Month: June 2023

French Police Officer Facing Voluntary Homicide Charges in Teen’s Death

French authorities say a police officer faces a charge of voluntary homicide in connection with the death of a teenager during a traffic stop earlier this week. The incident, caught on video, has sparked widespread unrest leading to the arrest of 150 people in Paris and other cities. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced the arrests in a tweet in which he said, “Shame on those who did not call for calm.” “A night of intolerable violence against symbols of the republic, with town halls, schools and police stations set on fire or attacked,” Darmanin said. In addition to Paris, protests …

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Italian Researchers Reach the Edge of Space on Virgin Galactic’s Rocket-Powered Plane

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO — A team of Italian researchers reached the edge of space Thursday morning, flying aboard Virgin Galactic’s rocket-powered plane as the company prepares for monthly commercial flights. The flight launched from Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert, with two Italian Air Force officers and an engineer with the National Research Council of Italy focusing on a series of microgravity experiments during their few minutes of weightless. One wore a special suit that measured biometric data and physiological responses while another conducted tests using sensors to track heart rate, brain function and other metrics while in microgravity. …

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UK Appeals Court Rules That Plan To Send Asylum Seekers to Rwanda Is Unlawful

A British court ruled Thursday that a government plan to send asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda is unlawful, delivering a blow to the Conservative administration’s pledge to stop migrants making risky journeys across the English Channel In a split two-to-one ruling, three Court of Appeal judges said Rwanda could not be considered a “safe third country” where migrants could be sent. But the judges said that a policy of deporting asylum seekers to another country was not in itself illegal. The government is likely to challenge the ruling at the U.K. Supreme Court. It has until July 6 …

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Армія РФ обстріляла «Пункт незламності» у Херсоні, є жертви – ОВА

Російські війська обстріляли «Пункт незламності» у Херсоні – дві людини загинули, ще двоє поранені, повідомив голова обласної військової адміністрації Олександр Прокудін. «Пообіді окупанти обстріляли «Пункт незламності» у Херсоні. Терористи вдарили по місцю, куди мирні люди прийшли, аби отримати гуманітарну допомогу. Двоє містян загинули, ще двоє – перебувають в лікарні у стані середньої тяжкості», – написав він у телеграмі. Російські війська практично щодня обстрілюють Херсон та частину області. При цьому Москва заперечує обстріли цивільного населення в Україні. ООН станом на 18 червня підтвердила загибель 9 083 і поранення 15 779 цивільних людей в Україні внаслідок повномасштабного вторгнення Росії. В організації наголошують, що реальне число жертв …

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Kremlin Defers Comment on Russian General Surovikin 

The Kremlin said Thursday it could not provide information about Russian General Sergei Surovikin, who has not been seen in public since Saturday, when Wagner mercenary group head Yevgeny Prigozhin led a mutiny attempt against the Russian military. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters he could not clarify the situation with Surovikin and said they should contact the defense ministry. Surovikin, the deputy commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, appeared in a video Saturday urging the Wagner group to halt any moves against the army and return to their bases. Prigozhin arrived in Belarus earlier this week at the invitation …

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Wagner Move Rattles Baltic Nerves, Broadens NATO Summit Agenda Beyond Ukraine

WASHINGTON – The fallout from Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s aborted mutiny and exile to Belarus is set to broaden the agenda beyond Ukraine in talks at the upcoming annual NATO summit in July 11–12. The meeting will take place in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, just 35 kilometers from the border of Prigozhin’s new home base, highlighting urgency to fortify the alliance’s eastern flank and increase defense spending. It is still not clear how many members of Prigozhin’s mercenary army will accompany him to Belarus, but the thought of them setting up camp just a few hours away is rattling …

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 Latest in Ukraine: Death Toll in Kramatorsk Attack Rises to 12

Latest developments:   European Union leaders to discuss security assistance for Ukraine at summit.  U.S. State Department approves sale of up to $15 billion in Patriot missile defense systems for Poland.    Crews in Ukraine found a body Thursday in the rubble of a pizza restaurant in the eastern city of Kramatorsk, bringing the death toll from a Russian missile attack on the site to 12 people.  Ukrainian authorities said the dead include three children, and that the attack injured another 60 people.  Ukraine’s counterintelligence service said Wednesday it arrested a man it accused of helping Russia direct the attack.  Ukrainian …

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