Author: Fworld

Waving separatist flags and chanting, “Freedom for political prisoners!” thousands of supporters of Catalan independence gathered in Barcelona for concerts and rallies on Saturday, while some protesters faced off with police, a day before Spain heads to the polls for a general election. Mostly organized by secretive Catalan protest group Democratic Tsunami, the demonstrations aim to force Spaniards to reflect on the prison …

Chancellor Angela Merkel led a series of commemorations Saturday in the German capital to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which divided the city during the Cold War until it was breached and torn down on November 9, 1989.    Merkel, who grew up in Communist East Germany, said, “The …

Germany marked the 30th anniversary Saturday of the opening of the Berlin Wall, a pivotal moment in the events that brought down Communism in eastern Europe.Leaders from Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic attended a ceremony at Bernauer Strasse — where one of the last parts of the Berlin Wall remains — before …

There’s a new statue of Ronald Reagan, the 40th U.S. president, on a terrace of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, a stone’s throw from the iconic Brandenburg Gate.It is a long time coming, for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and other supporters of the project. They had been pressing Berlin city officials for years to …

President Donald Trump prepares to welcome Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House Nov. 13, just weeks after Turkey launched an assault in Syria on Kurdish fighters — longtime allies of the United States in the fight against Islamic State terrorists. U.S. lawmakers from both  parties have slammed the president for his announcement …

There’s a new statue of Ronald Reagan, the 40th U.S. president, on a terrace of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, a stone’s throw from the iconic Brandenburg Gate.It is a long time coming, for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and other supporters of the project. They had been pressing Berlin city officials for years to …

Crammed with Chinese restaurants, Turkish carryouts and Tunisian bakeries, Avenue de Flandre in northern Paris is, in many ways, the face of today’s France. Sub-Saharan African and East Asian workers staff the markets lining the grimy artery, a haphazard match of needs and chance.But for some sectors, that may soon change.Earlier this week, French authorities …

President Donald Trump says he’s weighing an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the May 9 Victory Day parade in Moscow.Trump tells reporters he appreciates the invitation from Putin, but the parade falls “right in the middle of political season,” so he’s not sure he can make it.He adds: “I would love to …

The United Nations’ highest court ruled Friday that it has jurisdiction in a case brought by Ukraine that alleges Russia breached treaties on terrorist financing and racial discrimination following its annexation of Crimea by arming rebels in eastern Ukraine and reining in the rights of ethnic Tatars and other minorities.    The decision by the …

Ten teenagers were among the 39 Vietnamese found dead in a truck container in southeast England last month, local police said Friday while relaying for the first time details of those who died.The scope of the tragedy became clear as police released the names and ages of those who died in one of Britain’s worst …

Three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the United States said Washington and its allies are still confronting formidable communist adversaries and the free world needs to continue to defend against threats from Russia and China.In a speech near Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that Russia …

Almost whatever happens Dec. 12, after Britons have voted for the third time in almost four years in a general election, the country is likely to emerge even more disunited than before, analysts and commentators worry.The vote may well mark an important stage in the unpacking of the union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says NATO remains one of the most important strategic partnerships in recorded history. Speaking Thursday in Germany at an event commemorating the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Pompeo said the alliance has a critical role amid dangers posed by communist governments around the world. Pompeo’s …

An 89-year-old Holocaust survivor in Italy has been placed under police protection after receiving hundreds of threats on social media.Liliana Segre, who was sent to the Auschwitz death camp at age 13, has been receiving as many as 200 threats daily, many against her life. In response to the attacks, Segre, who is senator for life, …

The United States and Germany are reaffirming the strategic partnership and alliance under NATO, rejecting French President Emmanuel Macron’s view that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is experiencing “brain death.”    “I think NATO remains an important, critical, perhaps historically, one of the most critical strategic partnerships in all of recorded history,” U.S. Secretary of State …

Organizers of a major horse jumping exhibition in Helsinki, Finland, are re-defining the term horsepower.  They are taking more than 100 tons of waste from hundreds of horses and converting it to electricity. The renewable energy project has grown at the annual event over the years and now meets all the exhibition’s power needs, with …

UK police say they have formally identified the 39 people found dead in a container truck in southeastern England and notified their families in the apparent people-smuggling tragedy.The authorities said Thursday they’ve been working with Vietnamese police and the coroner to identify the bodies that were found Oct. 23 in the back of a truck …

French President Emmanuel Macron claimed that a lack of U.S. leadership is causing the “brain death” of the NATO military alliance, insisting in an interview published Thursday that the European Union must step up and start acting as a strategic world power.“What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of NATO,” Macron told The …

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova is clear. There is nothing the Kremlin can do about Russian military contractors operating in Africa.During one of her weekly press briefings shortly after news broke that more than two dozen Russians had been killed in Libya, I pressed her about whether the Kremlin endorsed their presence.And if it …

An 89-year-old Auschwitz survivor who is a senator-for-life in Italy unwittingly provoked one of the country’s most intense confrontations with anti-Semitism since the end of its Fascist dictatorship during World War II.In response to revelations that she is subject to 200 social media attacks each day, Liliana Segre called for the creation of a parliamentary …

On Saturday, Germany celebrates the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Built in 1961 by the Communist government of East Germany, the wall was meant to stop the flood of its citizens fleeing to the West. Hundreds were shot dead trying to run across the frontier. Almost three decades later, on the …

Russia will deliver a sophisticated anti-aircraft missile system to Serbia even though the U.S. has warned of possible sanctions against the Balkan country in the event of such purchases.Russia’s state TASS news agency said Wednesday that the Pantsir-S system will be delivered to Serbia “in the next few months in accordance with the signed contract.”The …

When France’s president wants to carry European concerns to the world stage to find solutions for climate change, trade tensions or Iran’s nuclear ambitions, he no longer calls Washington. He flies to Beijing.President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to China this week suggests that the United States risks being sidelined on the global stage under President Donald …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is threatening to deepen military ties with Moscow unless the United States lifts its embargo on the sale of a key fighter jet.The warning comes ahead of next week’s planned meeting between Erodgan and President Donald Trump.FILE – A Sukhoi Su-35 fighter with special vectored thrust jet engines takes part …

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia’s new weapons have no foreign equivalents but he insists the country will not use them to threaten anyone.Speaking during a meeting with senior military officers, Putin said that “we plan to build up our defense capability, commissioning hypersonic, laser and other new weapons systems that other countries …

Buckingham Palace says new outfits designed for Queen Elizabeth II will not use real fur.The palace said Wednesday the decision does not mean the queen will dispose of all the fur outfits she already has. The palace statement says “the queen will continue to re-wear existing outfits in her wardrobe.”   The decision pleased animal …