Author: Fworld

Across parts of northeastern Syria, with U.S. military outposts and bases emptied or destroyed after Washington withdrew from the region and left its Kurdish allies — the fallout began to roll in — in the form of Russian armored troop carriers.The reinforcements arrived Friday, according to Russian media, with an additional 300 Russian military police …

The White House is expanding and expediting efforts to restart Serbia-Kosovo normalization talks as part of a broader campaign to integrate the Balkans into the Euro-Atlantic community, according to the top U.S. diplomat to the region.”With negotiations at a standstill, both [Serbia and Kosovo] risk squandering the best chance in a generation to normalize relations …

The body of former Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco was exhumed from its grandiose mausoleum outside Madrid Thursday and moved to a cemetery near the capital. Critics have long campaigned for the move, arguing that the site in the “Valley of the Fallen” – which was built by prison laborers under Franco – glorified his …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan filed a criminal complaint Friday against a French magazine over a cover accusing him of “ethnic cleansing,” according to the state-owned Anadolu Agency. The filing was the latest example of efforts by the Erdogan government to restrict press freedoms in Turkey. The complaint filed against the French magazine Le Point’s director, Etienne Gernelle, as well …

British police arrested two more people Friday in connection with the deaths of 39 others found in the back of a container truck in southeastern England as the investigation into one of the country’s worst human smuggling cases geared up.Police said the man and the woman, both 38 and from Warrington, a town in northwestern …

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has a tiny new namesake.London’s Natural History Museum said Friday that a minute species of beetle is being named “Nelloptodes gretae” in honor of the 16-year-old Swede.Michael Darby, a scientific associate at the museum who found the insect in its collection of millions of animal specimens, chose the name to acknowledge …

Governments have pledged nearly $10 billion toward an international fund meant to help poor nations tackle climate change, France’s finance minister said Friday.Bruno Le Maire, speaking at a conference in Paris set to replenish the Green Climate Fund, said “it’s a great success” that he attributed largely to European countries, noting that almost half of …

European Union ambassadors agreed Friday that the bloc should grant Britain’s request for another extension to the Brexit deadline but they have not yet figured out how long that delay should be.Speaking Friday in Brussels after EU ambassadors met with the EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said ambassadors from …

Under a broad plane tree near Albania’s border with Greece, Jorgji Ilia filled a battered flask from one of the Vjosa River’s many springs.    There is nothing else better than the river,” the retired schoolteacher said.The Vjosa gives beauty to our village.”    The Vjosa is temperamental and fickle, changing from translucent cobalt blue to sludge brown to emerald green, from a steady …

The European Union said on Thursday it would extend for four years funding to support implementation of Colombia’s peace accord with former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels, including an initial contribution of 33.5 million euros ($37 million).The EU has given nearly 128 million euros ($142 million) to help former fighters reintegrate since late …

Police clashed with students in Greece’s two largest cities Thursday amid strikes and street protests against a planned overhaul of business rules by the new conservative government.In Athens, one protester and one policeman were hurt when a confrontation between students and police turned violent outside parliament. Police used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.Clashes also …

Russia said on Thursday a division of its S-400 missile defense system would take part in a military drill in Serbia, underlining Moscow’s wish to keep a traditional ally on side even as Belgrade pursues links with NATO and the European Union.It will be the first time that the sophisticated S-400s, together with a Pantsir …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, stymied in his efforts to have Britain divorce itself from the European Union by next week, on Thursday called for a snap national election on Dec. 12 to give voters a chance to weigh in on protracted but indecisive wrangling over Brexit in parliament.But Johnson needs a two-thirds vote in …

The chief rabbi of the main Orthodox rabbinical alliance in Europe says that a resurgence of anti-Semitism on the continent “poses an existential threat to the Jewish community.”The warning by Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmit was sounded as the Conference of European Rabbis awarded the Moshe Rosen Award on Thursday in Rome to the founder of …

All 39 people found dead in a refrigerated container truck near an English port were Chinese citizens, British police confirmed Thursday as they investigated one of the country’s deadliest cases of people smuggling.The Essex Police force said 31 men and eight women were found dead in the truck early Wednesday at an industrial park in …

Spain has exhumed the remains of Spanish dictator Gen. Francisco Franco from his grandiose mausoleum outside Madrid and flown them by helicopter for reburial in a small family crypt north of the capital.The government-ordered, closed-door operation on Thursday satisfies a decades-old desire of many in Spain who considered the vainglorious mausoleum that Franco built an …

Hong Kong protesters plan to rally on Thursday evening to show solidarity with people demonstrating in Spain’s wealthiest region of Catalonia over jail sentences handed out to nine separatist leaders.The protests in Catalonia share some noticeable comparisons with the demonstrations in Hong Kong, where millions have taken to the streets for five months to vent …

Four out of five coal plants in the European Union are unprofitable and utilities could face losses of nearly 6.6 billion euros ($7.3 billion) this year, a report by think tank the Carbon Tracker Initiative said Thursday.Lower costs for renewable energy and cheaper natural gas prices are increasingly competitive vs. coal in power generation.More expensive …

A decision by Spain’s government to remove Francisco Franco’s remains from a state mausoleum is simply an act of political opportunism ahead of next month’s election, the late dictator’s oldest grandson and namesake said on Wednesday.Francisco Franco Martinez-Bordiu will play a leading role in Thursday’s low-key ceremony in the Valley of the Fallen outside Madrid.He …

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte said Wednesday U.S. Attorney General William Barr was seeking information about the activities of FBI agents assigned to Italy in his meetings with Italian intelligence officials this summer.Conte insisted on the complete legitimacy of both the meetings and his own role, during a press conference after testifying behind closed doors to …

The executive producer of Serbia’s privately owned N1TV channel says the nation’s president is to blame for a recent campaign of harassment targeting the broadcaster and journalists throughout the country.On Monday, two masked men tossed hundreds of leaflets over a fence surrounding the broadcaster’s Belgrade facility, with messages such as “Goodbye Republic of Serbia, N1 …

EU leaders are deciding on another extension to Brexit after lawmakers in Britain frustrated Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to leave the bloc by Oct. 31. After previously pledging to leave by that deadline, “do or die,” Johnson now seems determined to seek an election as soon as possible. But as Henry Ridgwell reports, it might not be …

Federal authorities have arrested a former Russian Olympic Committee official for an alleged immigration violation.U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Tammy Spicer said in a news release that 48-year-old Akhmed Bilalov was arrested Tuesday at his condo in Sunny Isles Beach. He remains in the agency’s custody pending removal proceedings.The agency says Bilalov entered the …

President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will be lifting sanctions on Turkey, saying he has been informed by Ankara that its ceasefire in an offensive against Kurds in northeastern Syria will be permanent.”The sanctions will be lifted unless something happens that we are not happy with,” Trump said in a speech at the White House.The …

Albanian police said on Wednesday they have discovered an Iranian paramilitary network that allegedly planned attacks in Albania against exiled members of an Iranian group seeking to overthrow the government in Tehran.Police chief Ardi Veliu said the foreign wing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard operated an “active terrorist cell” targeting Mujahedin-e Khalq, or MEK, group members …

The bodies of 39 people have been discovered inside a truck container in Britain.British police say the truck was found by emergency responders at the Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, located about 32 kilometers east of London.  The victims include 38 adults and one teenager.  Investigators believe the truck was driven from Bulgaria and entered …