Month: January 2024

…

Hundreds of cargo ships traveling from Asia to Europe are now avoiding the Red Sea and the Suez Canal route due to persistent attacks and hijackings by Houthi militants responding to the Israel-Hamas war. The International Chamber of Shipping, a major trade group, says these incidents have caused significant disruptions in global trade, leading to …

BELGRADE, Serbia — A trial started Monday in Serbia for the parents of a teenager who is accused of killing 10 people and injuring six in a mass shooting at his school last May that left the Balkan nation in shock.  The suspected shooter, 13-year-old Kosta Kecmanovic, has been held in a mental institution since the …

…

London — King Charles III and his daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales, have both left a private London hospital following unrelated medical treatments that have made the health of the royal family headlines news in the United Kingdom. The 75-year-old monarch was admitted to the London Clinic on Friday for treatment of an enlarged prostate, which …

…

…

Skopje, North Macedonia — North Macedonia’s parliament Sunday approved a caretaker government with a mandate to organize a general election in May.  The government of the small Balkan country of 1.8 million people will be headed by the country’s first-ever ethnic Albanian prime minister, current parliament speaker Talat Xhaferi, 61.  The 120-member parliament approved the caretaker …

Tehran, Iran — The trial of a Swedish EU diplomat wrapped up in Tehran on Sunday, with Iranian prosecutors seeking the maximum penalty for the man accused of spying for Iran’s arch-foe, Israel.     The prosecutor said that 33-year-old Johan Floderus — who works for the European Union diplomatic service — was charged with “very extensive …

Madrid — Spanish opposition parties demonstrated in Madrid on Sunday in a last gasp effort to stop an amnesty for Catalan separatists over their role in a 2007 secession bid.    About 45,000 people heeded the call by the Popular Party to gather in the capital’s central Plaza de Espana, according to police estimates.    The …

MELBOURNE, Australia — Jannik Sinner rallied from two sets down to take the Australian Open final from Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday and clinch his first Grand Slam title.  The 22-year-old Sinner was playing in a major final for the first time and got there by ending Novak Djokovic’s long domination of …

Istanbul — Two masked assailants attacked a church in Istanbul during Sunday services, killing one person, Turkish officials said. According to a statement posted on X by Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, the armed assailants attacked the Santa Maria Church in the Sariyer district at 11:40 a.m. local time. He did not specify what kind of weapons …

HELSINKI, FINLAND — Finland elects a new president on Sunday to lead the country in its new role within NATO after it broke with decades of non-alignment to join the Western defense alliance in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Nordic country’s admission to NATO last year drew threats of “counter measures” from its vast …

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A Danish report on Thursday said adoptions of children from South Korea to Denmark in the 1970s and 1980s was “characterized by systematic illegal behavior” in the Asian country. These violations, the report said, made it “possible to change information about a child’s background and adopt a child without the knowledge of the …

…

PARIS — French farmers vowed Saturday to continue protesting, maintaining traffic barricades on some of the country’s major roads a day after the government announced a series of measures that they say do not fully address their demands. The farmers’ movement, seeking better payment for their produce, less red tape and protection against cheap imports has …

OSWIECIM, Poland — A group of survivors of Nazi death camps marked the 79th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp during World War II in a modest ceremony Saturday in southern Poland. About 20 survivors from various camps set up by Nazi Germany around Europe laid wreaths and flowers and lit candles at the …