At least 10 people have been killed in an explosion in a metro station in the Russian city of St. Petersburg. Russian media reported that the blast took place at the Sennaya Square metro station in the city’s center. President Vladimir Putin arrived in St. Petersburg on Monday to speak at an annual media forum sponsored by a Kremlin-backed political movement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin was informed about the explosion. …
Babies cry more in Britain, Canada, Italy and Netherlands than in other countries, while newborns in Denmark, Germany and Japan cry and fuss the least, researchers said on Monday. In research looking at how much babies around the world cry in their first three months, psychologists from Britain have created the first universal charts for normal amounts of crying during that period. “Babies are already very different in how much they cry in the first weeks of life,” said Dieter Wolker, who led the study at Warwick University. “We may learn more from looking at cultures where there is less …
A German software company has used drones and laser imaging to take people back in time to the ancient Italian city of Volterra. The goal of the project is to save historically significant places in cyberspace as time continues to slowly wear them down. …
The rival leaders of ethnically divided Cyprus said Sunday more work is needed to prepare the ground for the resumption of stalled reunification talks, despite having their first face-to-face meeting after nearly two months that was hoped would clear the negotiations logjam. Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and the island’s breakaway Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci, said in a joint statement that United Nations Envoy Espen Barth Eide would continue contacts with them both to get negotiations back on track. The leaders said they had an “open and constructive” exchange about what caused the talks to break down on Feb. …
France’s polling commission has issued a warning over a Russian news report suggesting conservative candidate Francois Fillon leads the race for the presidency — something which contradicts the findings of mainstream opinion pollsters. The cautionary note from the watchdog on pre-election polling followed allegations in February by aides of centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron that he was a target of “fake news” put out by Russian media including the Sputnik news agency. Macron takes a hard line on European Union sanctions imposed on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis, whereas Fillon has said they are totally ineffective, creating a “cold war” climate …
Greeted by tens of thousands of faithful, Pope Frances on Sunday visited Italy’s northern Emilia Romagna region that has largely rebuilt from pair of deadly quakes five years ago, an example meant to give hope to central Italy, which is still reeling from more devastating temblors last year. Francis’ first stop was the quake-damaged Duomo cathedral of Carpi, where he laid a bouquet of white flowers at the foot of a statue of the Madonna inside. After years of restoration, the cathedral reopened just last weekend. “There are those who remain buried in the rubble of life,” the …
Russian police arrested about two dozen protesters Sunday in Moscow, a week after more than 1,000 others were detained during a large-scale rally organized by a leading critic of President Vladimir Putin. The Russian state news agency Tass reports that Sunday’s arrests were made while protesters tried to conduct unauthorized marches toward the Kremlin from two public squares in Moscow. Police had blocked off Pushkin Square, a traditional gathering place for demonstrators. Authorities also blocked access to several Internet websites the government said promoted “a planned illegal anti-government protest” in or near Moscow’s Red Square. The protests were organized by …
Serbian voters cast ballots Sunday in a presidential election that will test the rule of strongman Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic amid Russia’s growing influence in the Balkan area. Vucic is expected to win the presidential election by a wide margin against 10 opposition candidates. Vucic, a former ultranationalist who evolved into a self-declared pro-European politician, could be dealt a setback if he fails to sweep his opponents in the first round of voting. The 47-year-old prime minister must win by more than 50 percent of the vote Sunday to avoid a runoff election on April 16. Vucic’s main challengers for …
Armenians voted for a new parliament on Sunday in a closely fought race between the ruling party and a former coalition partner that heralds the start of a parliamentary system of government. Under constitutional changes critics say were designed to prolong the political life of President Serzh Sarksyan, parliament, not voters, will elect the president for the first time. That role will become largely ceremonial while the office of prime minister will become more powerful. Voting got under way at 0400 GMT and would last until 1600 GMT in the country with about 2.6 million eligible voters. Sarksyan, the 62-year-old …
At least 18 people, including three children, were injured when a bonfire effigy exploded at a town carnival outside Paris, officials said Saturday. Organizers had poured gasoline on a wooden figure of a man, preparing for a bonfire that normally concludes the annual town carnival in Villepinte, north of the capital. Emergency workers said the effigy exploded when it was ignited by remote control, showering chunks of burning wood and splinters onto a crowd of several hundred people. Five of those injured were in serious condition, authorities said, but no one’s life was in danger. Most victims suffered burns. Officials …
Armenians vote Sunday in elections that will determine who guides the country through its planned transition to a parliamentary system of government next year. Campaigns waged by by the nine parties and alliances seeking seats in parliament have focused mostly on the economic difficulties in the South Caucasus nation of 3 million. Opinion polls point to a close race for the top spot between President Serzh Sarkisian’s ruling Republican Party of Armenia and a former coalition partner, the center-right Tsarukian Alliance led by pro-Russia tycoon Gagik Tarukian. Under constitutional changes approved in a 2015 referendum, the Armenian prime minister’s office …
Acclaimed Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, whose work focused on war atrocities and denounced anti-Semitism and tyrannical dictators, has died. He was 84. Ginny Hensley, a spokeswoman for Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa, confirmed Yevtushenko’s death. Roger Blais, provost at the University of Tulsa, where Yevtushenko was a longtime faculty member, said he was told Yevtushenko had died Saturday morning. “He died a few minutes ago surrounded by relatives and close friends,” his widow, Maria Novikova, was quoted as saying by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. She said he’d died peacefully in his sleep of heart failure. Yevtushenko gained …
U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive orders on trade deficits and import duty evasion are a sign that Washington plans to move away from free trade and international agreements, German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said on Saturday. Trump instructed his administration on Friday to study the causes of U.S. trade deficits and clamp down on countries that abuse trade rules in two executive orders he said would open a new chapter for U.S. workers and businesses. Zypries said that while the executive orders were initially only reviews, “they show, however, that the U.S. obviously wants to move away from free trade …
The Trump administration escalated its criticism of Moscow Friday, with two of its most senior officials denouncing Russia’s treatment of Ukraine and reiterating a vow to maintain U.S. sanctions. In his first visit to a NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accused Russia of “aggression” in Ukraine and told his counterparts that their alliance is “fundamental to countering both nonviolent, but at times violent, Russian agitation” in the region. He also said U.S. sanctions against Moscow will remain in effect until it “reverses the actions” that triggered them. Washington imposed the sanctions in response to …
Austria’s top diplomat on Friday called on both sides of the conflict in Azerbaijan’s autonomous breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh to renew the political settlement process. Marking the first anniversary of deadly clashes in the Azeri region, which is populated mostly by ethnic Armenians, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, current chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), emphasized his hope for a fresh start in the largely stalled peace negotiations. “Clashes and serious violations of the cease-fire on the Line of Contact, resulting in casualties, were of particular concern to us throughout the past year,” Kurz said …
Pressure is growing on the Hungarian government to withdraw a draft bill on higher education that could lead to the closure of the Central European University in Budapest, which was founded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros. The U.S. State Department as well as dozens of academics in Hungary and abroad Friday called on Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government to ensure CEU’s independence and operations. Orban said Friday on state radio that the CEU was “cheating” because it did not have a campus in its country of origin and because it issued diplomas recognized both in Hungary and the United States, …
Poland’s defense minster said Friday that he expected to sign a multibillion-dollar deal with U.S. firm Raytheon to buy eight Patriot missile defense systems this year. Antoni Macierewicz told reporters in Warsaw that the $7.6 billion deal was necessary in light of what he called “a growing threat from the East.” Poland has increased efforts to modernize its military since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine three years ago. “Those systems allow us to guarantee the security of the Polish state,” Macierewicz said. Deputy Defense Minister Bartosz Kownacki said the missile system would help protect against Russian missiles based in Kaliningrad, …
Boris Kiknadze, chief executive of Pawwwn, took a deep breath as he looked out to the crowd of Silicon Valley venture capitalists and began his pitch. With just 10 minutes to speak, Kiknadze rapidly described his business idea — Pawwwn, an online payment and management system to make transactions easier for pawnshop owners and their customers. The pain point for pawn shops is payment. Pawwwn takes away that pain, he said. For months, Kiknadze and his co-founder had developed Pawwwn in his home country of Georgia before getting on a plane for San Francisco. Since the firm launched in March, …
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, meeting with his NATO allies’ counterparts, said Friday in Brussels that they must increase their countries’ defense budgets. The top U.S. diplomat told the foreign ministers the alliance must have “all of the resources, financial and otherwise, that are necessary for NATO to fulfill its mission” in places like Iraq and Syria. Earlier Friday, Tillerson said he also wanted to discuss “Russia’s aggression in Ukraine” with the NATO allies. Upon arrival in Brussels, the top U.S. diplomat said he sees three important areas to discuss: NATO’s resources for its mission, the organization’s fight against …
The European Union softened its public stance on Britain’s exit from the bloc Friday, with Council President Donald Tusk signaling some flexibility on allowing talks on a new relationship before the divorce proceedings are complete. Draft guidelines obtained by the Associated Press say that the EU and Britain must first “settle the disentanglement” of Britain from the bloc but added that “an overall understanding on the framework for the future relationship could be identified during the second phase of the negotiations under Article 50.” The guidelines also say it is a priority to settle questions about British and …