Month: August 2024

Євросоюз

Germany’s membership in UN Command signals commitment to Indo-Pacific    

washington — Germany’s entry into the U.S.-led U.N. Command, which expanded the multinational body tasked with defending South Korea against North Korea, reflects growing fears in Europe and the U.S. that multiple wars that could break out simultaneously across the globe, said analysts. North Korea this week denounced Germany’s membership in the U.N. Command (UNC), calling the expansion an attempt by the U.S. to create an Asian version of NATO, according to state-run KCNA. The move will “inevitably aggravate the military and political situation on the Korean Peninsula and the rest of the region,” KCNA said Tuesday. Pushing back against Pyongyang’s …

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Plot to attack Taylor Swift show in Austria linked to Islamic State

VIENNA, AUSTRIA — The 19-year-old Austrian who masterminded a foiled plot to attack Taylor Swift fans at a concert in Vienna with a bomb or knife had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group, authorities said on Thursday. The main suspect, who has North Macedonian roots, made a full confession in custody, Austria’s general director for public security, Franz Ruf, told a news conference. He swore loyalty to the IS militant group’s leader on the internet and kept chemicals and technical devices at his home in the town of Ternitz in preparation for an attack, Ruf said. The 19-year-old, whose …

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Mass YouTube outage reported in Russia amid escalating criticism

MOSCOW — Russian internet monitoring services reported a mass outage on the availability of video hosting site YouTube on Thursday as Russian authorities step up criticism of the platform. Russian internet monitoring service Sboi.rf said there had been thousands of glitches reported about YouTube in Russia. Users said they could only access YouTube via virtual private networks, or VPNs. “YouTube is not working,” one anonymous user said in comments on the site. Reuters reporters in Russia were unable to access YouTube. The website remained available via some mobile devices. Google, which owns YouTube, did not immediately respond to a request for …

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British police, prepared for far-right agitators, find peaceful anti-racism protesters instead

LONDON — Far-right demonstrations that had been anticipated by police in dozens of locations across Britain failed to materialize Wednesday as peaceful anti-racism protesters instead showed up in force. Police had prepared for another night of violence at 100 locations following a week of rioting and disorder fueled by misinformation over a stabbing attack against young girls. Many businesses had boarded up windows and closed down in fear of what lay ahead. Stand up to Racism and other groups had planned counter-protests in response, but in most places they reclaimed their streets with nothing to oppose. In London, Bristol, Oxford, Liverpool …

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Extreme heat in July debilitates hundreds of millions worldwide

GENEVA — Soaring temperatures in July have had detrimental effects on the well-being of hundreds of millions of people worldwide who have found the monthlong extreme heat too hot to handle, according to the World Meteorological Organization. “The extreme heat, which continued throughout July after a hot June … has had really, really devastating impacts on communities, on people’s health, on ecosystems, also on economies,” WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis told journalists Tuesday in Geneva. “Extreme heat has a domino effect across society,” she said, noting that the world’s hottest day on recent record was registered on July 22. “All of this …

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