Various human rights groups accuse Russia of committing crimes that amount to crimes against humanity in Africa. Several reports also have exposed Russia’s illegal export of gold worth more than $2.5 billion from Africa to sponsor its war in Ukraine. …
Amnesty International reported that French-manufactured military technology incorporated into armored personnel carriers (APCs) made by the United Arab Emirates is being used in Sudan’s civil war, a likely violation of a United Nations arms embargo. In a report posted online Thursday, the human rights organization said it first became aware of the armored vehicles’ presence …
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Washington — The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders on Thursday announced that it is suing the social media company X, accusing it of spreading disinformation. After Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, discovered that it was the target of a disinformation campaign this past summer, the Paris-based group filed 10 reports of policy violations with X, …
MOSCOW — A Russian man went on trial Thursday on charges of high treason for a video he allegedly sent to Ukraine’s security services, the latest in a growing series of espionage cases involving the conflict. The Volgograd District Court began hearing a new case against Nikita Zhuravel, who is currently serving a 3½-year sentence for …
Read more “Trial begins for Russian accused of sending military video to Ukraine”
On the first day of 2025, Ukraine’s contract with Russian state-owned Gazprom will expire, shutting down a major Russian natural gas pathway to Europe. Although the Kremlin says it is ready to continue the transit deal, urging Europeans to persuade Ukraine to extend the contract, Kyiv has said it won’t budge. Russian natural gas supplies …
Read more “Is Europe ready for year-end cutoff of Russian gas via Ukraine?”
Russia’s military reported capturing a village in east Ukraine on Thursday, with forces closing in on the town of Kurakhove. The Russian Defense Ministry said the army captured the village of Voznesenka in the Donetsk region. The town had a population of about 20,000 before the war began in 2022, Agence France-Presse reported. Russia also …
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Brussels — The European Commission on Thursday fined Meta Platforms $840.24 million over abusive practices benefiting Facebook Marketplace, it said in a statement, confirming an earlier report by Reuters. “The European Commission has fined Meta … for breaching EU antitrust rules by tying its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace to its personal social network Facebook …
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The European Parliament on Thursday approved a one-year delay on implementing the bloc’s landmark anti-deforestation rules, while also voting to loosen some requirements of the controversial law. The move triggered an outcry from environmental groups, which had hailed the law as an unprecedented breakthrough in the fight to protect nature and combat climate change. Parliament …
Read more “EU parliament loosens delayed anti-deforestation rules”
ANKARA, turkey — Turkey was offered partner country status by the BRICS group of nations, Trade Minister Omer Bolat said, as Ankara continues what it calls its efforts to balance its Eastern and Western ties. Turkey, a NATO member, has in recent months voiced interest in joining the BRICS group of emerging economies, comprising Brazil, Russia, …
Read more “BRICS offered Turkey partner country status, Turkish trade minister says”
GENEVA — Families in a tiny Swiss village were packing up Wednesday after authorities issued an evacuation order with a weekend deadline because of the threat of a possible rockslide from an Alpine mountainside overhead. Authorities in charge of the eastern village of Brienz said in a statement Tuesday that they analyzed the potential danger with …
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Russian exiles plan a march Sunday in Berlin demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, the prosecution of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal, and the release of all political prisoners. Ricardo Marquina reports. Narrator: Elizabeth Cherneff. …
Ukrainian overnight drone attacks have set several non-residential buildings on fire in Russia’s Kaluga and Bryansk regions, regional governors said on Sunday. “Emergency services and firefighters are on the site,” Alexander Bogomaz, governor of the Russian border region of Bryansk, wrote on the Telegram messaging app, without providing further detail. The defense ministry said its …
Read more “Ukraine drone attacks spark fires in Russia’s Bryansk, Kaluga regions”
Madrid — New storms in Spain caused school closures and train cancellations on Wednesday, two weeks after flash floods in Valencia and other parts of the country killed more than 220 people and destroyed thousands of homes. Coastal areas of Valencia were placed under the highest alert on Wednesday evening. Forecasters said up to 180 millimeters …
Read more “New storms and flooding in Spain threaten hard-hit Valencia again”
Brussels, Belgium — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured Ukraine and its NATO allies on Wednesday that Washington remains committed to putting Ukraine “in the strongest possible position” in the final months of President Joe Biden’s administration, before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. At the same time, Blinken expressed alarm about Russia possibly …
Read more “In Brussels, Blinken pledges support for Ukraine ahead of Trump transition”
The United States opened a new air defense base in northern Poland on Wednesday, an event the European nation’s president said showed the country was secure as a member of NATO even as Russia wages war in neighboring Ukraine. Situated in the town of Redzikowo near the Baltic coast, the base has been in the …
Read more “Poland hails opening of US missile base as sign of its security”
London — Germany’s plan to hold a snap election in February has raised uncertainties over the country’s military aid program for Ukraine, as the government has not yet approved its 2025 budget. Berlin is the second biggest donor of weapons and equipment to Kyiv, after the United States. The political turmoil in Europe’s biggest economy comes …
Read more “Germany to hold February election amid fears political turmoil imperils Ukraine aid”
BAKU, Azerbaijan — COP29 negotiators welcomed as an early boost to the two-week summit a pledge by major development banks to lift funding to poor and middle-income countries struggling with global warming. A group of lenders, including the World Bank, announced a joint goal on Tuesday of increasing this finance to $120 billion by 2030, a …
Read more “Development bank financing pledge gives COP29 summit early boost”
BAKU, Azerbaijan — When more than two dozen world leaders deliver remarks at the United Nations’ annual climate conference on Wednesday, many have detailed their nations’ firsthand experience with the catastrophic weather that has come with climate change. “Over the past year, catastrophic floods in Spain, Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as well as in southern …
Read more “At UN climate talks, nations big and small get chance to bear witness to climate change”
Blasts were heard in Kyiv Wednesday after Ukraine’s air force put the nation under an air raid alert. “Putin is launching a missile attack on Kyiv right now,” the president’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said on the social media platform Telegram, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The air force earlier warned that a …
Manila, Philippines — Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said the International Criminal Court (ICC) should ‘hurry up’ with its probe of his war on drugs, remaining firm in his defense of the brutal campaign as he said the investigation should start immediately. “I’m asking the ICC to hurry up, and if possible, they can come here …
Read more “Ex-Philippine President Duterte says ICC should ‘hurry up’ on drug war investigation”
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LONDON — British writer Samantha Harvey won the Booker Prize for fiction on Tuesday with “Orbital,” a short, wonder-filled novel set aboard the International Space Station that ponders the beauty and fragility of the Earth. Harvey was awarded the 50,000-pound ($64,000) prize for what she has called a “space pastoral” about six orbiting astronauts, which she …
Germany’s main political parties have agreed to hold a general election in February, following the collapse of the ruling coalition government earlier this month. As Henry Ridgwell reports, the vote could have big implications for Ukrainian military aid — just as Europe prepares for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s second term. …
London — Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, resigned Tuesday after an investigation found that he failed to tell police about serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it. Pressure on …
Read more “Church of England head Justin Welby resigns over handling of sex abuse scandal”