Month: March 2024

London — A U.K.-based journalist for independent Iranian media who was attacked outside his London home, prompting a counterterrorism police probe, is “doing very well,” his news channel said Saturday.   Pouria Zeraati, a presenter for Persian-language outlet Iran International was in stable condition, the channel’s spokesman Adam Baillie said.   “He’s doing very well actually. He’s in the hospital recovering from the attack,” Baillie told BBC radio, calling Friday’s attack “a shocking, shocking incident whatever the outcome of (the) investigation reveals.” London’s Metropolitan Police has said its counterterrorism unit is investigating the stabbing, given previous hostile threats by Iran against …

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Windsor, England — Britain’s King Charles greeted well-wishers in an impromptu walkabout after an Easter church service in Windsor on Sunday, his first appearance at a public royal event since his cancer diagnosis was announced in February.  A smiling Charles, 75, accompanied by Queen Camilla, shook hands with scores of people gathered outside St George’s Chapel, the resting place of his late mother Queen Elizabeth.  Charles had postponed all previous public engagements since Buckingham Palace announced he was to undergo treatment for an unspecified form of cancer. The illness was found in tests after he had a corrective procedure for an …

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Vatican City — Pope Francis on Sunday celebrated Easter Mass with tens of thousands of Catholics at Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican City before his traditional blessing, as concerns persist over his health. The 87-year-old arrived in a wheelchair to preside over the Mass from 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) in cloudy and windy weather, with the events broadcast live around the globe. Francis will pronounce the “Urbi et Orbi” (To the City and the World) blessing at midday where he is expected to bring up the international conflicts raging worldwide. For Christians, Easter Sunday marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ and …

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MOSCOW — Russia has conducted a “counter-terrorism operation” in the southern region of Dagestan on Sunday, detaining three people, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee said.    Russia is on high alert following a mass shooting at a concert hall in Moscow on March 22 — the deadliest attack in the country in 20 years with at least 144 killed.    “Security agencies detained three bandits who were planning a number of terrorist offenses. During the inspection of the places where the criminals were detained, automatic weapons, ammunition and an improvised explosive device ready for use were found,” the committee said on Sunday.    Earlier, the committee …

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MOSCOW — Foreign diplomats in Russia laid flowers Saturday at the site of last week’s attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed 144 people. Those in attendance included ambassadors from the United States, EU countries, Africa and Latin America. Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said the “around 130 diplomatic missions” taking part included representatives of “unfriendly states.” Since the attack, thousands of people have brought bunches of flowers, wreaths and other tokens such as teddy bears, creating a makeshift memorial at the Crocus City Hall. Russian state news agency Tass reported Saturday that the number of people wounded …

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FLORENCE, Italy — Michelangelo’s David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue’s religious and political significance is being diminished by the thousands of refrigerator magnets and other souvenirs sold around Florence focusing on the statue’s genitalia, The Galleria dell’Accademia’s director, Cecilie Hollberg, has positioned herself as David’s defender since her arrival at the museum in 2015, taking swift aim at those profiteering from his image, often in ways she finds “debasing.” In that way, she is a bit of a David …

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ROME — Pope Francis presided over the Vatican’s somber Easter Vigil service on Saturday night, delivering a 10-minute homily and baptizing eight people, a day after suddenly skipping the Good Friday procession at the Colosseum as a health precaution. Francis entered the darkened, silent St. Peter’s Basilica in his wheelchair, took his place in a chair and offered an opening prayer. Sounding somewhat congested and out of breath, he blessed an elaborately decorated Easter candle, the flame of which was then shared with other candles until the whole basilica twinkled. Over an hour later, Francis delivered a 10-minute homily in a …

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ISTANBUL — Turks vote Sunday in nationwide municipal elections focused on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s bid to reclaim control of Istanbul from major rival Ekrem Imamoglu, who aims to reassert the opposition as a political force after bitter election defeats last year. Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu dealt Erdogan and his AK Party the biggest electoral blow of two decades in power with his win in the 2019 vote. The president struck back in 2023 by securing re-election and a parliament majority with his nationalist allies. Sunday’s votes could now reinforce Erdogan’s control of NATO-member Turkey, or signal change in the major emerging economy’s …

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KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed a longtime aide and several advisers Saturday in a continuing reshuffle while Russia unleashed fresh attacks overnight.  Zelenskyy dismissed top aide Serhiy Shefir from his post of first assistant, where he had served since 2019. The Ukrainian president also let go three advisers, and two presidential representatives overseeing volunteer activities and soldiers’ rights.  No explanation was given immediately for the latest changes in a wide-reaching personnel shakeup over recent months. It included the dismissal Tuesday of Oleksii Danilov, who served as secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, and Valerii Zaluzhnyi as head …

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ottowa, canada — OTTAWA – Canada has sent about 70 soldiers to Jamaica to train troops from Caribbean nations who are set to take part in a United Nations-authorized mission to Haiti, the Canadian defense ministry said Saturday.  Kenya announced last year it would lead the force, which is designed to help national police fight powerful gangs in Haiti where spiraling violence has fueled a humanitarian disaster. The initiative has been tied up in Kenyan court challenges ever since, effectively putting the mission on hold.  The Canadian troops, from the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec, will provide training on core peacekeeping …

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