Month: September 2024

На фронті відбулось 136 бойових зіткнень, «найгарячіше» на двох напрямках – Генштаб

«На Торецькому напрямку відбулося 11 бойових зіткнень. Росіяни штурмували позиції наших підрозділів біля Щербинівки, Торецька та Неліпівки. Сім зіткнень завершено, чотири – досі тривають» …

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Suspect arrested after allegedly setting fires, driving into shops in Germany 

Berlin — A man has been arrested after allegedly setting two fires in the western German city of Essen that left 30 people injured and driving a van into two shops, authorities said Sunday.  Emergency services were alerted to two fires in residential buildings in quick succession shortly after 5 p.m. Saturday, police said. The injured people included eight children who were seriously hurt, and two of them were in a life-threatening condition after inhaling smoke.  Shortly after the fires broke out, a van drove into two shops in the city, causing damage to property but no injuries. The suspect then …

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Search resumes for 48 missing migrants off Spanish Canaries 

Puerto de la Estaca, Spain — Rescue teams on Sunday resumed searching for at least 48 migrants who went messing the day before when their boat overturned just as it was being rescued off Spain’s Canary Islands, killing at least nine people. Hopes of finding survivors were slim as sea rescue teams searched the waters off El Hierro, an island in the Atlantic archipelago. It is the latest in a series of such disasters off the coast of Africa. “The search operation is resuming,” Spain’s maritime rescue organisation told AFP. The 48 are “presumed dead,” Canaries regional president Fernando Clavijo told …

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125 Ukrainian drones reported in attack sparking fires across Russia, Moscow officials say 

KYIV — More than 100 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russia Sunday, officials said, sparking a wildfire and setting an apartment block alight in one of the largest barrages seen over Russian skies since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported that it had shot down 125 drones overnight across seven regions. The southwestern region of Volgograd came under particularly heavy fire, with 67 Ukrainian drones reportedly downed by Russian air defenses. Seventeen drones were also seen over Russia’s Voronezh region, where falling debris damaged an apartment block and a private home, said local governor Aleksandr …

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Syrians in Austria do volunteer work to disarm doubts about migrants

KRITZENDORF, Austria — While shoveling mud out of gardens almost two weeks after torrential flooding battered the small Austrian town of Kritzendorf, Abulhkeem Alshater gestures towards a banner: “Austro-Syrians say: Thank you, Austria.”  Alshater, 45, originally from Homs, Syria, has been working with dozens of his countryfolk to help clean up the mess left by floods. The work is a gesture of gratitude to Austria at a time when immigration has become a hot topic in Sunday’s general election.  Alshater hopes the sight of Syrians devoting time and energy to bring relief to the hard-hit state of Lower Austria will take …

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Alcohol-free beer is gaining popularity, even at Oktoberfest

MUNICH — The head brewmaster for Weihenstephan, the world’s oldest brewery, has a secret: He really likes alcohol-free beer. Even though he’s quick to say he obviously enjoys real beer more, Tobias Zollo says he savors alcohol-free beer when he’s working or eating lunch. It has the same taste but fewer calories than a soft drink, he said, thanks to the brewery’s process of evaporating the alcohol. “You can’t drink beer every day — unfortunately,” he joked last week at the Bavarian state brewery in the German town of Freising, about 30 kilometers north of Munich. Zollo isn’t alone in his …

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Austria holds tight election with far-right bidding for historic win

VIENNA — Austrians elect a new parliament Sunday with the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) aiming to secure its first general election win in a neck-and-neck race with the ruling conservatives that has been dominated by economic worries and immigration. Having led opinion polls for months, the FPO’s edge over the Austrian People’s Party (OVP) has shrunk to almost nothing as Chancellor Karl Nehammer casts himself as a statesman and depicts his rival, FPO leader Herbert Kickl, as a toxic menace. Whoever wins will fall well short of an absolute majority, polls show but claim the right to lead a coalition government. …

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Europeans, Arab and Muslim nations launch initiative for Palestinian state

UNITED NATIONS — European, Arab and Islamic nations have launched an initiative to strengthen support for a Palestinian state and prepare for a future after the war in Gaza and escalating conflict in Lebanon, Norway’s foreign minister said Friday. Espen Barth Eide told The Associated Press that “there is a growing consensus in the international community from Western countries, from Arab countries, from the Global South, that we need to establish a Palestinian Authority, a Palestinian government, a Palestinian state — and the Palestinian state has to be recognized.” Eide said many issues need to be addressed, including the security interests …

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Hundreds rally in Paris to support world abortion rights

paris — Hundreds of people came out Saturday in Paris, marching in support of the right to abortion for women across the world, just six months after France became the first country to guarantee in its constitution a woman’s right to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy.  The protest, organized by civil society groups to mark International Safe Abortion Day, also called for greater and easier access to abortion in France, denouncing budget cuts, staff reductions and the closure of abortion centers and maternity wards, which organizers say all contribute to penalizing women.  Sarah Durocher, president of France’s not-for-profit family planning services, said …

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At UN, Russian foreign minister dismisses Zelenskyy’s peace plan as ‘doomed’

united nations — Russia’s foreign minister reinforced the Kremlin’s disagreements with the West in his United Nations General Assembly remarks Saturday and showed no interest in a genuine peace with Ukraine.  “I’m not going to talk here about the senselessness and the danger of the very idea of trying to fight to victory with a nuclear power, which is what Russia is,” Sergey Lavrov said.  Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin revised his government’s nuclear doctrine, in a clear attempt to discourage the West from lifting its restrictions on Ukraine using long-range weapons to strike inside Russian territory.  Lavrov dismissed …

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9 die in migrant boat shipwreck off Spanish island; 48 missing

Madrid — A boat carrying migrants capsized off Spain’s Canary Islands overnight, killing at least nine people and leaving 48 missing, the national maritime rescue service said Saturday. Eighty-four people were on board and 27 were saved after rescuers responded to a distress call received shortly after midnight from off El Hierro, one of the islands in the Atlantic archipelago, a statement said. This follows the death of 39 migrants in early September when their boat sank off Senegal while attempting a similar crossing to the Canaries, from where migrants hope to reach mainland Europe. Thousands of migrants have died in …

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China warns against ‘expansion’ of Ukraine war

United Nations — China ‘s Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned Saturday against the expansion of the war in Ukraine, which has accused Beijing of assisting Russia in its war. Kyiv has been particularly scornful of Beijing’s calls for talks to resolve the conflict, but Wang reiterated China ‘s offer to help broker an end to fighting. “The top priority is to commit to no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting, and no provocation by any party, and push for de-escalation of the situation as soon as possible,” he told the U.N. General Assembly. “China is committed to playing a …

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