Month: November 2022

Ukraine on Wednesday ramped up security at its embassies abroad after Spanish police and government said an employee at the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid was injured opening a letter bomb.  The staff member suffered light injuries and went to hospital under his own steam, police said in a statement.  Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba …

Australia upset Denmark 1-0 on Wednesday to qualify for the World Cup knockout phase for the first time in 16 years thanks to a fine solo goal from Mathew Leckie. Australia contained Denmark at the Al Janoub Stadium before stinging the Scandinavians on a counter-attack in the 60th minute when Leckie burst into space, wrong-footed …

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called Wednesday for a special court to prosecute Russian crimes against Ukraine.  Von der Leyen proposed a court backed by the United Nations “to investigate and prosecute Russia’s crime of aggression.”  She also said Russia and Russian oligarchs need to pay for costs to rebuild Ukraine from the …

Democracy is being degraded around the world because people are losing faith in the legitimacy of elections and see freedom of expression being stymied, among a range of other problems, according to a global body founded to promote democracy worldwide. The 34 member-country International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, or International IDEA, said in …

 As anti-government protests continue in Iran, Tehran is escalating tensions with its neighbors, accusing them of interfering in its domestic affairs. One of those neighbors, Azerbaijan, has Turkey’s support and is pushing back. Iran has recently carried out military exercises on Azerbaijan’s border and warned Baku not to incite Iran’s significant Azeri minority. Iran’s Revolutionary …

From the evacuation of Ukrainian journalists in occupied cities to legal support for independent reporters from Russia, a community of organizations is working to keep media safe. In Ukraine, the February 24 invasion led to an unprecedented level of requests for assistance from the country’s National Union of Journalists of Ukraine. Before then, the union …

Russia has donated 260,000 metric tons of fertilizer it produced that was sitting in European ports and warehouses for use by farmers in Africa, the United Nations said Tuesday. “This will serve to alleviate humanitarian needs and prevent catastrophic crop loss in Africa, where it is currently planting season,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters, …

Turkish forces have launched a barrage of airstrikes on suspected militants in northeastern Syria and Iraq in recent days, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed Kurdish groups for last week’s bombing in Istanbul. Kurdish groups have denied responsibility for that attack and say Turkish military assaults have killed civilians and imperiled the international fight …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Italy’s newly elected far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni appear to be finding unlikely common ground on issues relating to Africa and migration. The relationship with Meloni is the latest in a list of strong partnerships that Erdogan has been working to build with European far-right leaders. Dorian Jones reports …

Belgium’s worst peacetime massacre left 32 dead and hundreds marked for life. Now, six and a half years later, Brussels will host its biggest ever criminal trial.  Jury selection begins on Wednesday ahead of hearings into the charges against the nine alleged jihadists accused of taking part in the March 2016 suicide bombings.  The case …

NATO foreign ministers are to meet for two days in Romania’s capital, Bucharest, starting Tuesday to pledge their continuing support of Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.     At a news conference Monday, after a meeting with Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg asked the alliance to step up its support in the region.  “Investing in …

NATO foreign ministers are to meet for two days in Romania’s capital Bucharest starting Tuesday to pledge their continuing support of Ukraine against Russia’s invasion. At a news conference Monday, after a meeting with Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg asked the alliance to step up its support in the region. “Investing in …