Europe

BARCELONA, Spain — Former Catalonia leader Carles Puigdemont, who fled Spain after organizing an independence referendum in the wealthy Spanish region nearly seven years ago that was declared illegal, returned to the country on Thursday despite a pending arrest warrant. Puigdemont defiantly appeared in Barcelona after traveling from Belgium and made a speech in front of a large crowd of supporters. He faces charges of embezzlement …

Following last week’s prisoner exchange between Russia and Western nations, several of the political prisoners released by Moscow have arrived in Germany, historically a refuge for Russians fighting for change in their homeland. Marcus Harton narrates this report from Ricardo Marquina in Berlin. …

GENEVA — Soaring temperatures in July have had detrimental effects on the well-being of hundreds of millions of people worldwide who have found the monthlong extreme heat too hot to handle, according to the World Meteorological Organization. “The extreme heat, which continued throughout July after a hot June … has had really, really devastating impacts on communities, on people’s health, on ecosystems, also on economies,” WMO …

BERLIN — Two suspected extremists were arrested in Austria on Wednesday, one of whom appeared to be planning an attack on an event in the Vienna area such as upcoming Taylor Swift concerts, authorities said.  The 19-year-old main suspect was arrested in Ternitz, south of Vienna, and the second person in the Austrian capital.  Franz Ruf, the public security director at Austria’s interior ministry, said that …

Rome — Fashion house Dolce & Gabbana has launched a new alcohol-free perfume for dogs called ‘Fefé’ in honor of Domenico Dolce ‘s poodle, but not all vets and pet owners agree it’s safe or appropriate.  The perfume costs $108 for 100 milliliters  and has been certified suitable for animal use. It follows a Safe Pet Cosmetics protocol designed to ensure a degree of safety of …

LONDON — British police braced for further anti-Muslim riots on Wednesday as far-right groups pledged to target asylum centers and immigration law firms across the country, prompting anti-fascist protesters to plan counter demonstrations. Britain has been gripped by an escalating wave of violence that erupted early last week when three young girls were killed in a knife attack in northwest Britain, triggering a wave of false …

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Abuja, Nigeria — While nationwide protests appeared to have ebbed Tuesday, the Nigerian government said it will not tolerate calls for coups after some protesters in northwest Kano and Kaduna states waved Russian flags while marching in the streets Monday. Nigeria’s defense chiefs told journalists that hoisting the Russian flags amounts to treason. “We will not relent in pursuing those that have continued to encourage unconstitutional …

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Frankfurt, Germany — German factory orders rose more strongly than expected in June, official data showed Tuesday, boosting hopes that a recovery in Europe’s top economy could be gaining momentum. Orders in the country’s crucial manufacturing sector rose 3.9% from a month earlier, according to federal statistics agency Destatis, an uptick that followed five consecutive months of falls. That was higher than an increase of 1% …

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Lyon, France — Jean-Philippe Mateta scored twice as France advanced to the final of the men’s soccer tournament at the Paris Olympics with a 3-1 win over Egypt after extra time on Monday. France will play Spain in Friday’s final at Parc des Princes in a match that will ensure the first European gold medalist in 32 years. The host nation came from behind at Stade …

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London — U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday vowed “swift criminal sanctions” following an emergency meeting on the far-right riots that broke out across England last week over the murder of three children. The prime minister met with ministers and police chiefs, including Scotland Yard boss Mark Rowley, to discuss how to quell the violence that first broke out in Southport, northwest England, on Tuesday. …

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s government will hold talks with Instagram officials on Monday after blocking access to the social media platform last week, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said in a post on X.  The move came after a senior Turkish official accused Instagram of blocking condolence posts following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.   Uraloglu said Turkey had …

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Geneva — Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival opens on Wednesday with Shah Rukh Khan, Jane Campion, Alfonso Cuaron and Irene Jacob set to be honored with special awards. Founded in 1946, Locarno is one of the world’s longest-running annual film festivals and focuses on auteur cinema. Held on the shores of Lake Maggiore, in the Italian-speaking Ticino region of southern Switzerland, films are screened in Locarno’s central …

Paris — Rarely on the podium and barred from the opening ceremony, the 15 Russians competing at the Paris Olympics have an uneasy status as “Individual Neutral Athletes” following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Some in the Olympic Village opposed them taking part in the Summer Games, and Russian opinion is divided. In Russia, the Olympics aren’t being shown on TV and some politicians and media …

Somewhere in Ukraine — Ukraine’s newly arrived F-16 fighter jets were put on display Sunday by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said the planes will boost the country’s war effort against Russia. “These jets are in our sky and today you see them,” said Zelenskyy, standing in front of two of the fighter jets as two others flew overhead in close formation. “It’s good that they are …

London — Police in the north of England town of Rotherham were struggling to hold back a mob of far-right rioters Sunday who were seeking to break into a hotel believed to be housing asylum seekers, as the latest bout of rioting following a stabbing rampage at a dance class last week that left three girls dead and several wounded showed few signs of abating.  Footage …

Kyiv — Ukraine has sunk a Russian submarine and hit a Russian airfield in the past 24 hours, in line with a surge of long-range attacks against Russian targets, officials said. Russia said Ukrainian drones also hit an apartment building, killing one person.  The uptick in attacks since July comes as Ukraine mounts pressure on allies to allow it to use long-range missiles to strike targets …

PARIS — Faith leaders gathered with Olympic officials Sunday morning in front of Notre Dame Cathedral to celebrate how “faith and sport can complement each other,” in the words of International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach. The 2024 Paris Games got off to a rocky start with many religious groups around the world, including the Vatican. They criticized a scene in the opening ceremony seen as …

rome — Italy’s coast guard said Sunday two migrants died after they were rescued along with more than 30 others in the Mediterranean off the eastern coast of Sicily. The coast guard said it received a distress call late Saturday from a boat located about 17 miles southeast of Syracuse carrying Syrian, Egyptian and Bangladeshi migrants. Search and rescue operations began after the coast guard dispatched …