Author: Fworld

Former U.S. special envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker is set to testify before House committees Thursday about his involvement in U.S. President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. He is expected to speak behind closed doors to the Intelligence, Oversight and Reform, and Foreign Affairs committees.Volker has served as a special envoy to Ukraine since he …

Russia and European powers, eager to end a protracted military conflict in war-torn eastern Ukraine, welcomed a new accord between Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists, but many in Ukraine dismissed the election agreement Wednesday as a capitulation to Moscow.In the deal signed Tuesday, Ukraine, Russia and mediators Germany and France agreed a local election could be …

U.S. security officials are not laughing at the latest comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin about the Kremlin’s attempts to interfere in U.S. elections. Putin, speaking at an economic forum in Moscow Wednesday, dismissed U.S. allegations that Russia meddled in both the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the 2018 mid-term election as “ridiculous.” “Or it …

Ukraine’s former president said Wednesday he discussed investments with President Donald Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, in 2017, but that he never discussed Ukrainian companies with any U.S. official.Like many Ukrainians, former President Petro Poroshenko is trying to distance himself from the U.S. impeachment inquiry into Trump, triggered by a phone call between the American leader …

Finnish police said Wednesday they believe a man who killed a woman and wounded nine other people while wielding a sword and a firearm inside a classroom acted alone.Chief investigator Olli Toyras of the National Bureau of Investigation says the man, who wasn’t officially named, is suspected of murder and several murder attempts. No motive …

Thousands of people protested Tuesday in the northern French city of Rouen to denounce the consequences for health and the environment of last week’s fire at a chemical factory. The blaze that broke out early Thursday ravaged the Lubrizol chemical plant in Rouen, a port city on the river Seine and the capital of Normandy, …

Voters in Kosovo will pick a new parliament on Sunday in a snap election dominated by rampant corruption, sky-high unemployment and poor relations with neighboring Serbia that it must try to mend if it is to move closer towards eventual EU membership.Kosovo has Europe’s youngest population, with an average age of 29, and has seen …

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will on Wednesday unveil his final Brexit offer to the European Union and make clear that if Brussels does not engage with the proposal, Britain will not negotiate further and will leave on Oct. 31.In his closing speech to his governing Conservatives’ annual conference, Johnson will stick to his hard line …

More than 1,000 migrants and refugees have died in the Mediterranean Sea this year, the sixth year in a row that this “bleak milestone” has been reached, the United Nations said on Tuesday.The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR called for European Union (EU) member states to reactivate search and rescue operations and acknowledge the crucial role …

Ukraine on Tuesday signed much-anticipated accords with separatists from the country’s east, Russia and European monitors that agree a local election can be held in separatist-controlled territory, paving the way for peace talks with Moscow.The signing at a meeting in the Belarusian capital of Minsk was largely seen as the new Ukrainian government taking a …

Vatican police raided the offices of the Holy See’s Secretariat of State and its Financial Information Authority, or AIF, on Tuesday and took away documents and electronic devices as part of an investigation of suspected financial irregularities, a Vatican statement said.It was believed to be the first time the two departments were searched for evidence …

Europe is not blameless in the trade tensions casting a pall over the global economy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, mentioning the lengthening Brexit negotiations as a source of uncertainty to stand beside the United States-China trade war.Speaking after a meeting with leaders of multilateral financial institutions on Tuesday, Merkel declined to lay the blame …

Four European Union nations are proposing a “fast-track system” for getting migrants off boats in trouble in the Mediterranean Sea and the asylum-seekers on board divided among countries willing to take them.A statement obtained by European civil liberties watchdog Statewatch says Germany, France, Italy and Malta foresee a process that would screen migrants, relocate asylum-seekers …

Denmark’s largest bank says its Estonian branch, which was involved in a 200 billion-euro ($220 billion) money laundering scandal, has entered liquidation after winding down banking activities in the Baltic country.   Frederik Bjoern, Danske Bank’s chairman of the liquidation committee, said Tuesday it “has now essentially closed all banking activities in Estonia,” as agreed …

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy lost a final court appeal Tuesday against an order that he stand trial on charges of illegal financing for his 2012 election campaign.Sarkozy, who already faces a separate trial for corruption involving a judge, is accused of spending nearly double the legal limit of 22.5 million euros ($24.5 million) on …

British-registered companies have facilitated North Korean efforts to evade international sanctions, according to an investigation by the London-based Royal United Services Institute. The report reveals how British companies are being used to operate cargo ships smuggling coal out of North Korea. Henry Ridgwell has more from London. …

The Irishman set to take over as the European Union’s top trade official on Monday urged the United States not to launch an economically damaging tariff war with the bloc over subsidies to Airbus and Boeing.The World Trade Organization ruled in May that Europe illegally subsidized Airbus, hurting U.S. competitor Boeing. The WTO is set …

France will host a conference with Sudan’s international creditors to help Khartoum address debt issues as soon as the United States removes the country from its state-sponsored terrorism list, French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday.In efforts to stabilize the country and to repair an economy battered by years of U.S. sanctions and government mismanagement during …

Italy’s coalition parties said on Monday they were in favor of reducing the minimum voting age to 16, in a move which analysts said would increase the electorate by about 1 million people.Italy would be the second EU country after Austria to lower the minimum age to participate in national elections below 18, according to …

Dozens of journalists on Monday marched in Bosnia’s capital of Sarajevo after thugs forced a radio station to remove a story from its website.Protesters gathered outside the offices of soccer club Sarajevo and then walked through the city center, demanding better protection and tougher penalties for attacks on the press.Police detained two people over Friday’s …

Public pressure, including from famous faces in the Russian entertainment industry, has led to the release of a young actor in what observers say is a victory by civil society against state repression.  As Ricardo Marquina and Olga Pavlova report from Moscow, Russian authorities have, after massive street protests, overturned a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence for …

Unseasonably cold and wet September weather didn’t deter thousands of protesters packing a central Moscow square on Sunday to voice their opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Jamie Dettmer reports from the Russian capital. …

Pope Francis has met privately with an American Jesuit who has been attacked by conservative U.S. Catholics for reaching out to gays.The Vatican listed the audience with the Rev. James Martin among the pope’s activities Monday, in a clear sign that Francis wanted it publicized. The implicit message was a vote of confidence in Martin’s …

An expert monitoring a fast-moving glacier on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc massif says a small section has picked up speed and could break off in the coming days.  Fabrizio Troilo, a glaciologist with the Safe Mountain Foundation, said Monday that the piece — measuring some 27,000 cubic meters (953,390 cubic feet) — is moving …

High winds swept across parts of central Europe on Monday, leaving two people dead, disrupting transport and causing power outages for thousands of households.   Slovak police said a 14-year-old girl was killed by a fallen tree in Nitra, east of Bratislava, and an unspecified number of her fellow students were injured, one of them …

Former French President Jacques Chirac was given full military honors on Monday as past and current world leaders gathered in Paris to attend his final service.On a mild, sunny morning, French President Emmanuel Macron cut a solemn figure as he presided over the ceremony near the site of Napoleon’s tomb in the courtyard of Les …