Read more “Germans mourn attack on Christmas market with no answers about why”

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday added the 27 countries that make up the European Union to the list of trade partners he’s threatening with tariffs — unless the group takes steps to import more U.S. goods.  “I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the …

Read more “Trump adds EU to list of trade partners he threatens with tariffs”