Month: June 2024

Moscow — Armed militants attacked two Orthodox churches, a synagogue and a traffic police post in Russia’s southern republic of Dagestan, killing a priest and six police officers, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said Sunday. Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee said in a statement that a Russian Orthodox Church priest and police officers were killed in the “terrorist” attacks. Dagestan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said a group of armed men fired at a synagogue and a church in the city of Derbent, located on the Caspian Sea. The attackers fled and a search was underway for them, the statement from the …

READ MORE

Paris — Thousands of women took to the streets in cities around France on Sunday to protest Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, as polls indicated the party could win the upcoming parliamentary elections. About 200 women’s rights groups and unions organized the marches in dozens of cities, including Paris, saying women’s rights come under attack when countries are governed by far-right parties. In Paris, more than 10,000 women demonstrated peacefully, organizers said. In March, France enshrined the right to abortion in its constitution, a world first, but some RN lawmakers had opposed the legislation, raising concerns among some of the …

READ MORE

…

READ MORE

VIENNA — Rescuers in Switzerland have found the body of one of three people who had gone missing Saturday after massive thunderstorms and rainfall in the southeast of the country caused a rockslide, Swiss authorities say. The other two are still missing.  One woman was pulled out alive from the rubble earlier Saturday morning.  “Today is a sad day,” said Ignazio Cassis, member of the Swiss Federal Council, who addressed reporters Sunday after traveling to the region to show solidarity with the victims on behalf of the Swiss Federal Government.  A team of 200 rescuers has been searching for the missing …

READ MORE

…

READ MORE

MADRID — Things are looking up for the Iberian lynx. Just over two decades ago, the pointy-eared wild cat was on the brink of extinction, but as of Thursday the International Union for Conservation of Nature says it’s no longer an endangered species. Successful conservation efforts mean that the animal, native to Spain and Portugal, is now barely a vulnerable species, according to the latest version of the IUCN Red List. In 2001, there were only 62 mature Iberian lynx — medium-sized, mottled brown cats with characteristic pointed ears and a pair of beard-like tufts of facial hair — on the …

READ MORE

Shanghai, China — The German vice-chancellor assured China on Saturday that the “doors” remained “open” to discuss EU surcharges on Chinese electric vehicles, without reassuring Beijing which promised to “firmly defend” its manufacturers. Also, the Minister of Economy and Climate, Robert Habeck is making a visit that seems like a last chance to avoid a trade war between the Old Continent and the second world power, an important economic partner of Germany. A task further complicated by the political context, the German leader reproached China on Saturday for its economic support for Russia against a backdrop of the invasion of Ukraine, …

READ MORE

ATHENS — Hundreds of firefighters struggled Saturday to contain wildfires fanned by gale force winds on two Greek islands and in other parts of Greece, as authorities warned many regions face a high risk of new blazes.  More than 30 firefighters backed by two aircraft and five helicopters were battling a wildfire burning on the island of Andros in the Aegean, away from tourist resorts, where four communities were evacuated as a precaution.  “More firefighters [are] expected on the island later in the day,” a fire services official told Reuters, adding there were no reports of damage or injuries.  Wildfires are …

READ MORE