Author: Fworld

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 …

U.S. Special Representative for Syria James Jeffrey says Turkey was determined to launch an offensive against Kurds in northern Syria regardless of the presence of U.S. troops in the area. He told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at a hearing Tuesday that some U.S. troops are still in Syria working with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic …

Dozens of African officials and business leaders will gather in Sochi, Russia, this week for a two-day summit designed to bolster relations between the Russian Federation and all 54 African nations.Moscow hopes the summit, co-chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, will kickstart economic, security and political partnerships.Expanded ties to …

A court established by Russia-backed separatists who hold parts of eastern Ukraine has sentenced journalist Stanislav Aseyev, an RFE/RL contributor, to 15 years in a penal colony.In a ruling condemned as “reprehensible” by RFE/RL’s president, separatist news outlet DAN reported on Tuesday that the court had found Aseyev guilty of espionage, extremism, and public calls …

Former U.S. Ambassador William Taylor, a diplomat who has sharply questioned President Donald Trump’s policy on Ukraine, has provided lawmakers with a detailed account of his recollection of events at the center of the Democrats’ impeachment probe , they said Tuesday.   Lawmakers emerging from the room after the early hours of the private deposition …

Slovakia’s top diplomat says last year’s murder of an investigative journalist and his fiancée has changed the Central European country and possibly altered how citizens will vote in upcoming parliamentary elections.”I must say that this killing has changed my country and that this is a different Slovakia after the murder,” Slovakian Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák …

A top Vatican administrator is denying the Holy See risks default over its structural deficit, saying claims in a new book about possible financial ruin are overblown.Archbishop Nunzio Galantino, president of the office that manages the Vatican’s real estate and other assets, told the Avvenire newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference Tuesday that all that …

The presidents of Turkey and Russia met in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi on Tuesday, hours before a five-day cease-fire between Turkish troops and Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria was set to expire.   The talks between Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russia’s Vladimir Putin are likely to be crucial in determining arrangements …

Swiss prosecutors have filed their first indictment in investigations related to Brazilian construction company Odebrecht and state-run oil giant Petrobras, charging a suspect with complicity in the bribery of foreign public officials and with money laundering.The Swiss attorney general’s office didn’t identify the “financial intermediary” involved in a statement Tuesday, saying only that he is …

There appear to be few signs that the Kremlin and Russia’s security agencies are ready to adopt a more relaxed approach to opposition groups and dissent, say analysts, notwithstanding that anti-government protests don’t appear to have weakened Vladimir Putin’s grip on power.  Last week, security agencies dubbed the anti-corruption foundation of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s best …

The Paris Zoo is welcoming a new occupant — the “blob.”  This bright yellow, unicellular, brainless organism, exists all over the world and can move, eat, and even solve problems. This is the first time in the world that it has been presented to the public. VOA’s Jim Randle has our story. …

Turkey’s economy minister has announced that a Turkish banker convicted in the United States of helping Iran evade economic sanctions has been appointed head of Turkey’s stock exchange.Banker Hakan Atilla, who was convicted in 2018, was released from prison in July and deported to Turkey.Turkey maintained Atilla’s innocence throughout the trial and called his conviction …

The Russian military says two of its nuclear-capable bombers will visit South Africa in what appears to be the first-ever such deployment to the African continent.The Russian Defense Ministry said Monday that sending the Tu-160 bombers is intended to help “develop bilateral military cooperation” and reflects a “strategic partnership” with one of Africa’s most developed …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is ramping up pressure on his Western allies, as the end of a U.S.-brokered cease-fire approaches with Syrian Kurdish rebels.Erdogan’s escalating rhetoric comes ahead of a pivotal meeting Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, …

The Duke and the Duchess of Sussex said in a joint interview with ITV news filmed during their tour in Africa earlier this month and aired Sunday, that they would not let British tabloids destroy their life.Prince Harry told ITV that most of what is published in the British tabloids is not true, adding “I …

A 93-year-old German former Stutthof guard on trial in Hamburg on thousands of counts of accessory to murder says he regrets having served in the Nazi concentration camp.Bruno Dey, a former SS private, told the court Monday that ‘the images of misery and horror have haunted me my entire life,’ the German dpa news agency …