Month: July 2023

Dutch King Willem-Alexander apologized Saturday for his country’s role in slavery and asked for forgiveness in a historic speech greeted by cheers and whoops at an event to commemorate the anniversary of the abolition of slavery. The king’s speech followed Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s apology late last year for the country’s role in the slave trade and slavery. It is part of a wider reckoning with colonial histories in the West that have been spurred in recent years by the Black Lives Matter movement. In an emotional speech, Willem-Alexander referred to Rutte’s apology as he told a crowd of …

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Latest developments: The United States is confident Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia is making progress despite the lack of any significant break in the Russian lines. Joint Chief of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley told an audience in Washington on Friday the slow pace of Ukraine’s advance is “part of the nature of war.” Milley also said the U.S. is openly considering providing Ukraine with cluster-munitions, long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles and even some of its own F-16 fighter jets. “These things are on the table,” he said. “There’s no decision at this point.” The U.N. expressed concern Friday …

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BASRA, IRAQ – Thousands of followers of a firebrand Iraqi Shiite cleric rallied in major cities in Iraq on Friday, condemning the burning of a Quran during a protest in Sweden earlier this week. Some of the demonstrators called for the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador from Iraq.  At rallies in Baghdad and Basra, followers of Muqtada al-Sadr, a cleric and political leader with a large grassroots following, burned Swedish flags and rainbow LGBTQ+ pride flags and chanted “Yes, yes to Islam” and “No, no to the devil.”  Addressing the crowds in a speech in the Baghdad suburb of Sadr City, …

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NANTERRE, France — Young rioters clashed with police and looted stores overnight Friday in a fourth night of unrest in France triggered by the deadly police shooting of a teen, piling more pressure on President Emmanuel Macron after he appealed to parents to keep children off the streets and blamed social media for fueling violence. While the situation appeared to be somewhat calmer compared to previous nights, turmoil gripped several cities across the country. Protesters overturned garbage bins and used them to block off streets in Colombe, a Paris suburb near Nanterre, where the shooting occurred Tuesday. In the southern …

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LONDON — Most Europeans see Russia as an adversary following its invasion of Ukraine, according to a survey of over 16,000 people across 11 European Union member states. Europeans tend to have a more favorable opinion of China, with a plurality seeing Beijing as a necessary partner. Russian ‘adversary’ Two-thirds of Europeans now see Russia as an adversary since its invasion of Ukraine, according to the poll by the European Council on Foreign Relations, or ECFR, which was conducted in April. That’s double the figure from 2021, the last time the survey was taken. “In particular, majorities in Denmark [74%] …

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Latest developments: The United States is confident Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia is making progress despite the lack of any significant break in the Russian lines. Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley told an audience in Washington on Friday that the slow pace of Ukraine’s advance was “part of the nature of war.”  Milley also said the U.S. was openly considering providing Ukraine with cluster munitions, long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles and even some of its own F-16 fighter jets. “These things are on the table,” he said. “There’s no decision at this point.”  The U.N. expressed concern Friday that …

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