Month: February 2018

Danish royals and officials on Tuesday attended a private funeral for Denmark’s late Prince Henrik, husband of Queen Margrethe, at a Copenhagen chapel. The queen, Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, France’s ambassador to Denmark and some 60 other guests were among those at the simple church ceremony at the chapel of the Christiansborg Palace, which houses Parliament, the prime minister’s office and is also used for royal ceremonies. Later, hundreds lined the streets of downtown Copenhagen to watch military officers carry away Henrik’s coffin, draped in a Danish flag with his personal coat of arms. The royal palace has respected …

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Russia’s Olympic Committee has confirmed that a Russian athlete at the Pyeongchang Winter Games has tested positive for the banned substance meldonium. Following a second test, the Russian delegation said “we express our sincere regret over the fact of the incident.” But it said the test results indicate curler Alexander Krushelnitsky only consumed meldonium once. It noted that it would be “useless” if the intent was to enhance performance. Krushelnitsky won the bronze medal in Pyeongchang with his wife in mixed doubles curling. Meldonium is a drug designed for people with heart problems and some believe it can help athletes …

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For the first time in Ukraine’s history, U.S. anthracite is helping to keep the lights on and the heating going this winter following a deal that has also helped to warm Kyiv’s relations with President Donald Trump. The Ukrainian state-owned company that imported the coal told Reuters that the deal made commercial sense. But it was also politically expedient, according to a person involved in the talks on the agreement and power industry insiders. On Trump’s side it provided much-needed orders for a coal-producing region of the United States which was a vital constituency in his 2016 presidential election victory. …

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Latvia’s ABLV Bank sought emergency support Monday after U.S. officials accused it of helping breach North Korean sanctions while the country’s central bank chief faced bribery allegations, turning up the spotlight on its financial system. The Baltic country, which is a member of the euro zone and shares a border with Russia, has come under increasing scrutiny recently as a conduit for illicit financial activities. Last year, two Latvian banks were fined more than 2.8 million euros ($3.26 million) for allowing clients to violate sanctions imposed by the European Union and United Nations on North Korea. Three others received smaller …

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Ireland’s prime minister called for the urgent restoration of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government Monday after talks to end a year-long political stalemate broke down yet again last week. Both the British and Irish governments have said they want to get the talks back on track but neither have suggested when Irish nationalists Sinn Fein and the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) should return to the negotiating table. The British province has been without a devolved executive for over a year since Sinn Fein withdrew from the compulsory coalition with their arch-rivals that has been central to a 1998 peace deal …

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Germany is coming under mounting pressure to tackle equipment shortages in its military that fellow NATO nations fear is eroding German readiness as it prepares to take the command of a NATO rapid response force. Member states take turns heading NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) in eastern Europe, which has grown in importance amid concerns that Russian military activities, including support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, have surpassed levels seen during the height of the Cold War. German lawmakers and NATO allies have grown frustrated about the slow pace of progress on the military preparedness of Europe’s …

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Sports, along with politics, will be on the menu this week, when Liberia’s new president makes his first official trip outside Africa. George Weah will not be visiting the United States, which has long had a special relationship with Liberia — but France, where he once was a star soccer player. Many French soccer fans know Liberia’s new leader simply as “Monsieur George” — the star striker who spent years in France playing for the Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille soccer teams, along with AS Monaco next door. “George is French in heart and spirit,” a former French ambassador told the …

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Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis assured the country and Europe “there is no sign of danger,” after anti-corruption police arrested the head of the Latvian central bank Saturday. “For now, neither I, nor any other official, has any reason to interfere with the work of the Corruption Prevention Bureau,” Kucinskis said. Neither Kucinskis nor the police gave any reason why central bank governor Ilmars Rimsevics was arrested. But a police spokeswoman said there will be an announcement “as soon as possible.” The Latvian government plans an emergency meeting Monday. Along with heading the Baltic nation’s central bank, Rimsevics is also …

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Vandals spray painted swastikas on the Polish embassy in Tel Aviv after Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki talked about what he called “Jewish perpetrators” of the Holocaust. Israeli leaders immediately condemned his comment. The prime minister was responding to a reporter’s question about Poland’s new law punishing anyone who calls the Nazi genocide a “Polish crime.” “Saying that our people collaborate with the Nazis is a new low,” Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said at a conference Sunday. “We stand together, hand in hand, in this fight. We have to stand strong for the memory of our brothers and sisters murdered …

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