International

Ukraine says survived its ‘most difficult winter’

by Emmanuel PEUCHOT with Ihor TKACHOV in the Donetsk region Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukraine said it had survived a months-long winter onslaught of Russian strikes on water and energy infrastructure, as it marked the first day of spring Wednesday. But Kyiv was under intense pressure in eastern Ukraine, while Moscow said it had downed a “massive” barrage of Ukrainian drones launched at the Crimean peninsula, annexed by the Kremlin in 2014. Since […]

Modi calls for unity at G20 dominated by Ukraine

by Shaun Tandon and Manon Billing Agence France-Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Thursday for the G20 to bridge differences over Ukraine, telling the opening of a meeting in New Delhi that global governance has “failed”. “The experience of the last few years -– financial crisis, climate change, pandemic, terrorism and wars — clearly shows that global governance has failed,” Modi said in a recorded statement opening the meeting […]

Belarus leader ‘fully supports’ China’s Ukraine peace plan

BEIJING, March 1, 2023 (AFP) – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that his country “fully supports” Beijing’s proposals for ending the Ukraine war when the two leaders met Wednesday. The state visit to the Chinese capital by Lukashenko — a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin — comes after Beijing published a position paper on Moscow’s war in Ukraine insisting it is a neutral party and calling for dialogue. […]

Britain’s Prince Harry loses home on royal estate: reports

  Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are being evicted from their home on the British royal family’s Windsor estate, leaving them without a UK base, reports said on Wednesday. The use of Frogmore Cottage was a wedding present from the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2018, and they refurbished it at a reported cost of £2.4 million ($2.9 million). It has now been offered to Prince Andrew, King Charles III’s disgraced brother, reports in […]

EU parliament bans TikTok on work devices

Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The European Parliament has told staff to purge TikTok from devices used for work because of data protection concerns, after similar moves by the EU’s main governing bodies last week. The parliament’s president, Roberta Metsola, and the secretary-general, Alessandro Chiocchetti, decided TikTok must not be used or installed on staff devices such as mobile phones, tablets or laptops from March 20, according to a note issued Tuesday. “As of this […]

TikTok to add screen time limits for young users

  Paris, France | AFP | TikTok on Wednesday said it would introduce automatic daily screen time limits of one hour for accounts belonging to under-18s, as the social media platform faces criticism over its addictiveness among young users. Teenagers will have to enter a passcode to continue watching after 60 minutes and those aged below 13 require a parent or guardian to set or enter a passcode to release an additional 30 minutes, TikTok […]

La Nina ending but warming El Nino may strike soon: UN

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | by Robin MILLARD An exceptionally long La Nina weather phenomenon that intensified drought and flooding is finally ending, the United Nations said Wednesday — but what comes next might bring its own problems. The outgoing La Nina phenomenon, a cooling of surface temperatures that can have a widespread impact on global weather conditions, started in September 2020. However, despite La Nina’s cooling effect, both 2021 and 2022 were warmer than […]

Moldova offers Ukrainians refuge despite its own struggles

by Sabine COLPART / Chloe ROUVEYROLLES-BAZIRE Agence France-Presse NISPORENI, Moldova (AFP) — Tatiana Bellayar was among tens of thousands of Ukrainians who fled Russia’s invasion a year ago, rushing to find a safe haven by crossing into tiny, impoverished neighbor Moldova. The nation, one of the poorest in Europe, ended up becoming one of the largest recipients per capita of Ukrainian refugees despite being buffeted by its own crises even before the war. “Here, we […]

Train accident in Greece kills at least 26

ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — At least 26 people were killed and another 85 injured after a collision between two trains caused a derailment near the Greek city of Larissa late Tuesday night, authorities said. A fire services spokesman confirmed that three carriages skipped the tracks just before midnight after the trains — one for freight and the other carrying 350 passengers –- collided about halfway along the route between Athens and Thessaloniki. “At least 26 […]

High-level defection: why N. Korean diplomatic family chose freedom

by Sunghee Hwang Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Born into an elite North Korean family with ties to the ruling dynasty, Oh Hye Son grew up believing she was “special” — but then she tasted freedom overseas and decided to defect. Most of the tens of thousands of North Koreans who have escaped repression and poverty at home make an arduous, high-risk journey across the country’s land border with China, where they face […]

‘Russia does not count people,’ Zelensky says of brutal Bakhmut fight

by Emmanuel PEUCHOT with Elizabeth STRIY in Bakhmut Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Pressure is mounting on Ukrainian forces as fighting for the eastern frontline city of Bakhmut is getting ever more brutal with Russia losing hundreds of troops a day, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday. As the battle raged, Moscow said it shot down Ukrainian drones targeting civilian sites in Russian territory while another one crashed near the capital. AFP aerial footage released […]

Children’s coffins mark tragedy of Italy migrant shipwreck

by Alessandro Serrano Agence France-Presse STECCATO, Italy (AFP) — The coffins of 65 victims of a devastating migrant shipwreck off Italy’s southern coast were laid out Tuesday in a local sports hall, five of them small and white, containing the bodies of the youngest children that died. Flower bouquets adorned each coffin in the building in Crotone, while a toy blue car had been laid on the smallest, ready for mourners to pay their respects. […]