20 Dead, 73 Wounded in Dnipro After Missile Strike 

At least 20 people were killed and 73 wounded Saturday, including children, in the southeastern Ukraine city of Dnipro where a Russian missile strike destroyed a section of a nine-story apartment building, regional Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said. Infrastructure was also damaged in the Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Odesa regions, as well as in Kharkiv and Kyiv …

Let’s Waltz! Vienna Ball Season Back in Full Swing

After COVID-19 restrictions had wiped out Vienna’s glamorous winter ball season for two years in a row, 50-year-old Wahyuni couldn’t wait any longer to get dolled up and put on her dazzling floral-patterned ballgown to once again waltz the night away. “We love to come here, because the very nice decorations are made out of …

Retired General Wins First Round of Czech Presidential Vote

With nearly all the votes counted in the first round of the Czech Republic’s presidential election, retired army General Petr Pavel eked out a narrow victory over billionaire populist and former Prime Minister Andrej Babis. Pavel won 35.39% of the votes Saturday versus 35% for Babis in the eight-candidate field.  The two will face off …

Britain to Send 14 Tanks, Artillery to Ukraine, PM Says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call for heavy weapons, primarily tanks, was officially answered late Saturday by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose office said Britain would send 14 tanks along with artillery support to Ukraine. “As the people of Ukraine approach their second year living under relentless Russian bombardment, the prime minister is dedicated to …

‘We Can Handle Everything:’ Ukrainian Medics Stoic Near Front Line

Bloodied helmets and body armor cut from dead soldiers are discarded on a roadside leading to Soledar, but the Ukrainian medics waiting there stay focused on those they can save. Surgeon Vadim, 31, joined the military after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, putting his skills to work “to help the living.” On Saturday, he was …

Zelenskyy Hopes to Visit UN Next Month

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to visit the United Nations to address a high-level meeting of the 193-member General Assembly on the eve of the anniversary of Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of his country— if the security situation permits, a senior Foreign Ministry official said. First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova cautioned in an interview …

Girl, 7, Critical, After Shooting Outside London Church

A 7-year-old girl was hospitalized in critical condition Saturday and five other people were injured after a shooting following a requiem Mass for a mother and daughter in London, police said. Mourners ran screaming from the scene outside a Roman Catholic church in the capital as gunshots rang out. “Initial enquiries suggest the shots were …

Thousands of Teachers Protest in Lisbon, Demand Higher Wages

In a fresh blow to Portugal’s government, tens of thousands of Portuguese teachers and school staff poured into the streets of the capital Lisbon to demand higher wages and better working conditions in one of the biggest protests of recent years. During the peaceful demonstration, organized by the Union of All Education Professionals (STOP), protesters …

Thousands Protest in Germany Against Expansion of Coal Mine

Thousands of people demonstrated in the rain Saturday to protest the clearance and demolition of a village in western Germany to make way for the expansion of a coal mine. There were standoffs with police as some protesters tried to reach the edge of the mine and the village itself. Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg …

New Russian Contingency Plan for Crew of Damaged Space Capsule

Russia’s space agency Roscosmos announced new contingency plans Saturday for the three-member crew of a damaged capsule docked to the International Space Station, saying the U.S. member of the trio would return to Earth in a separate SpaceX vessel if they needed to evacuate in the next few weeks.  The Soyuz MS-22 capsule, which serves …

Russia’s Prigozhin Talks Up Wagner Role Amid Rivalry With Defense Ministry

Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, boasted of his forces’ prowess on Saturday amid a simmering rivalry with the defense ministry over who should get credit for leading Russia’s assault on the Ukrainian town of Soledar. After months of tension between Prigozhin and the military establishment, the split was laid bare on Friday …

Violence Soars in Mali in The Year After Russians Arrive

Alou Diallo says he was drinking tea with his family one morning last month when groups of “white soldiers” invaded his village in central Mali, setting fire to houses and gunning down people suspected of being Islamic extremists. He scrambled to safety in the bush, but his son was shot and wounded while fleeing, then …

Retired General, Former Premier to Square Off in Czech Presidential Runoff

Retired general Petr Pavel scored a narrow win over billionaire former premier Andrej Babis in the first round of the Czech presidential election Saturday, securing a solid base for a runoff in two weeks, nearly complete results showed. The post does not carry executive authority but has significant powers in appointing prime ministers, central bank …

Polish Scientist Released From Prison in Iran, Foreign Ministry Says

Polish scientist Maciej Walczak has been released from prison in Iran and has returned to Poland, the Polish foreign ministry said Saturday. “Achieving this goal was one of the priorities of Poland’s diplomatic and consular services last year,” the ministry said in a statement. In July, Iranian state television reported that the Revolutionary Guards had …

Ukraine Capital Hit with Explosions, Infrastructure Damaged, Officials Say

Ukraine’s capital was hit with a series of explosions Saturday. Officials said critical infrastructure was hit in Kyiv but did not reveal what was damaged. Explosions were heard in the city’s Dniprovskyi district, and fragments of a missile are reported to have fallen on a nonresidential area in the Holosiivskyi district. Also Saturday, the British …

Swiss Firm Says It Permanently Removed CO2 from Air for Clients

A Swiss company says it has certifiably extracted CO2 from the air and permanently stored it in the ground — for the first time on behalf of paying customers, including Microsoft. Climeworks, a startup created in 2009 by two Swiss engineers, said its facility in Iceland had successfully removed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and …

Czechs Go to Polls in First Round of Presidential Vote

Czech voters went to the polls Friday in the first round of voting to elect a new president, with billionaire populist and former Prime Minister Andrej Babis and retired army general Petr Pavel seen as the front-runners. The two men lead eight candidates in the field. First-round voting continues Saturday, and if no candidate receives …

Fight for Soledar Rages as Russia, Ukraine Dispute Its Control

The fate of Soledar in Ukraine’s Donbas region was hanging in the balance Friday, with Russia claiming that its forces had seized the salt-mining town in eastern Ukraine and Ukraine saying the fighting continues. If Moscow’s claims bear out, it would be Russia’s first big battlefield gain after multiple military setbacks. Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesman for …

German, French Ministers Call for African Permanent Seats on UNSC

The foreign ministers of France and Germany have voiced support for Africa to receive two permanent seats on the powerful U.N. Security Council. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she and French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna added their support to an African push for permanent seats on the Security Council. Baerbock spoke after she and …

Budapest Police Officer Killed, Two Others Injured in Knife Attack

Police in Hungary said Friday one police officer was killed and two others injured when they were stabbed while responding to a disturbance at a Budapest apartment complex. A Budapest police department statement said the officers responded to a call late Thursday at the building in the city’s Ujbuda district and discovered a man trying …

Russia Likely Using Convict Labor for Manufacturing Demands, UK Says

Britain’s defense ministry said Russia’s defense manufacturing sector is likely resorting to convict labor to meet wartime production demands, in an intelligence update Friday about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “In November 2022,” the report posted on Twitter said, “Uralvagonzavod (UVZ), Russia’s largest tank manufacturer, told local media that it would employ 250 prisoners after meeting …