Month: September 2024

Sweden’s foreign minister announces surprising departure from politics

copenhagen, denmark — Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billström, who steered the Scandinavian country along a sometimes bumpy road to NATO membership and stood tall on supporting Ukraine, stunned the political establishment Wednesday by saying he was leaving the Swedish government next week. “It has not been an easy decision but something that I have thought about and processed for some time,” Billström wrote on X. Billström became foreign minister in October 2022, when Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson formed a coalition government with his own conservative Moderate Party, the smaller Christian Democrats and the Liberals. In May 2022, Sweden and neighboring Finland …

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Lightning strike damages Rome’s ancient Constantine Arch

rome — Workers mounted a crane Wednesday to secure Rome’s Constantine Arch near the Colosseum after a lightning strike loosened fragments from the ancient structure. A violent thunder and lightning storm that felled trees and flooded streets in the Italian capital damaged the honorary arch late Tuesday afternoon. Fragments of white marble were gathered and secured by workers for the Colosseum Archeological Park as soon as the storm cleared, officials said. The extent of the damage was being evaluated. “The recovery work by technicians was timely. Our workers arrived immediately after the lightning strike. All of the fragments were recovered and …

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Egyptian president makes first visit to Turkey as relations thaw

ANKARA, Turkey — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on Wednesday kicked off his first official visit to Turkey since the two regional powers ended years of tensions. El-Sissi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were set to discuss bilateral relations, the war in Gaza and escalating Middle East tensions. They are also expected to oversee the signing of more than a dozen cooperation agreements to strengthen the relationship between their nations, including in energy, defense and tourism. In February, Erdogan made his first visit to Egypt in more than a decade after the two countries agreed to mend ties and reappointed …

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German far-right surge raises doubts about Berlin’s support for Ukraine

london — The future of German military aid to Ukraine and support for Ukrainian refugees in Germany are being called into question after a surge in support saw the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party emerge victorious Sunday in elections in the state of Thuringia. The AfD won with 32.8% of the vote, ahead of the Christian Democrats with 23.6%. The newly formed far-left BSW party was in third place with 15.8%. The AfD came in second in the neighboring state of Saxony, just behind the Christian Democrats. Björn Höcke, the AfD leader in Thuringia, said it was a “historic victory.” …

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Lightning damages ancient Roman Arch of Constantine

rome — The Arch of Constantine, a giant ancient Roman arch next to the Colosseum, was damaged after a violent storm hit Rome, conservation authorities said on Tuesday.  In a statement to Reuters, which first reported on the accident, the Colosseum Archaeological Park confirmed that the monument had been hit by lightning.   The triumphal arch was built in the fourth century A.D. to celebrate the victory of Constantine — the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity — over his rival, Maxentius.   It is about 25 meters high and in the same pedestrian area where the Colosseum stands, a …

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Turkey releases 5 of 15 detained in assault of 2 US Marines

Washington — Turkey placed 10 people in pretrial detention Tuesday in connection with an assault of two U.S. Marines in Turkey’s western port city of Izmir. Several members of a Turkish nationalist group, Turkey Youth Union, or TGB, on Monday attacked two U.S. Marines from the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp, which docked in the city’s port on Sunday, according to the Izmir Governorate. Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder told reporters Tuesday that the two Marines were not injured and are “safe.” He said they were aided by other Marines in the area during the incident and were subsequently …

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Генштаб: від початку доби відбулось 193 боєзіткнення, на Покровському напрямку Росія втратила майже 400 військових

«Сили РФ п’ять разів штурмовими діями намагалися витіснити наших захисників з позицій в районах Верхньокам’янського, Іванодар’ївки та Спірного на Сіверському напрямку» …

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