dijon, France — The International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), a sort of “U.N. of wine” which brings together experts from the sector, called for “sustainable development” of the vine Sunday, following a ministerial meeting in France. “The effects of climate change amplify” the challenges facing the vine, stressed 37 members out of 50 participating in the meeting at the OIV headquarters in Dijon. The …
Time with horses is helping some Ukrainian kids deal with war
Since May 2024, heavy fighting has been going on near the village of Hlyboke, some 30 kilometers from Kharkiv, and animals are the victims of active fighting just as much as locals. Volunteers recently rescued four ponies from Hlyboke, and now these horses are giving back… in their own way. Anna Kosstutschenko has the story. …
Lithuania’s center-left opposition says it will try to form government
VILNIUS/PANEVEZYS, Lithuania — Lithuania’s center-left opposition Social Democrats (SD) will attempt to form a majority coalition government together with two other parties following the country’s parliamentary election, its leader said Sunday. Early results showed SD ahead in the election, which was dominated by concerns over living costs and potential threats from neighboring Russia. “I think it will be a coalition with two left parties,” Vilija Blinkeviciute …
Thousands march in Spain to demand affordable housing
Madrid — Thousands protested Sunday in Madrid to demand more affordable housing amid rising anger from Spaniards who feel they are being priced out of the market. Under the slogan “Housing is a right, not a business,” residents marched in the Spanish capital to demand lower housing rental prices and better living conditions. Twelve thousand people took to the streets, according to the Spanish government. “Spaniards …
Ukraine’s human rights envoy urges response to alleged killings of Ukrainian POWs in Kursk
Kyiv — Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman urged international organizations Sunday to respond to a claim that several Ukrainian prisoners of war were executed in Russia’s Kursk region, where Kyiv had launched an incursion in August. DeepState, a Ukrainian battlefield analysis site close to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, said Russian troops shot and killed nine Ukrainian “drone operators and contractors” on Oct. 10 after they had surrendered. Dmytro …
Ukrainian move to ban Moscow-linked church stirs anger in Russia
moscow — Speaking behind the thick white walls of Moscow’s ancient Danilov Monastery, Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk is adamant: People must not be forbidden to pray in their chosen branch of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. He speaks calmly, but Yakimchuk is one of many Orthodox Christians in Russia who are angry about a law passed by Kyiv in August that targets a Russia-linked Orthodox church that long dominated …
Lithuanians elect new parliament amid cost of living, security worries
VILNIUS, Lithuania — Lithuanians elect a new parliament Sunday in a vote dominated by concerns over the cost of living and potential threats from neighboring Russia, with the opposition Social Democrats tipped to emerge as the largest party but well short of a majority. The outgoing center-right coalition of Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte has seen its popularity eroded by high inflation that topped 20% two years …
Afghan man imprisoned in France, accused of planning ‘violent action’
paris — A 22-year-old Afghan was indicted and imprisoned in France on Saturday, accused of supporting the ideology of the Islamic State (IS) and of having “fomented” a “plan for violent action” in a football stadium or a shopping center. His arrest, which took place Tuesday in Haute-Garonne, has “links” with the arrest of an Afghan living in the United States and charged Wednesday with planning …
North Kosovo ethnic tensions at risk for violence, NATO official says
PRISTINA, KOSOVO — Persistent ethnic tension in north Kosovo could trigger a repeat of violence seen in the area last year when four people died in a gun battle and NATO peacekeepers were hurt in clashes, a senior official from the military alliance warned Saturday. Kosovo is predominantly ethnic Albanian, but about 50,000 Serbs in the north reject Pristina’s government and see Belgrade as their capital. …
Iran sends satellites to Russia for rocket launch, Tasnim reports
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Iran has sent two locally made satellites to Russia to be put into orbit by a Russian space vehicle, the semi-official news agency Tasnim reported Saturday, in the latest space cooperation between the two U.S.-sanctioned countries. The development of Kowsar, a high-resolution imaging satellite, and Hodhod, a small communications satellite, is the first substantial effort by Iran’s private space sector, the …
Ukraine, Russia each say they foiled dozens of drone attacks
Kyiv, Ukraine — Russia said on Saturday it had downed 47 Ukrainian drones while Kyiv reported neutralized 24 drones fired by Moscow. The Ukrainian air force said many missiles were fired from the Russian border region of Belgorod, without specifying the number or the type. It said Russia had fired 28 drones at Ukraine, of which 24 were destroyed in the Sumy, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Mikolayev and …
Nazi-looted Monet artwork returned to family generations later
NEW ORLEANS — On the eve of World War II, Nazis in Austria seized a pastel by renowned impressionist artist Claude Monet, selling it off and sparking a family’s decadeslong search that culminated Wednesday in New Orleans. At an FBI field office, agents lifted a blue veil covering the Monet pastel and presented Adalbert Parlagi’s granddaughters with the artwork over 80 years after it was taken …
Meta removes fake accounts in Moldova ahead of presidential election
STOCKHOLM — Meta Platforms said on Friday that it had removed a network of group accounts targeting Russian speakers in Moldova ahead of the country’s October 20 election, for violation of the company’s policy on fake accounts. Authorities in Moldova, an ex-Soviet state lying between Romania and Ukraine, said they had blocked dozens of Telegram channels and chat bots linked to a drive to pay voters …
Russian state media uses AI-generated images of Florida’s Disney World flooded by Milton
The photographs are AI-generated fakes. While Milton flooded and destroyed hundreds of buildings, taking lives and devastating Florida, Disney World was closed to visitors but not flooded. …
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy city-hops across Europe, promoting ‘victory plan’
ROME — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was city-hopping across Europe on Thursday to promote a “victory plan” that he said “aims to create the right conditions for a just end to the war” against Russia, detailing the proposals to European allies after a summit with President Joe Biden was derailed by Hurricane Milton. Zelenskyy’s talks in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO Secretary-General …
Russian propagandists push fake story that Zelenskyy bought Hitler’s car
washington — The article in the Seattle Tribune had everything: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Adolf Hitler and a $15 million classic car. Unsurprisingly, it spread like wildfire across Russia’s state and pro-Kremlin media. But the subject was a strange one for a news site about a U.S. city; such outlets usually cover only local stories. In fact, the article with headline “Hitler’s parade car bought by …
Russian opposition politician Kara-Murza: ‘Putin must lose in Ukraine’
WASHINGTON — Russian opposition politician and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza was released from a Russian prison on August 1 as part of a wide-ranging exchange of prisoners between Russia and several Western countries. He had been jailed in April 2022 on charges of treason for criticizing Russia’s war in Ukraine. He was almost fatally poisoned twice, in 2015 and 2017. Since his release, Kara-Murza has been actively …
Police investigate shooting near Israeli target in Sweden; no injuries reported
STOCKHOLM — Swedish police said on Thursday they were investigating a shooting near an Israeli target in the city of Gothenburg, which the national broadcaster said was a unit of Israeli defense electronics firm Elbit Systems. Police said in a statement it had apprehended a young suspect at the scene and launched a probe into suspected attempted murder and serious weapons crimes. They did not identify …
Russia-Ukraine war appears frozen in place as winter approaches
WASHINGTON — Neither rising death tolls nor plunging temperatures are likely to change the trajectory of Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to senior U.S. officials charged with supporting Kyiv’s fight against Moscow’s forces. The officials, briefing reporters Wednesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss battlefield developments, said fighting over the past several weeks has resulted in only minor changes to the front lines, with few …