Month: July 2022

Eight British Conservative Party lawmakers have made the cut to replace outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who resigned earlier this month amid scandals.  Each of the eight needed support from at least 20 fellow Conservative Party lawmakers before the Tuesday deadline.   Runoff voting among fellow Conservative lawmakers, to narrow the field to two, is scheduled to begin Wednesday.  Among the eight are former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt and backbench lawmaker Tom Tugendhat. Former health secretary Sajid Javid was not among the eight.  Lawmakers aim to narrow the field to two by …

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As parts of Europe endure sweltering heat, fears are growing of a cold winter ahead after Russia’s Gazprom energy company cut off a key pipeline to Germany this week — ostensibly for routine maintenance. The move has sparked alarm and is intensifying European Union efforts to slash energy consumption and find alternatives. Officially, Gazprom’s maintenance work on its Nord Stream I pipeline was long expected and unlikely to last very long. But German officials say anything is possible. Moscow has already curbed gas deliveries to nearly a dozen European Union countries in recent months, as they pass ever-tougher sanctions over …

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A U.N. aid operation from Turkey into opposition-held areas of northwest Syria may now resume for six months — with the possibility of six additional months — after its authorization expired Sunday due to disagreements within the U.N. Security Council. “What is most important today is that the council, with this resolution, keeps the cross-border mechanism open and operating,” Irish Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason said. “That humanitarian assistance continues to reach those in need.” Ireland and Norway hold the humanitarian file on Syria in the council and led the difficult negotiations. “We recognize that a six-month renewal is shorter than …

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Ukrainian and Russian officials gave differing accounts Tuesday of a Ukrainian attack in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian side, a long-range rocket struck a Russian ammunition depot in Nova Kakhovka, killing 52 Russian troops. Russia said the Ukrainian strike instead hit civilian infrastructure. Also Tuesday, Britain’s defense ministry said Russian forces continued to make “incremental territorial gains” in Donetsk province, the area of eastern Ukraine where it has focused its efforts. The British statement said Russia is likely maintaining pressure on Ukrainian forces while “regrouping and reconstituting for further offensives in the near future. Officials …

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Olympic champion Mo Farah revealed in an article published Monday that he was brought to Britain illegally under the name of another child to work as a domestic servant.  Farah told the BBC that he was given the name Mohamed Farah by a woman who flew him to the UK from the East African country Djibouti when he was 9.  The 39-year-old, whose father was killed in Somalia when he was 4, said his real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin and claimed he was made to look after another family’s children in Britain.  “The truth is I’m not who you …

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Spain and Portugal were sweltering in their second heat wave in a month Monday, with scorching temperatures also expected in France and Britain in the coming days. People in Spain baked with the temperature in the central town of Candeleda hitting a stifling 43.3 degrees Celsius (110 degrees Fahrenheit) shortly after 6 p.m. (1600 GMT), according to Spain’s meteorological agency AEMET. The mercury meanwhile hit 42.4C in the southern city of Seville. The southwestern cities of Badajoz and Merida also saw temperatures of 42C. AEMET forecast 46C in Badajoz on Thursday and Friday with Seville predicted to swelter in 45C …

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The United Nations said Monday that thousands of children in war zones suffered grave abuses including rape, maiming and death last year, and that concerns are growing for children in new regions of conflict, including Ukraine. “The fact remains that hundreds, if not thousands, of children are victims of violence in armed conflict every day of every week of every month of every year in conflict-affected states and regions,” Virginia Gamba, the special representative of the secretary-general for children and armed conflict, told reporters at the launch of the annual report. The most dangerous places to be a child last …

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The red on beige sign outside La Torre shop advertises the kind of underwear earlier generations might have worn, mostly knickerbockers and girdles. The shop — known as The Tower in English — has been a standard in Barcelona for more than 120 years, preserving a glimpse into the city’s past. La Torre has withstood the relentless march of Starbucks, McDonald’s, and other international corporate chains which, critics say, have eaten up the souls of downtowns. Other period shops, cinemas or libraries have not been so fortunate and have been forced to close. Campaigners in Spain are determined to safeguard a form …

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