Month: August 2023

Iraq on Sunday called on the United States and Britain to extradite former officials accused of facilitating the theft of $2.5 billion in public funds in one of the country’s biggest-ever corruption cases. Iraq’s judiciary issued arrest warrants at the beginning of March for four men, including a former finance minister and staff members of former Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi, who Baghdad says all live outside the country. Haider Hanoun, the head of the Iraqi Commission for Integrity, called Sunday on “competent authorities in the United States and the United Kingdom to cooperate in executing the arrest warrants issued against …

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LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: At least 50% of the 30,000 Russian paratroopers deployed to Ukraine in 2022 have likely been killed or wounded, the U.K. Defense Ministry wrote in its intelligence update on Aug. 6. Russia called the Jeddah peace talks on Ukraine a doomed attempt by the West to rally the Global South behind Kyiv, the state news agency TASS reported. Russia has military and technical capabilities to eliminate threats to security in the Black Sea, the TASS news agency quoted Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov saying Sunday. His comments came after Ukrainian sea drones attacked a Russian warship near …

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Dozens of migrants were dramatically rescued by Italy as they foundered in the sea or clung to a rocky reef Sunday after three boats launched by smugglers from northern Africa shipwrecked in rough waters in separate incidents over the weekend. Survivors said some 30 fellow migrants were missing from capsized vessels. In a particularly risky operation, two helicopters battled strong winds to pluck to safety, one by one, migrants stranded for nearly two days on a steep, rocky reef of tiny Lampedusa island. Firefighters said all the migrants, including a child, who had been clinging to the rocks after their …

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Lina Hurtig’s converted her penalty and Sweden knocked the United States out of the World Cup 5-4 on penalties after a scoreless draw at the Women’s World Cup. U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher fruitlessly argued she had saved Hurtig’s attempt, but it was ruled over the line. The stadium played Abba’s “Dancing Queen in the stadium as the Swedes celebrated. The United States, which has a record four World Cup titles overall and was trying to win an unprecedented third consecutive tile, was eliminated in the Round of 16 for the first time in team history. The Americans’ worst finish had …

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The death toll from a landslide that hit a resort area in the mountains of the country of Georgia increased to 17, officials and news reports said Saturday, on the third day of a search and rescue operation. The landslide hit the Shovi area on Thursday. Shovi, about 140 kilometers (85 miles) northwest of the capital Tbilisi, is popular for its mineral springs and rugged mountain vistas and contains cottages and small hotels. The head of the Georgian Internal Affairs Ministry’s Emergency Management Service, Temur Mgebrishvili, confirmed the death of 17 people and noted that 18 people were still unaccounted …

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During Europe’s heat wave last month, Floriana Peroni’s vintage clothing store had to close for a week. A truck of rented generators blocked her door as they fed power to the central Roman neighborhood hit by a blackout as temperatures surged. The main culprit: air conditioning.  The period — in which temperatures hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) — coincided with peak electricity use that came close to Italy’s all-time high, hitting a peak load of more than 59 gigawatts on July 19. That neared a July 2015 record.  Intensive electricity use knocked out the network not only near …

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Tourists at a seaside hotel on the Greek island of Rhodes snatched up pails of pool water and damp towels as flames approached, rushing to help staffers and locals extinguish one of the wildfires threatening Mediterranean locales during recent heat waves. The quick team effort meant that “by the time the fire brigade came, most of the fire actually was dealt with,” said Elena Korosteleva from Britain, who was vacationing at the Lindos Memories hotel. The next morning, some unsettled guests cut their holiday short — but most stayed on as the resort wasn’t damaged in the small brush fire …

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Slovenia has faced the worst natural disaster in its history, Prime Minister Robert Golob said Saturday, after devastating floods caused damage estimated at half a billion euros ($550 million). Devastating floods Thursday and Friday killed three people and destroyed roads, bridges and houses in the small Alpine country. Two thirds of the territory had been affected, Golob said. The floods were “the biggest natural disaster” in Slovenia’s history, Golob said Saturday after a meeting of the country’s National Security Council. “Luckily, last night was easier than the one before.” After three weather-related deaths were reported Friday, Slovenian media said Saturday …

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