Month: July 2023

Iran will refrain from sending a new ambassador to Sweden in protest over the burning of a Koran outside a mosque in Stockholm, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said Sunday. A man tore up and burned a Quran outside Stockholm’s central mosque Wednesday, the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holidays. Swedish police charged the man who burned the holy book with agitation against an ethnic or national group. In a newspaper interview, he described himself as an Iraqi refugee seeking to ban it. Iran’s foreign ministry summoned Sweden’s charge d’affaires Thursday to condemn what it said was an …

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The European Union’s ambassador to China expressed regret on Sunday over the lack of “substantial progress” with Beijing on trade talks, as EU countries seek to reduce their economic dependence on the Asian giant. The European Commission has suspended its efforts to get member states and parliament to ratify an investment agreement reached with China at the end of 2020, after seven years of talks, following differences over human rights in the Muslim-majority region of Xinjiang. With relations cooling, the EU also decided in May to “readjust” its position towards China to reduce its economic dependence at a time when …

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U.S. President Joe Biden is leaving in a week on a five-day, three-nation trip to Europe, the White House said Sunday, with the key stop at the annual NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, where Western leaders plan to discuss their latest efforts to bolster Ukraine’s fight against Russia. Biden is heading first to London next Sunday on the July 9-13 trip, where over two days he is planning to meet with King Charles and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak “to further strengthen the close relationship between our nations,” the White House said. The U.S. leader then heads to Lithuania for two …

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Poland said on Sunday it will send 500 police to shore up security at its border with Belarus to cope with rising numbers of migrants crossing as well as any potential threats after the Wagner group of mercenaries relocates to Belarus. “Due to the tense situation on the border with Belarus I have decided to bolster our forces with 500 Polish police officers from preventive and counter-terrorism units,” Minister of Interior Mariusz Kaminski wrote on his Twitter account. The police force would join 5,000 border guards and 2,000 soldiers in securing the border, he said. Poland has accused Belarus of …

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Novak Djokovic says he is still “hungry” for Grand Slam glory as Wimbledon rivals queue up to hail him as the “greatest” and his achievements as “phenomenal.” Having wrapped up a men’s record 23rd Grand Slam title at the French Open, Djokovic now targets an eighth Wimbledon title to equal Roger Federer’s mark. The 36-year-old Serb has won the title at the All England Club on the last four occasions. A fifth successive victory in two weeks’ time will take him level with Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Slams. He is also bidding to become just the fourth player …

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PARIS — Young rioters clashed with police late Saturday and early Sunday and targeted a mayor’s home with a burning car as France faced a fifth night of unrest sparked by the police killing of a teenager, but overall violence appeared to lessen compared to previous nights. Police made 719 arrests nationwide by early Sunday after a mass security deployment aimed at quelling France’s worst social upheaval in years. The fast-spreading crisis is posing a new challenge to President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership and exposing deep-seated discontent in low-income neighborhoods over discrimination and lack of opportunity. The 17-year-old whose death Tuesday …

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KYIV, UKRAINE – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Saturday that a “serious threat” remained at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and that Russia was “technically ready” to provoke a localized explosion at the facility. Zelenskyy cited Ukrainian intelligence as the source of his information. “There is a serious threat because Russia is technically ready to provoke a local explosion at the station, which could lead to a (radiation) release,” Zelenskyy told a news conference alongside visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. He gave no further details. Ukrainian military intelligence has previously said Russian troops had mined the plant. Zelenskyy …

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BELGRADE, SERBIA — Thousands of people in Serbia’s capital rallied Saturday outside a pro-government TV station that protesters say promotes a culture of violence and should be stripped of its broadcasting license after two mass shootings stunned the Balkan nation. The protest started outside the Serbian parliament building before thousands marched toward the Pink TV building in a residential area of Belgrade that also hosts foreign embassies and residences. The protesters booed loudly in front of the station’s offices, chanted slogans against populist leader Aleksandar Vucic and his government, and threw toilet paper rolls at the building. “This is a …

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More than 1,300 people were arrested in France during a fourth night of rioting and President Emmanuel Macron canceled a trip to Germany on Saturday as the funeral took place of teenager Nahel M, whose shooting by police sparked nationwide unrest.  Macron’s government deployed 45,000 police officers as well as armored vehicles overnight to tackle the worst crisis for his leadership since the “Yellow Vest” protests which paralyzed much of France in late 2018.  A similar number of police would again be on the street into Saturday night, interior minister Gerald Darmanin told a news conference, with reinforcements sent to …

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