ARRAS, France, Oct 16, 2023 (AFP) – A school in northern France where a teacher was stabbed to death in an apparent Islamist attack last week was on Monday evacuated following a bomb threat, an AFP journalist said. Dozens of staff and pupils left the combined middle and high school in Arras around 10:30 am (0830 GMT). Authorities told AFP the bomb threat had been made by internet.
Europe
Former EU chief Donald Tusk claims victory in Poland election after exit poll
By Anna Maria JAKUBEK WARSAW, Oct 15, 2023 (AFP) – Former EU chief Donald Tusk, leader of the Polish opposition that is tipped to have won a majority in Sunday’s elections, is a football-mad historian with roots in the anti-communist movement. The 66-year-old former prime minister plunged back into Polish politics as head of the centrist Civic Platform party after returning from a stint in Brussels. President of the European Council until 2019, he handled […]
North Korea sends military equipment to Russia for potential use in Ukraine – White House
North Korea has delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia in recent weeks for use in Ukraine, the White House said Friday. The statement comes a month after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to Russia’s far east and met President Vladimir Putin, sparking concern among Kyiv’s allies over the possibility of a potential arms deal. “We condemn the DPRK for providing Russia with this military equipment, which will […]
French schools to honour teacher killed in ‘terror’ attack
By Laurent GESLIN, with Clement ZAMPA in Lille ARRAS, France, Oct 16, 2023 (AFP) – Schools across France will on Monday hold a minute of silence for the teacher stabbed to death in what President Emmanuel Macron called an act of “Islamist terror”. The nationwide tribute will come a day after thousands gathered in Arras, northeastern France to pay their respects to 57-year-old Dominique Bernard. His killing on Friday has sent shockwaves through the country […]
Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin expected in Beijing, more dependent than ever on China
By James Edgar and Oliver Hotham BEIJING, Oct 14, 2023 (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to China next week to meet his “dear friend” Xi Jinping, forging even closer ties in a key strategic relationship in which experts say Moscow is increasingly the junior partner. Beijing is hosting representatives of 130 countries on October 17-18 to mark a decade of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) — a key geopolitical project of President […]
France on top alert, deploys 7,000 soldiers after teacher’s murder
ARRAS, France, Oct 14, 2023 (AFP) – France on Saturday said it will deploy 7,000 soldiers after declaring a top-level alert following the fatal stabbing of a teacher by a Chechen-origin man, who also severely wounded three others at a school. The attack took place in the northeastern town of Arras, home to large Jewish and Muslim populations. Police arrested the suspected attacker, Mohammed Moguchkov, who had cried the Arabic phrase “Allahu akbar!” (God is […]
UK deploys military to eastern Mediterranean to support Israel: PM office
LONDON, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – The British government will send two Royal Navy ships and surveillance aircraft to the eastern Mediterranean to support Israel, the prime minister’s office said Thursday. “Alongside our allies, the deployment of our world class military will support efforts to ensure regional stability and prevent further escalation,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement. “Our military and diplomatic teams across the region will also support international partners to re-establish […]
Over 40% of Antarctica’s ice shelves lost mass in 25 years: study
PARIS, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – More than 40 percent of Antarctica’s ice shelves lost volume in 25 years, increasing the risk of sea levels rising and with human-induced warming the likely cause, scientists said on Thursday. Ice shelves are freshwater extensions of the ice sheets that cover much of Antarctica, floating on the seas that surround the vast and ecologically fragile continent. They act as giant “plugs” stabilising massive glaciers, slowing down the flow […]
Reporter Saviano fined 1,000 euros for defaming Italy PM
By Ljubomir MILASIN, Alice RITCHIE ROME, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – An Italian court on Thursday fined journalist Roberto Saviano 1,000 euros for defaming Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni by criticising her stance on migrants. Saviano, best known for his international mafia bestseller “Gomorrah”, had called the far-right leader a “bastard” on national television in December 2020, when Meloni was still in opposition. His lawyer immediately said he would appeal the verdict, after a trial that […]
Russian forces close in on east Ukraine’s Avdiivka
By Emmanuel PEUCHOT KRAMATORSK, Ukraine, Oct 10, 2023 (AFP) – Russian forces closed in on the frontline town of Avdiivka in east Ukraine on Tuesday, as Kyiv warned Moscow was stepping up strikes in an attempt to encircle it completely. The Russian attacks come after months of a slower than expected Ukrainian counteroffensive, launched this summer to claw back territory lost during Moscow’s invasion. Avdiivka is an industrial town that had a pre-war population of […]
EU suspends development aid payments to Palestinians
The scale of terror and brutality against #Israel and its people is a turning point. There can be no business as usual. As the biggest donor of the Palestinians, the European Commission is putting its full development portfolio under review, worth a total of EUR 691m⤵️ — Oliver Varhelyi (@OliverVarhelyi) October 9, 2023 BRUSSELS, Oct 9, 2023 (AFP) – The EU has halted development aid payments to the Palestinians and is placing 691 million euros […]
Hamburg airport says resumes traffic after Iranian jet threat
HAMBURG, Oct 9, 2023 (AFP) – Germany’s Hamburg airport said it had resumed service about 90 minutes after halting traffic following a threat against an Iranian flight Monday. “Flight service has resumed,” the airport said on its website after earlier stopping all takeoffs and landings over the threat received by email. “There may still be flight delays.”