Month: November 2024

SYDNEY — England cricketing great Ian Botham was saved by his former Ashes rival Merv Hughes after a fall into crocodile-infested waters while on a fishing trip in northern Australia. Botham, along with Hughes and a group of friends, was on a boat when the accident happened, resulting in some heavy bruising to his torso but no serious injuries for the former England all-rounder. The 68-year-old Botham reportedly got tangled in some ropes while moving to another boat, causing him to slip headfirst into the Moyle River, 200 kilometers southwest of Darwin in Australia’s tropical north. The river is known to …

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VALENCIA, Spain — Tens of thousands of Spaniards marched in the eastern city of Valencia on Saturday to demand the resignation of the regional president in charge of the emergency response to last week’s floods that left more than 200 dead and others missing.  A group of protestors clashed with riot police in front of Valencia’s city hall, where the protestors started their march to the seat of the regional government. Police used batons to beat them back.  Regional leader Carlos Mazon is under pressure after his administration failed to issue flood alerts to citizens’ cellphones until hours after the flooding …

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LONDON — Michael Woods has visited his wife, Mary, every day since she moved into a nursing home two years ago. But on Sunday, the 100-year-old Royal Air Force veteran will skip the daily get-together so he can fulfill another duty — honoring the men he served with during World War II. For the first time since he left the RAF in 1947, Woods will take part in Britain’s national Remembrance Day service, joining thousands of veterans as they march past the Cenotaph war memorial in central London to honor those who died during the world wars and all the conflicts …

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BUDAPEST, HUNGARY — A 31-year-old American tourist was killed while on vacation in Hungary’s capital, and the suspect, a 37-year-old Irish man, has been arrested, Hungarian police said Saturday. The victim, Mackenzie Michalski of Portland, Oregon, was reported missing on November 5 after she was last seen at a nightclub in central Budapest. Police launched a missing person investigation and reviewed security footage from local nightclubs, on which they observed Michalski with a man later identified as the suspect in several of the clubs the night of her disappearance. Police detained the man, an Irish citizen, on the evening of November …

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PRAGUE — European nations should not repeat the mistake of creating a barrier between them and President-elect Donald Trump but instead cooperate on issues of common interest, Lithuania’s defense minister said Saturday. Assuming that Trump will again apply what Laurynas Kasciunas called “his contract approach to our relations,” Kasciunas outlined areas where Europe and the new president could join forces: more investment in defense, European acquisition of American weapons and cooperation on containing China and Iran. “What we did a little bit wrong last time when he was elected [by defeating] Hillary Clinton, and it was unexpected, we built against him …

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ROME — Tourists in Rome won’t be allowed to toss coins over their shoulders into the Trevi Fountain, following tradition, although an elevated walkway now gives limited access to the monument during maintenance work. Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri inaugurated the steel walkway Saturday, saying it will provide tourists with a close-up view of the fountain and calling it a “unique experience” that won’t be ruined by overcrowding. The walkway over the fountain’s basin will be able to accommodate about 130 people at a time. But tourists won’t be allowed to toss coins from there, as the fountain is currently drained, and …

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In parts of Ukraine occupied by Russia, Ukrainian officials can suddenly find themselves at the mercy of Moscow and cut off from Kyiv. In Balakliya, about 70 kilometers from Kharkiv, Judge Volodymyr Strihunenko decided that even though the Russians took over his town in 2022, he was still Ukrainian. VOA’s Anna Kosstutschenko met with him in the Kharkiv region. …

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BERLIN — Like many other young women living in communist East Germany, Solveig Leo thought nothing about juggling work and motherhood. The mother of two was able to preside over a large state-owned farm in the northeastern village of Banzkow because child care was widely available. Contrast that with Claudia Huth, a mother of five, who grew up in capitalist West Germany. Huth quit her job as a bank clerk when she was pregnant with her first child and led a life as a traditional housewife in the village of Egelsbach, in Hesse, raising the kids and tending to her husband, …

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BERLIN — Germany marks 35 years since the Berlin Wall fell with festivities beginning Saturday under the theme “Preserve Freedom!” as Russia’s war rages in Ukraine and many fear democracy is under attack. Chancellor Olaf Scholz — whose governing coalition dramatically collapsed this week — said in a message to the nation that the liberal ideals of 1989 “are not something we can take for granted.” “A look at our history and at the world around us shows this,” said Scholz, whose three-party ruling alliance imploded on the day Donald Trump was elected president in the United States, plunging Germany into …

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ROME — The Pompeii archaeological park plans to limit visitor numbers to 20,000 a day and introduce personalized tickets starting next week in a bid to cope with over-tourism and protect the world heritage site, officials said Friday. The move comes after what authorities called a record summer that saw more than 4 million people visiting the world-famous remains of the ancient Roman city, buried under ash and rock following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The park’s director Gabriel Zuchtriegel said visitors to the main archaeological site now exceed an average of 15,000 to 20,000 every day, and …

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