Month: November 2023

Депортований із Маріуполя до РФ Богдан Єрмохін повернувся в Україну – ОП

Богдан Єрмохін, сирота з Маріуполя, після окупації міста російськими військами був вивезений спочатку до Донецька, а згодом до Підмосковʼя, де його передали під опіку російської родини …

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Napoleon’s Hat Sells for Record Sum at French Auction 

A hat belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte when he was French emperor sold for a record of nearly two million euros at a French auction on Sunday, the auction house said. It went for 1.932 million euros ($2.1 million) — breaking the previous record for a Napoleonic hat, held by the same auction house, of 1.884 million euros in 2014 shelled out by a South Korean businessman. The hat, known as a bicorne, is in Napoleon’s trademark colors — black, with the French flag’s colors blue-white-red as insignia — and attracted interest from collectors “the world over”, auctioneers Osenat said, declining to give …

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Extreme Weather Kills 2 in Bulgaria, Leaves Many Without Power 

Gale-force winds and heavy rain and snow hit large parts of Bulgaria Sunday, claiming the lives of two people, causing severe damage and disrupting the power supply in towns and villages, officials said Sunday. Residents in eastern Bulgaria, that was hit hardest by the storm said they had never experienced such weather. A state of emergency has been declared in the Black Sea city of Varna, where officials said the extreme weather poses serious risks to the population. The port city was struck by gale-force winds and torrential rain mixed with snow. The mayor’s office reported that the power supply …

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French Holocaust Survivors Recoil at New Antisemitism; Activists Plead for Peace

Survivors of Nazi atrocities joined young Jewish activists outside the Paris Holocaust memorial Saturday to sound the alarm about resurgent antisemitic hate speech, graffiti and abuse linked to the Israel-Hamas war. The impact of the conflict is drawing increasing concern in France and beyond. Thousands of pro-Palestinian and left-wing activists rallied in Paris and around Britain on Saturday to call for a cease-fire, the latest of several such protests in major cities around the world since the war began. France is home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the U.S., and western Europe’s largest Muslim population. The war …

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Trans Women Welcome Pope’s Message of Inclusivity

Pope Francis’ recent gesture of welcome for transgender Catholics has resonated strongly in a working class, seaside town south of Rome, where a community of trans women has found help and hope through a remarkable relationship with the pontiff forged during the darkest times of the pandemic. Thanks to the local parish priest, these women now make monthly visits to Francis’ Wednesday general audiences, where they are given VIP seats. On any given day, they receive handouts of medicine, cash and shampoo. When COVID-19 struck, the Vatican bused them into its health facility so they could be vaccinated ahead of …

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Ukraine Announces Sanctions on 37 Russian Groups, 108 People

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sanctioned 37 Russian groups and 108 people including a former prime minister and a former education minister and said he aimed to fight wartime abductions of children from Ukraine and other “Russian terror.” “We are increasing the pressure of our state onto them and each of them must be held responsible for what they have done,” he said Saturday in his nightly video address after his office issued corresponding decrees with his signature. Zelenskyy did not associate specific individuals or groups with particular wrongdoings. The decrees showed a range of 10-year penalties against individuals and five-year …

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Migrants Wait at Finland-Russia Border After Helsinki Blocks Crossings

Dozens of migrants stood behind barriers Saturday at two crossings on Finland’s border with Russia, the Finnish Border Guard said, after Helsinki erected barricades to halt a flow of asylum-seekers it says was instigated by Moscow.  The Finnish government has accused Russia of funneling migrants to the crossings in retaliation for its decision to increase defense cooperation with the United States, an assertion dismissed by the Kremlin.  The Finnish Border Guard erected barriers from midnight Friday at the Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra and Niirala border posts in southeast Finland, which account for most of the traffic between the two countries.  Despite …

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Biggest Protest in Spain Against Catalan Amnesty Law Draws 170,000

About 170,000 people marched through Madrid Saturday in the largest protest yet against an amnesty law that Spain’s Socialists agreed over Catalonia’s 2017 separatist bid to form a government.  The demonstration, the latest in a series of protests in cities across the country against the amnesty, took place two days after Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez won a four-year term with the backing of Catalan and Basque nationalist parties in return for agreeing to the law.  Protesters, many waving Spanish flags and holding signs that read “Sanchez traitor” and “Don’t sell Spain,” demonstrated against the law that four judicial …

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Pashinyan: Armenia, Azerbaijan Speak ‘Different Diplomatic Languages’

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Saturday that his country and Azerbaijan are speaking “different diplomatic languages” even though they were able to agree on the basic principles for a peace treaty.  Azerbaijan waged a lightning military campaign in September in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The offensive ended three decades of rule there by ethnic Armenians and resulted in the vast majority of the 120,000 residents fleeing the region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.  Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Pashinyan said it was “good that the basic principles …

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На Запоріжжі через удар армії РФ 2 рятувальники загинули і 3 поранені. Є постраждалі серед цивільних – поліція

На Запоріжжі через три ракетні удари по Комишуваській громаді, є загиблі та поранені, повідомила в суботу пресслужба Нацполіції. «Ворог підступно двічі атакував ракетами (тип встановлюється) мирний населений пункт. Внаслідок перших двох влучань поранення отримали четверо місцевих жителів, сталося займання житлового будинку. Коли ж на місце події прибули поліцейські та рятувальники, військові країни-терориста здійснили повторний обстріл. Загинули двоє співробітників ДСНС, ще троє їхніх колег отримали поранення різного ступеня тяжкості», – йдеться в повідомленні поліції у Telegram. Деталей від Запорізької ОВА поки немає. За даними влади, 17 листопада армія РФ випустила по місту Запоріжжю 8 «шахедів», 4 безпілотники збили сили ППО, ще 4 …

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Прокудін повідомив про поранення волонтера у Херсоні

Через російський обстріл Херсона в суботу постраждав волонтер, повідомив у Telegram голова Херсонської ОВА Олександр Прокудін. «Це 42-річний чоловік, який потрапив під вогонь ворога у власній автівці.  Потерпілого доставили до лікарні з вибуховою травмою та уламковими пораненнями», – повідомив Прокудін. Раніше сьогодні повідомлялося, що у Білозерській громаді на Херсонщині через артобстріл будівлі підприємства постраждав 56-річний чоловік, його госпіталізували з пораненнями. За даними влади, за минулу добу через обстріли військ РФ в Херсонській області загинула людина, троє зазнали поранень. Російські війська щодня обстрілюють деокуповану частину Херсонщини, зокрема обласний центр. Попри докази і свідчення, Москва від початку повномасштабного вторгнення заперечує цілеспрямовану атаку на цивільних.   …

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Censored Artwork Finds Second Opportunity at New Barcelona Museum

A drawing of a nude Donald Trump. A punching bag sculpture shaped like a woman’s torso. A display of women’s party shoes standing proudly on prayer rugs. All are pieces of contemporary art that have provoked debate and, sometimes, violent reactions.  These pieces and dozens more that were subjected to some sort of censorship have found a home in Spain at Barcelona’s Museum of Forbidden Art, or “Museu de l’Art Prohibit” in Catalan. The collection of over 200 works, including ones by well-known creators such as American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and Spain’s own Pablo Picasso, is intended to challenge visitors …

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