Month: August 2024

France shifts Western Sahara stance, seeking closer ties with Morocco

RABAT, Morocco — France has thrown its support behind Morocco’s autonomy plan for the disputed Western Sahara, shifting a decades-old position and adding itself to a growing list of countries to align with Morocco as a United Nations-mediated peace process remains stalled. In a letter to King Mohammed VI, France’s President Emmanuel Macron called the plan that Morocco proposed in 2007 to offer the region limited autonomy under its sovereignty the “only basis” to solve the conflict. The shift deals a blow to the pro-independence Polisario Front, which has for decades claimed to be the legitimate representative of the indigenous Sahrawi …

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Protests turn violent as UK unrest spreads after children’s killings

london — Protesters attacked police and started fires in the northeast English city of Sunderland on Friday as violence spread to another northern city following Monday’s killing of three children in Southport.  Anti-immigrant demonstrators threw stones at police in riot gear near a mosque in the city before overturning vehicles, setting a car on fire and starting a fire next to a police office, the BBC said.  “The safety of the public is our utmost priority and when we became aware that a protest had been planned, we ensured there was an increased policing presence in the city,” Northumbria Police Chief …

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Activist freed in prisoner swap feared dying in Russian prison

washington — American permanent resident Vladimir Kara-Murza told reporters on Friday he had expected to die in a Russian prison. The Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, who had been serving a 25-year prison sentence following a 2022 arrest, was freed Thursday in a historic prisoner swap negotiated by the U.S. and its allies with Russia. Kara-Murza spoke to the media in Bonn, Germany, with two of the seven Russians — Ilya Yashin and Andrei Pivovarov — also freed in the deal. At the briefing, he detailed the harsh conditions he was subjected to, including 10 months in solitary confinement, and restricted contact with …

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UK police brace for more far-right protests

LONDON — Several suspects arrested in violent protests that erupted after the fatal stabbing of three children in northwest England were due in court Friday as officials braced for more clashes that Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned and blamed on “far-right hatred.” Starmer vowed to end the mayhem and said police across the United Kingdom would be given more resources to stop “a breakdown in law and order on our streets.” Demonstrations are being promoted online over the coming days in towns and cities that include Sunderland, Belfast, Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester, using phrases such as “enough is enough,” “save our …

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МЗС «наполегливо рекомендує»  українцям утриматися від поїздок до Лівану

Уряд Лівану 28 липня звернувся до США із проханням закликати Ізраїль до стриманості. Того ж дня Кабінет безпеки Ізраїлю уповноважив уряд відповісти на напад угруповання «Хезболла», жертвами якого стали 12 дітей на Голанських висотах …

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French judo icon Teddy Riner wins 3rd individual Olympic gold

PARIS — The stands at Champs de Mars filled up quickly. One fan dressed in a white martial arts uniform waved a French flag back and forth. A woman next to him held up a poster with the face of one of the biggest sports stars in France. Crowds of people bounced up and down so excitedly it shook the floor of the arena, where judo is being played in the 2024 Paris Olympics.   Many of them were there to see Teddy Riner, the hometown judo icon who delivered once again for France on Friday. He capped his incredible career by …

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Russian drone hits bus in Kharkiv region, injuring six, official says

KYIV — A Russian drone hit a bus in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region early on Friday, injuring six construction workers, including one who was in a critical condition, the regional governor said. Governor Oleh Syniehubov said the incident took place near the town of Derhachi, about 40 km (25 miles) from Hlyboke one of the border settlements where Russia opened a new front in the war in May. Ukraine’s military halted the Russian offensive there, rushing in reinforcements after Russia pushed up to 10 km (six miles) into the border areas. Thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its …

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