Europe

King Charles III to host world leaders as UK counts down to queen’s funeral

  London, United Kingdom (AFP) by Max DELANY / Jitendra JOSHI US President Joe Biden was Sunday to pay his last respects in London to Queen Elizabeth II as ordinary mourners queued for the final 24 hours left to view her coffin lying in state. After witnessing the sombre scene in parliament’s Westminster Hall, Biden, Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and other world leaders were due to attend a reception with the late queen’s successor, King Charles […]

French traffic controllers’ strike disrupts European air travel

  Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, France (AFP) by Alexandre MARCHAND Around 1,000 flights to and from France were cancelled Friday as the country’s air traffic controllers went on strike, with their action also causing delays across European airspace. France’s DGAC civil aviation authority said 16 airports were operating a skeleton service, as were traffic control centres guiding planes overflying French territory at high altitude. But several regional airports were closed and the DGAC warned of […]

EU backs AstraZeneca drug for Covid treatment

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – AstraZeneca’s Evusheld drug has been recommended for marketing in the European Union to treat patients at risk of death from Covid, the British pharmaceutical group said Friday. The EU’s drug watchdog had already approved Evusheld for the prevention of coronavirus in such patients. “Evusheld long-acting antibody combination” has been “recommended for approval in the EU for the treatment of Covid-19”, AstraZeneca said in a statement. Its use via injection is […]

Italy storms kill 10 sparking pre-vote climate change debate

Rome, Italy  (AFP) At least 10 people died and four were missing after violent storms lashed central Italy, reports said Friday, pushing the issue of climate change up the agenda the week before elections. Water swept through towns and villages, turning streets into rivers after about 400 millimetres (16 inches) of rain reportedly fell in two hours. Emergency services initially put the death toll at seven but this rose mid-morning to 10, according to the […]

Two police officers stabbed in London ahead of queen’s funeral

London, United Kingdom |(AFP) Two police officers were stabbed by a man early Friday in central London and hospitalised, police said, while ruling out terrorism amid massive security ahead of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. The assailant was tasered and arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and assaulting an emergency worker, the Metropolitan Police said. The man was also in hospital following the incident at around 6:00 am (0500 GMT) in the nightlife area around […]

Violent storms kill seven in Italy

  Rome, Italy (AFP) At least seven people died when violent storms lashed central Italy and flooded roads and homes, authorities told AFP on Friday. Three people were missing, including a six-year-old child travelling in a car. The mother was rescued but the child was washed away by the floodwaters, the AGI news agency said. “According to the local prefecture, the provisional death toll is seven. The seventh body has just been found,” a civil […]

Germany takes control of Russian firm Rosneft’s operations in the country

Berlin, Germany (AFP) Berlin said Friday it had taken control of the German operations of Russian firm Rosneft to secure energy supplies which have been disrupted after Moscow invaded Ukraine. Rosneft’s German subsidiaries, which account for about 12 percent of oil refining capacity in the country, were placed under trusteeship of the Federal Network Agency, the economy ministry said in a statement. “The trust management will counter the threat to the security of energy supply,” […]

Who’s invited — and who’s not — to Queen Elizabeth’s funeral

  by Danny KEMP Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Hundreds of foreign royals and leaders are expected to attend the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London on Monday in one of the biggest diplomatic gatherings in decades. Westminster Abbey has space for around 2,000 people, so only heads of state and one or two guests have reportedly been invited to Britain’s first state funeral for six decades. A handful of […]

Ukraine reveals discovery of mass grave as US announces new aid

by Dmytro GORSHKOV with Emmanuel PARISSE in Bakhmut Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed on Thursday the discovery of a mass grave in the recently recaptured town of Izyum, likening it to deaths seen in the cities of Bucha and Mariupol, which have become symbols of Russian atrocities. Hours later, the United States announced another $600 million in military aid to support Kyiv’s two-week-old counteroffensive aimed at dislodging Russian occupiers. […]

Russian leader Putin, China’s Xi meet for high-stakes talks in challenge to West

  SAMARCANDE, Uzbekistan (AFP) — Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping gather with other Asian leaders in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand from Thursday for a regional summit touted as a challenge to Western global influence. Xi and Putin will be joined by the leaders of India, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and several other countries for the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Uzbek city on Thursday and Friday. The […]

Ukraine’s Zelensky vows ‘victory’ on visit to liberated Kharkiv region

by Emmanuel PARISSE with Ania TSOUKANOVA in Kyiv Agence France-Presse KHARKIV REGION, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday promised “victory” on a visit to the strategic city of Izyum that was recently recaptured from Russia by Kyiv’s army in a lightning counter-offensive. The visit came at a decisive moment in Russia’s six-month-old invasion, with Ukraine expelling Moscow’s forces from swathes of the east and seriously challenging the Kremlin’s ambition to capture the […]

Flood risk in central Ukraine city after Russian strike: Kyiv

KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) – Floods could hit the city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine after a Russian strike damaged infrastructure causing the Inhulets River to flood, the Ukrainian presidency warned Wednesday. “At the point of impact, we have observed a water flow of 100 cubic meters per second, which is a large volume,” said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president’s office. “The water level of the Inhulets River is changing every hour,” he […]