VIENNA (AP) — Austria said Wednesday it has ordered two diplomats from the Russian Embassy in Vienna to leave the country. An Austrian official said the expulsions were related to spying activities. The Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement that the two Russian diplomats “engaged in acts incompatible with their diplomatic status” and were declared “personae non gratae.” It …
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A religious procession in Barcelona celebrates rain during a severe drought in northeast Spain
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A religious procession in downtown Barcelona celebrated the appearance of long-awaited rain, after nine days of praying for relief from a severe drought. Around 100 local people took part in the Catholic ceremony on a rainy Saturday evening. They carried the figure of the Holy Christ of the Blood, winding their way through the city’s old …
Read More »UN watchdog’s head in Russia to discuss safety of Ukrainian nuclear plant caught in crossfire
MOSCOW (AP) — The U.N.’s atomic watchdog agency chief is visiting Russia amid concern about a Ukrainian nuclear power plant caught in the crossfire since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022 and seized the facility shortly after. IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi arrived at the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Tuesday evening, according to Russian state news agency …
Read More »At least two dozen migrants died off Senegal’s northern coast trying to reach Europe, say officials
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — At least two dozen people died off Senegal’s northern coast and many others were injured when their boat capsized, officials said, underscoring the danger of the route used by an increasing number of migrants seeking to reach Spain from West Africa. The boat was bound for Europe and capsized near the town of Saint-Louis, where bodies …
Read More »What’s life like for Russia’s political prisoners? Isolation, poor food and arbitrary punishment
This story is part of a larger series on the crackdown on dissent in Russia. Click here to read more of those stories, and the AP’s coverage of Russia’s presidential election. TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Vladimir Kara-Murza could only laugh when officials in Penal Colony No. 6 inexplicably put a small cabinet in his already-cramped concrete cell, next to a …
Read More »From gold records to gold coins. George Michael is now honored with a commemorative minting
LONDON (AP) — You gotta have more than “Faith” to pocket the new George Michael coin. A commemorative minting of coins that rolled out on Monday ranged in price from a couple of banknotes to a small fortune as the late musician continues to rack up posthumous honors years after his death. A silver-colored version stamped by the Royal Mint …
Read More »Macron booed by French farmers who blame him for not doing enough to support agriculture
PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron was greeted with boos and whistles at the opening of the Paris Agricultural Fair on Saturday by angry farmers who blame him for not doing enough to support them. Macron was scheduled to visit the event, which draws crowds of visitors every year. But before the official opening, several dozen protesters forced their …
Read More »So many sanctions on Russia. How much impact do they really have?
WASHINGTON (AP) — So many sanctions. Once again, the United States, United Kingdom and European Union are hitting Russia with a new wave of sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. This time, they come in response to the death of noted Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic penal colony last week. With Friday’s latest round of sanctions …
Read More »AP PHOTOS: War-themed murals in Kyiv honor Ukraine’s fallen soldiers
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Set against the blue and yellow of Ukraine’s flag, the vast image of a masked fighter holding a grey-and-white cat towers over a street on the side of an apartment block in Kyiv. The painting depicts volunteer Oleksiy Movchan, a 49-year-old who was killed by Russian shelling in May 2022 in the eastern Donetsk region shortly …
Read More »Navalny’s widow vows to continue his fight against the Kremlin and punish Putin for his death
The widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny vowed on Monday to continue his fight against the Kremlin, while authorities denied his mother access to a morgue where his body is believed to be held after his death last week in an Arctic penal colony. With her voice cracking at times in a video posted on social media, Yulia Navalnaya …
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