US President Joe Biden says the United States will send 31 M1 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine, granting a key request from Kiev that is expected to enhance the military capabilities of the Ukrainian army over the coming months. Less than 24 hours after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced, after weeks …
Read More »Gas station operators in Italy go on strike
On Wednesday, trade unions Faib, Fegica and Figisc-Anisa called for a two-day strike to protest at “being hit with a wave of mud over high fuel prices.” The trade unions say a decree recently passed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s cabinet, that the government says is aimed at boosting the …
Read More »Doctors, teachers, taxi drivers go on strike in Spain’s Catalonia
Thousands of workers have walked out on a five-day strike and taken to the streets in Catalonia to demand more resources for the public sector. Teachers, taxi drivers, and healthcare workers stopped working on Wednesday, and gathered in the capital, Barcelona, to protest in front of the regional parliament. Barcelona …
Read More »Russia raps UNESCO’s decision on Ukraine’s Odessa as ‘politically motivated’
Russia has decried a decision by the United Nations’ cultural agency, UNESCO, to add the historic center of the Ukrainian port city of Odesa to the list of World Heritage in Danger. The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced the designation, saying the only threat to Odesa comes from the “nationalist regime …
Read More »At least one dead, several injured in machete attack at southern Spain churches
Spanish authorities have said they were investigating what they called a possible “terrorist” incident after a machete-wielding man attacked several people at two churches in the southern port city of Algeciras, killing at least one person. The man attacked clergymen at two different churches – San Isidro and Nuestra Senora …
Read More »Russia says US battle tanks will ‘burn’ in Ukraine, calls it ‘waste of money’
Russia says heavy battle tanks the United States plans to send to Ukraine “will burn” in the ex-Soviet republic, dismissing the move as an expensive folly. Reversing its previous position, the administration of US President Joe Biden is due to reveal plans as early as this week to send American-made M1 …
Read More »Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of following ‘policy of ethnic cleansing’
Armenia on Thursday accused arch-foe Azerbaijan of conducting a “policy of ethnic cleansing” and forcing ethnic Armenians to leave the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Since mid-December, a group of Azerbaijanis has been blocking the only road into Karabakh from Armenia to protest what they claim is illegal mining causing environmental …
Read More »Europe could dodge a recession. But the UK is in a mess
Business activity across the 20 countries that use the euro expanded in January for the first time in six months, according to data published Tuesday, providing fresh evidence that Europe’s economy could confound expectations and dodge a recession this year. An initial reading of the eurozone’s Purchasing Managers’ Index, which …
Read More »Zelenskiy flags shake-up after corruption allegations
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that changes would be announced imminently in the government, the regions and in the security forces following allegations of corruption nearly a year into Russia’s invasion. Zelenskiy, elected by a landslide in 2019 on pledges to change the way government operated, did not …
Read More »Finland’s top diplomat hints at joining NATO without Sweden
Finland’s foreign minister said on Tuesday a time-out of a few weeks was needed in Finland and Sweden’s talks with Turkey on their application to join the NATO military alliance. Turkey’s president said on Monday that Sweden should not expect his country’s support after a protest near the Turkish embassy …
Read More »Another coup plot foiled in Germany
Five suspects from right-wing circles were charged with preparing to overthrow the government and abduct a minister German security services have charged five suspects with treason over an alleged plot to overthrow the government. The group, whose members are now all in custody, allegedly planned to cause a “civil war-like” …
Read More »Under pressure from Western allies, Germany says won’t bar Poland from sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine
Under mounting pressure from its Western allies, Germany, which had so far refused to send tanks to Ukraine, now says it would not stand in the way of Poland if it wanted to give Leopard 2 tanks to Kiev. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made the remark on Sunday after being asked …
Read More »FBI searches Biden’s home and finds more classified materials
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigators have found additional classified material while conducting a search of US President Joe Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, home, an issue that has lowered his approval ratings to near-record lows. The FBI search took place over nearly 13 hours on Friday. Bob Bauer, Biden’s personal attorney, …
Read More »Tensions high in Paris as protests over Macron’s pension reform rage on
Tensions run high in Paris as demonstrators once again rallied in protest against the planned pension reform announced by French President Emmanuel Macron Two days after more than one million people took to the streets, raising their voices against the government’s proposed pension reforms, clashes erupted in the capital between police …
Read More »Thousands protest against Spanish government in Madrid
Thousands of people protested in Madrid Saturday against Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s leftist government in a rally held in a key election year that was backed by far-right party Vox. Participants waved red and yellow Spanish flags and called on Sanchez to resign. Some held up signs with a photo …
Read More »Stockholm greenlights Quran-burning event as Turkey calls off Swedish minister’s
Turkey has called off a visit by Sweden’s defense minister against the backdrop of a planned ‘Qur’an burning’ event in Stockholm by a right-wing extremist whose anti-Islam conduct sparked riots in the European country last year. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday, “At this point, Swedish Defense Minister …
Read More »Russian troops seized ‘advantageous’ positions in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia: Army
The Russian army said Saturday that its troops had launched an offensive in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, where fighting this week intensified after several months of an almost frozen front. In its daily report, Moscow’s forces said they led “offensive operations” in the region and claimed to have “taken more advantageous …
Read More »Ukraine regrets ‘indecision’ on tanks that ‘is killing more of our people’
Ukraine on Saturday denounced the “global indecision” of its allies on whether to provide heavy-duty modern tanks for its fight against Russia, saying “today’s indecision is killing more of our people.” “Every day of delay is the death of Ukrainians. Think faster,” presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted after the meeting …
Read More »Police fire tear gas as French workers strike nationwide
French workers have gone on strike and joined nationwide marches on a day of protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s very unpopular pensions reform plan. Train drivers, teachers, and refinery workers were among those who walked off their jobs in Paris and several other major cities on Thursday. “It’s salaries and …
Read More »German parliament recognizes Yazidi ‘genocide’ in Iraq
Germany’s lower house has recognized as “genocide” the 2014 massacre by the armed group ISIL (ISIS) against the Yazidi minority group in Iraq and Syria. The move by parliamentarians on Thursday condemned “indescribable atrocities” and “tyrannical injustice” carried out by ISIL fighters “with the intention of completely wiping out the …
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