Europe

Ukrainian drone downed in Russian air base, 3 killed: agencies

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) – Russian air defense troops downed a Ukrainian drone as it approached an air base in southern Russia and three people died after being struck by debris, Russian news agencies said Monday. It was the second attack on the Engels base this month. Engels, in the southern Saratov region, lies more than 600 kilometres (370 miles) from Ukraine. “On December 26, at around 01:35 Moscow time (2235 GMT), a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle […]

Rescuers search for two missing after Austria avalanche

VIENNA, Austria (AFP) – Rescuers searched for two people who remained missing after an avalanche at a ski resort in western Austria, officials said. The avalanche came down around 3:00 pm (1400 GMT) at an altitude of 2,700 meters (8,858 feet) in the Lech Zurz ski area and was thought to have trapped around 10 skiers, police said. Rescuers backed by helicopters and dogs scoured for survivors. Eight people had been found, two of them injured, […]

Suspect in Paris shooting transferred to psychiatric unit

Paris, France (AFP) by Murielle Kasprzak and Alexandre Hielard A French man suspected of killing three people in a “racist” attack at a Kurdish cultural centre in Paris has been transferred to a psychiatric unit, prosecutors said, as police and demonstrators clashed in the French capital. Prosecutors said the 69-year-old white suspect had been removed from custody for health reasons on Saturday and taken to a police psychiatric facility. The shots at the cultural centre and […]

Harry, Meghan brand UK tabloid apology for column ‘PR stunt’

  London, United Kingdom (AFP) Prince Harry and wife Meghan on Saturday accused The Sun of a “PR stunt” after the British tabloid apologised and said it regretted publishing a much-criticised column about the couple. The piece, in which former “Top Gear” host Jeremy Clarkson said he “hated” Meghan, sparked a big backlash and became the UK Independent Press Standards Organisation’s (IPSO) most complained-about article. In it, Clarkson said he dreamed of the day when […]

Twenty-two killed in fire at nursing home in Russia

  Moscow, Russia (AFP) A fire erupted overnight in a private illegal nursing home in the Siberian city of Kemerovo, killing 22 people, Russia’s investigative committee said Saturday. In a video released by the emergency services, a long row of emergency vehicles lined up outside the burning building, as firefighters tackled flames which sent plumes of smoke into the night sky. Images released by emergency services showed the building later completely burned out. Russia’s investigative […]

Paris shooter who killed three admits being ‘racist’

  Paris, France (AFP) by Alexandre HIELARD / Murielle KASPRZAK A 69-year-old white French gunman who opened fire at a Kurdish cultural centre in Paris killing three people told investigators he was racist, a source close to the case said Saturday. The shots at the centre and a nearby hairdressing salon shortly before midday on Friday caused panic in the bustling 10th district of the French capital, home to several shops and restaurants and a […]

Three dead after shooting at Kurdish centre in Paris

  Paris, France (AFP) by Alexandre HIELARD / Murielle KASPRZAK / Daphne ROUSSEAU A 69-year-old gunman opened fire at a Kurdish cultural centre and a hairdressing salon in Paris on Friday, killing three people and injuring three others, witnesses and prosecutors said. The shots shortly before midday (1100 GMT) caused panic in rue d’Enghien in the trendy 10th district of the capital, a bustling area of shops and restaurants that is home to a large […]

Paris shooter was ‘clearly targeting foreigners’: minister

  Paris, France (AFP)    A 69-year-old gunman who opened fire at a Kurdish cultural centre and a hairdressing salon in Paris on Friday was deliberately seeking out foreigners, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. The man, a retired train driver, “was clearly targeting foreigners”, Darmanin told reporters, adding however that it was “not certain” that the man was aiming to kill “Kurds in particular”. Darmanin said: “We yet don’t know his exact motives.” There was also […]

Israel spy agency warns of deeper Iran-Russia arms ties

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Iran is seeking to expand the supply of advanced weapons to Russia, the head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency said Thursday, according to local media. The warning from David Barnea comes after the United States earlier this month expressed alarm over a “full-scale defense partnership” between Tehran and Moscow, which invaded Ukraine last February. Tehran in November admitted it had sent drones to Russia, but insisted they were supplied before the […]

In retaken Ukraine village, ruins, hungry cats and few residents

BOGORODYCHNE, Ukraine (AFP) – When Yuri Ponomarenko first came back to his home village in eastern Ukraine several weeks ago, he found it almost completely deserted, its silence broken only by the meowing of famished cats. Little has changed since then in Bogorodychne, highlighting the rough road ahead for front-line villages looking to make a full recovery now that the Russians have been pushed out. “I think I’m the first one to come back and live […]

France fines Microsoft 60 million euros over advertising cookies

PARIS, France (AFP) – France’s privacy watchdog said Thursday it has fined  US tech giant Microsoft 60 million euros ($64 million) for foisting advertising cookies on users. In the largest fine imposed in 2022, the National Commission for Technology and Freedoms (CNIL) said Microsoft’s search engine Bing had not set up a system allowing users to refuse cookies as simply as accepting them. The French regulator said that after investigations it found that “when users visited […]

URGENT: Zelensky to US Congress: Ukraine ‘will never surrender’

  Washington, United States (AFP) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed his country would never surrender to Russia as he addressed a joint session of the US Congress on Wednesday night. “Ukraine holds its lines and will never surrender,” Zelensky said. Zelensky was in Washington for his first overseas trip since Russian leader Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion on February 24, upending the global economy and leading to thousands of deaths.