Author: Fworld

The United Nations global climate meeting next month will take place in Madrid rather than Chile, which had to bow out as host on short notice, officials said Friday. U.N. climate chief Patricia Espinosa said representatives of the body that organizes the annual conference had accepted Spain’s offer to host it in the country’s capital Dec. …

Spaniards are voicing outrage after five men were acquitted of rape on the grounds that their 14-year-old victim had been unconscious at the time.    The Barcelona-based court ruled Thursday that the men were guilty of the lesser crime of sexual abuse and sentenced them to 10-12 years and fined them 12,000 euros ($13,300).    …

A senior Russian diplomat says Moscow and Washington are running out of time to extend the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty.Vladimir Leontyev, deputy head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s arms control department, said Friday that “it’s clear that we won’t be able to produce a full-fledged replacement” to the New START treaty that expires …

Russian lawyer Mari Davtyan has built a reputation as a go-to advocate for women abused by spouses, boyfriends and fathers. Now she’s defending three teenage sisters who battered and stabbed their father to death in his sleep in their Moscow apartment after allegedly suffering physical and sexual abuse from him for years.She believes the Khachaturyan …

November marks 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Wall’s demise brought an end to a divided  Berlin — and symbolized the eventual liberation of East Germany, and later the rest of Eastern Europe, from Soviet communist rule. Yet as Charles Maynes reports, while the Wall is long gone, it still casts …

The United States says it is still looking for ways to block a proposed natural gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany, after the Danish government this week cleared away one of the last legal obstacles to the project, known as Nord Stream 2.”The Department of Energy strongly believes that the Nord Stream 2 threatens the …

The deaths of 39 migrants in the back of a refrigerated truck near London last week has focused a spotlight on the lives of those who risk everything to earn a better living in Britain.Many of the victims are believed to have traveled from Vietnam. Tamsin Barber, an expert on the Vietnamese diaspora in Britain …

The deaths of 39 migrants, many believed to be of Vietnamese origin, in the back of a refrigerated truck near London last week has focused a spotlight on the lives of those who risk everything to earn a better living in Britain. As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, many Vietnamese are lured overseas by the …

This week’s takedown of Facebook and Instagram accounts that were used to interfere with African political affairs has provided new insight into the extent to which a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin is engaged in the continent, analysts say.Facebook announced Wednesday that, after a weeks-long investigation, it was FILE – Kremlin-linked businessman Yevgeny …

Declassified KGB documents on display in Russia describe future President Vladimir Putin as a “conscientious and disciplined” spy at the start of his career.”Comrade Putin… is constantly raising his ideological, political and professional level,” said the one-page document released to Russian media, written while the intelligence agent turned politician was in his 20s.Now 67, Putin …

The boards of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Peugeot announced Thursday fast-moving plans to merge the two companies creating the world’s fourth-largest automaker with enough scale to confront “the new era in mobility.”The merger would bring together Italian-American Fiat Chrysler, with its strong footprint in North America where it makes at least two-thirds of its profits, …

 Turkey’s defense minister said Thursday its forces captured 18 Syrian government soldiers in northeastern Syria, including two who are wounded.   Hulusi Akar said the soldiers were captured during Turkish reconnaissance southeast of Ras al-Ayn, but didn’t say when. Ankara was already in talks with Russia to hand over the Syrian soldiers, he added, according …

British police have interviewed an American diplomat’s wife who was involved in a crash that killed a British teenager and have passed their recommendations on to U.K. prosecutors.Northamptonshire Police interviewed Anne Sacoolas about the crash that killed 19-year-old Harry Dunn in August. His motorcycle collided with a car she was allegedly driving near a British …

Europe’s economy is losing strength. Top officials at the European Central Bank are at odds over policy. And it’s even unclear whether they can do much to help anyway.It adds up to a full in-tray for Christine Lagarde as she takes over as ECB president on Friday.The former head of the International Monetary Fund succeeds …

Thirty years ago the Berlin Wall fell, ending the divide between the communist East and the democratic West.  The fall of the wall symbolized the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe that was imposed by the then- Soviet Union after World War II. It also paved the way for the eventual re-unification of Germany so …

Hungary’s prime minster said Wednesday after hosting a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that good relations with Russia are a necessity because of his country’s geographical location.Analysts see Prime Minister Viktor Orban as Putin’s closest ally in the European Union and Hungary has long advocated for the end of sanctions against Russia for actions …

Syrian government and opposition delegates have begun meeting to draft a new constitution as a prelude to U.N.-supervised elections for their war-torn country.After nearly nine years of war, U.N. mediator Geir Pedersen calls the meeting of Syria’s arch-enemies an historic moment.  At the official launch of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, he welcomed members with words …

British and Belgian police are continuing to investigate the people-smuggling networks that helped to transport the 39 migrants who were found dead in the back of a refrigerated truck near London last week. It’s believed they suffocated in the sealed container. Henry Ridgwell reports on the growing industry in human cargo that brings tens of …

A respected British think tank slammed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal on Wednesday, concluding that the economy would be 3.5% smaller compared with staying in the European Union.The study by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research says the agreement would deliver a 70 billion-pound ($90 billion) blow to the U.K. Researchers said …

Denmark said Wednesday it is giving permission for a joint German-Russian underwater gas pipeline to be laid to through its territory, in a blow to the United States, which had fiercely opposed the project.   The decision by the Danish Energy Agency to approve the Nord Stream 2 pipeline’s route is a victory for the …

Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, who has inspired millions across the world to stage protests urging leaders to better tackle global warming, has declined an environmental prize, saying “the climate movement does not need any more prizes.”Two fellow climate activists spoke on Thunberg’s behalf at an award ceremony Tuesday in Stockholm for the regional inter-parliamentary …

An international conference has concluded in Brussels with the European Union pledging an additional 150 million euros [166 million USD] to address the Venezuelan migration crisis. The United States also contributed to the effort. Experts at the conference estimate that by the end of next year more than six million Venezuelans will have fled their …

Visitors ranging from curious to nostalgic took in the new look of Spain’s Civil War shrine in the Valley of the Fallen, as it reopened on Tuesday five days after the government exhumed the remains of fascist dictator Francisco Franco from the mausoleum.A black marble slab, noticeably darker than its neighbors, covered the spot in …

Hungary is set to reappoint its chief prosecutor to a new 9-year term and will remove its main judicial administrator, in moves that critics say highlight premier Viktor Orban’s mixed success in influencing the judiciary which remains one of the most independent bodies in Hungarian society.Despite constant clashes with Western partners over the rule of …

Bosnia is facing an outflow from its politically sensitive multi-ethnic armed forces (OSBiH) due to the failure of political institutions to approve adequate funding, the Balkan country’s military commissioner warned on Tuesday.The formation of the OSBiH in 2005, assisted by NATO and the EU peacekeeping force EUFOR, has been hailed as the country’s biggest achievement …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pushing for the mass return of Syrian refugees to ease domestic discontent and kickstart an ailing economy. But Erdogan is struggling to find the financial support to realize his objective.Turkey’s military operation against the YPG Syrian Kurdish militia this month was ostensibly an operation to secure the Turkish border …