Author: Worldman

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BUDAPEST, Hungary — Chinese leader Xi Jinping will spend most of his five-day tour in Europe this week in two small countries in the continent’s eastern half, a region that Beijing has used as a foothold for its expanding economic ambitions in Europe. Following a stop in Paris on Monday to kick off his first European …

Read more “Hungary, Serbia to roll out red carpet for China’s Xi “

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warsaw, poland — Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during World War II because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday. The remains were found February 24 …

Read more “Decay stops probe of human remains found at former Hitler base in present-day Poland”

WASHINGTON — An American soldier has been arrested in Russia and accused of stealing, according to two U.S. officials.  The soldier, who is not being identified, was stationed in South Korea and was in the process of returning home to the United States. Instead, officials said he traveled to Russia.  The officials spoke on the condition …

Read more “American soldier arrested in Russia, accused of stealing, US officials say”

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London — Scottish political veteran John Swinney on Monday was named head of the pro-independence SNP party, leaving him poised to become Scotland’s leader. Swinney, 60, said on X, formerly Twitter, he was “deeply honored to have been elected as leader of the SNP” after Humza Yousaf resigned last week after little more than a year …

Read more “Swinney named new leader of Scotland’s SNP”

BERLIN — Germany said Monday it recalled its ambassador to Russia for a week of consultations in Berlin following an alleged hacker attack on Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s party. Germany last week accused Russian military agents of hacking into the top echelons of Scholz’s Social Democrats’ party and other sensitive government and industrial targets. Berlin has joined …

Read more “Germany recalls its ambassador in Russia for a week in protest over a hacker attack”

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The disruption to container shipping traffic in the Red Sea is increasing and is expected to reduce the industry’s capacity between the Far East and Europe by some 15%-20% in the second quarter, shipping group Maersk said on Monday. Maersk and other shipping companies have diverted vessels around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope …

Read more “Maersk says Red Sea disruption will cut capacity by 15-20% in second quarter”

Brussels — EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Monday she will press for “fair” competition with China in talks with its President Xi Jinping, who is in Paris on a state visit. “We have to act to make sure that competition is fair and not distorted,” she said in remarks issued hours before a face-to-face …

Read more “EU chief to urge ‘fair’ China competition in talks with Xi”

DEBRECEN, Hungary — A rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held what he called the largest countryside political demonstration in the country’s recent history Sunday, the latest stop on his campaign tour that has mobilized thousands across Hungary’s rural heartland. Some 10,000 people gathered in Debrecen, Hungary’s second-largest city, in support of Peter Magyar, …

Read more “Thousands protest Hungary’s Orban in government stronghold”

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berlin — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Union leaders denounced Saturday a recent spate of attacks on politicians in Germany, including one that sent a member of the European Parliament to the hospital with serious injuries.  Matthias Ecke, 41, a member of Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), was hit and kicked Friday by a group of …

Read more “Germany denounces attacks on politicians, recalling ‘darkest era’ of its history”

washington — Supporters of two U.S. nationals seen as unjustly imprisoned overseas are raising concerns about what they see as a murky process by which the U.S. government decides whether to designate such individuals as wrongfully detained. Granting a wrongful detention designation to a U.S. national means the U.S. special envoy for hostage affairs is authorized …

Read more “Mystery shrouds process of designating US nationals as wrongfully detained abroad”

amsterdam — Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Prime Minister Mark Rutte joined around 4,000 people Saturday for the country’s annual World War II remembrance ceremony amid restricted public access and heightened security due to the war in Gaza.  The ceremony on Amsterdam’s central Dam square, with the traditional two minutes of silence at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) …

Read more “Netherlands honors WWII dead amid tight security due to Gaza war”

PARIS — France’s world-leading cosmetics sector is counting on talks between Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron next week to help minimize the impact on French companies of tough new Chinese import rules requiring the sharing of formulas and manufacturing know-how.  President Xi’s first visit to Europe in five years comes amid a backdrop of tense trade …

Read more “French cosmetics sector seeks reprieve on Chinese import rules”

LONDON — London Mayor Sadiq Khan has a lot of cleaning up to do. Khan, who made history Saturday by becoming the city’s first mayor elected to a third term, has pledged to make the River Thames swimmable. It wasn’t a top campaign issue, but it’s an audacious goal considering the waterway was declared biologically dead …

Read more “London Mayor Sadiq Khan wins historic 3rd term”

KYIV, UKRAINE — Russia launched an overnight drone attack on Ukraine’s Kharkiv and Dnipro regions, injuring at least six people and hitting critical infrastructure, commercial and residential buildings, regional officials said on Saturday. The Ukrainian Air Force said the Russian forces launched 13 Shahed drones targeting the regions in the northeast and center of the country. …

Read more “Russian drones injure 6 in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Dnipro regions”