CNN – Europe/Mideast/Africa

By Celine Alkhaldi and Ramin Mostaghim Iranian police called the death of Mahsa Amini an “unfortunate incident” and denied that she was harmed physically in custody, semi-official news agency Fars News said on Monday. Amini, 22, who was stopped and detained by Iran‘s morality police in Tehran on Tuesday, died after falling into a coma

By Darya Tarasova, CNN Russian pop legend Alla Pugacheva criticized the country as having “illusory aims” in Ukraine on Sunday, becoming the latest high-profile Russian figure to voice opposition to the war. Her comments came in an Instagram post in which she expressed support for her husband, Maxim Galkin, a comedian who was designated a

By Mohammed Tawfeeq and Heather Chen, CNN Five Syrian soldiers were killed in Israeli airstrikes that targeted Damascus International Airport and other areas near the capital, the Syrian Defense Ministry said on Saturday. The ministry said Israel had fired “bursts of missiles” from northeast of Lake Tiberias in Israel, targeting the airport and several security

By Matthew Chance, Katharina Krebs and Rachel Clarke, CNN Russia’s military failures in its war with Ukraine are stirring new opposition to President Vladimir Putin, according to two local politicians who are taking a stand against him. The lack of a quick victory, the inability to take Kyiv and now the successful counter-offensives by Ukraine

By Adam Pourahmadi and Jonny Hallam, CNN A 22-year-old Iranian woman has died after being arrested by Iran’s morality police earlier this week, Iran’s semi-official Etemad Online website reported, quoting her uncle. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has ordered an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death, Iranian state news agency ISNA reported on Friday. On

By Christian Edwards, CNN While thousands of people have taken to the streets of the United Kingdom to remember Queen Elizabeth II following her death last week, critics of the monarchy have used this opportunity to protest, holding signs such as “not my King” — a reference to the new King Charles III. Police have

By Nick Paton Walsh, Natalie Gallón, Kostyantin Gak, Brice Laine, Jonny Hallam, Brad Lendon, Tim Lister, Yulia Kesaieva, Maria Avdeeva, Victoria Butenko and Ivana Kottasová, CNN Even the heavy rainfall couldn’t erase the smell of death in the pine forest in Izium on Friday afternoon, as Ukrainian investigators worked their way through a mass burial

By Sana Noor Haq and Oleksandra Ochman, CNN Ukraine says Russian missile strikes have broken a major dam in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, the latest attack from Moscow in a series of bombardments on civilian infrastructure. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Russia targeted the Karachunivske Reservoir, adding that it had

By Saskya Vandoorne, Melissa Bell and Olga Voitovych, CNN Shevchenkove may have been liberated after more than six months of Russian occupation, but in the run-down streets of this small town in northeastern Ukraine, there are no scenes of joy. Its streets were practically deserted Tuesday, five days after Ukrainian forces swept through. Their trucks

By AnneClaire Stapleton, CNN Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has emerged with “no serious injuries” from a car collision in Kyiv on Wednesday. According to a statement from the president’s press secretary, “a car collided with the car of the President of Ukraine and escort vehicles.” Medics accompanying Zelensky gave emergency aid to the car’s driver

Story by Reuters The head of Sweden‘s Moderate Party, Ulf Kristersson, said on Wednesday he would begin the work of forming a new government after Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson conceded her Social Democrats had lost the weekend’s general election. The Moderates, Sweden Democrats, Christian Democrats and Liberals appear set to get 176 seats in the

By Yulia Kesaieva and Sana Noor Haq, CNN Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited newly liberated Izium in the northeastern region of Kharkiv on Wednesday, five days after the country’s forces recaptured the city. Photographs on the Facebook page of an army unit showed Zelensky at a ceremony in the main square to raise the Ukrainian

By Tara Subramaniam, CNN Despite earlier claims of a ceasefire, fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia continued Wednesday, a day after nearly 100 soldiers died in clashes, according to the Azerbaijani and Armenian ministries of defense. Russia suggested it had brokered a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan in a statement Tuesday, but it proved short-lived. The

By Max Foster, CNN The Royal family had dinner together at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday after receiving the Queen’s coffin, a source exclusively told CNN. The Queen’s coffin was received at Buckingham Palace by the King, the Queen Consort and the children and grandchildren of the Queen, including Prince William and Harry and their spouses.

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of Great Britain’s Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II. Personal Birth date: June 10, 1921 Death date: April 09, 2021 Birth place: Corfu, Greece Birth name: Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark Father: Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark Mother: Princess Alice of Battenberg Marriage:

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at the life of the Princess of Wales, the former Catherine (Kate) Middleton. Personal Birth date: January 9, 1982 Birth place: Reading, Berkshire, England Birth name: Catherine Elizabeth Middleton Father: Michael Middleton, former airline pilot, now mail-order business owner Mother: Carole (Goldsmith) Middleton, former flight attendant Marriage: Prince

Exclusive by Rebecca Wright, Sam Kiley, Olha Konovalova and Peter Rudden, CNN Burned-out tanks and trucks emblazoned with Russia’s signature ‘Z’ symbol lie at the side of the road, gutted and red with new rust. A collapsed bridge is covered in signs warning of landmines. Further along, the wreckage of a car is left alongside

By Philip Wang, Ellie Kaufman, Anna Chernova and Tara Subramaniam, CNN Russia claimed it has brokered a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan after fighting erupted on the border between the two countries this week, bringing a decades-old conflict to the brink of reigniting. “We call on the parties to refrain from further escalation of the

By Sana Noor Haq, Kostan Nechyporenko and Anna Chernova, CNN President Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a stark warning to Moscow, declaring that “history will put everything in its place” as Ukrainian troops swept through the northeastern region of Kharkiv. In a Telegram post addressed to Russia, Zelensky asked: “Do you still think that we are

By Bethlehem Feleke, CNN Forces in Ethiopia’s Tigray region said they are ready to observe an immediate ceasefire and accept an African Union-led peace process to end a conflict with federal forces that has stretched over nearly two years. “We are ready to abide by an immediate and mutually agreed cessation of hostilities in order

By Stephanie Busari, CNN The death of Queen Elizabeth II has prompted an outpouring of reflection and reaction online. But not all was grief — some young Africans instead are sharing images and stories of their own elders, who endured a brutal period of British colonial history during the Queen’s long reign. “I cannot mourn,”

By Ivana Kottasová, Tim Lister, Yulia Kesaieva, Denis Lapin, Josh Pennington and Victoria Butenko, CNN When Ukrainian forces entered the city of Izium Saturday, it was more than a major military victory. It was a sign the war in Ukraine might be entering a new phase, one in which Russian troops are scrambling to hold

By Max Foster, CNN With her husband’s accession to the throne following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, Camilla has become Queen Consort and will take on a new and more prominent role alongside King Charles III. Just over 25 years after the death of Charles’ first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, Camilla

By Travis Caldwell, Christina Walker, Aditi Sangal and Hannah Strange, CNN The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

By Simone McCarthy, Tara John, Barry Neild, Max Foster and Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN King Charles III returned to London on Friday where he will address the nation as the United Kingdom faces a new era without Queen Elizabeth II at its helm. Tributes have poured in from across the globe for Elizabeth, who died at

By Rob Picheta, Vasco Cotovio and Olga Voitovych, CNN Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed “good news” from the northeastern Kharkiv region, after an apparent surprise counter-offensive forced Russian troops onto the back foot and prompted a pro-Kremlin official to call for evacuations. The Russian-installed head of the Kupiansk city administration, Vitaly Ganchev, urged women

By Max Foster and Ivana Kottasová, CNN Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has postponed a key meeting on Wednesday after being advised by doctors to rest, Buckingham Palace said. The 96-year-old monarch was scheduled to attend a virtual meeting of her Privy Council on Wednesday, a day after she appointed Liz Truss as the new UK

By Teele Rebane, Clare Sebastian and Hannah Ritchie, CNN Russian President Vladimir Putin Putin threatened Wednesday to restrict Ukrainian grain exports to European countries and accused them of acting “like colonial powers,” as he used misleading figures to claim that developing countries are receiving a fraction of the exports they were expecting under the UN-brokered

CNN exclusive by Rebecca Wright, Sam Kiley and Olha Konovalova On the first day of the counteroffensive in southern Ukraine, Mark Ayres fired more than 2,000 rounds from his Soviet-designed PK machine gun during fierce firefights with Russian forces. The former British soldier is working with a reconnaissance unit of the Ukrainian military in the

By CNN Staff Two Iranians were sentenced to death by a court for “corruption on earth,” Iran’s state news agency IRNA said Monday. One of them, Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani, was described by Amnesty International earlier this year as a gender nonconforming person and LGBTI activist who was detained by authorities “due to her real or perceived

By Vasco Cotovio and Tara John, CNN In his first television interview since returning from a visit to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told CNN the situation at the facility continues to be “very worrying” and warned “we are playing with fire.” Speaking from

By Abeer Salman and Kareem Damanhoury, CNN A Palestinian man was shot dead and 16 others were wounded during an Israeli military operation in Jenin in the West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said Tuesday. The ministry identified the dead man as 29-year-old Mohammad Sabaaneh. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were in Jenin “in

By Hadas Gold and Abeer Salman, CNN The Israel Defense Forces have ​admitted for the first time that there is a “high possibility” Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed by Israeli fire while covering an Israeli military operation in Jenin in May, the IDF announced Monday. “[I]t appears that it

By Stephanie Busari, Bethlehem Feleke and Larry Madowo, CNN Kenya’s Supreme Court on Monday upheld results declaring William Ruto winner of last month’s presidential elections. Ruto, 55, won with 50.49% of the vote against his rival Raila Odinga’s 48.85%, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) announced in August. The announcement of the results then

By Sahar Akbarzai, Sharon Braithwaite and Jonny Hallam, CNN A private jet crashed into the Baltic Sea off the coast of Latvia on Sunday, hours after NATO jets were scrambled to follow the plane. The Austrian-registered Cessna Citation 551 departed Jerez, Spain at 12:56 UTC (8:56am ET) and its intended destination was Cologne, Germany, according

By Ivana Kottasová, CNN Pope Francis says he has taken it on himself to rid the Catholic Church of sexual abuse, telling CNN’s partner channel CNN Portugal that he was “responsible that it doesn’t happen anymore.” In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview in Rome last month, the Pontiff said the church had “zero tolerance” for abuse

By Hadas Gold and Ibrahim Dahman, CNN Hamas executed five Palestinians in Gaza, including two on charges of cooperating with Israel, the militant group announced on Sunday — the first known executions in Gaza in more than five years. In a statement, the Ministry of Interior said the two were convicted of communicating with “hostile

By Chris Liakos and Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN Ukraine’s largest nuclear plant lost its main connection to the power grid again Saturday amid sustained shelling, despite the presence of international inspectors. Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is now relying on a reserve line to supply electricity to the grid, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. Inspectors

By Renee Bertini, CNN The first time he walked through the doors of the Institut de Formation Politique (IFP), French student Jacques Smith noticed the cozy atmosphere and the elite feel of the place — but mainly, that he was “surrounded by right-wing people and right-wing lecturers,” he told CNN. As an overtly right-wing student,

By Frederik Pleitgen and Tara John, CNN Russians said farewell to the last leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev on Saturday in a funeral that has been snubbed by President Vladimir Putin. A public farewell ceremony for Gorbachev, who died this week at the age of 91, came to a close despite people still

By Tara Subramaniam, CNN The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

By Sara Sidner, Lauren Kent, Victoria Butenko, Sandi Sidhu and Kostyantyn Gak, CNN It was a chilling shooting: Russian soldiers caught on camera killing unarmed Ukrainian civilians as they walked away from an encounter on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv. CNN first reported on the shooting in May, after obtaining exclusive surveillance video of

By Mostafa Salem, CNN Authorities in Saudi Arabia have confiscated 47 million amphetamine pills which were hidden in a flour shipment, in an operation described as the biggest one-time drug smuggling attempt in terms of narcotics seized. The pills were confiscated at a warehouse after arriving through the dry port of the capital Riyadh, the

By Uliana Pavlova, Olga Voitovych, Sarah Dean, Hannah Ritchie and Tara John, CNN Most of the international team of nuclear experts visiting the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Thursday have left, after overcoming initial challenges in reaching the facility, which included an hours-long delay, and a drive through an active war zone to reach

By Ivana Kottasová and Anna Chernova, CNN Vladimir Putin will not attend the funeral of Mikhail Gorbachev, the Kremlin said Thursday, in a snub of the former Soviet leader with whom the Russian President had a fraught relationship. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “Putin’s work schedule will not allow him to take part in the farewell

By Tara Subramaniam and Jack Guy, CNN The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

By Rebecca Wright, Olga Konovalova and Kostyantin Gak When the Russian invasion began, Maria Pokusaeva knew that she wouldn’t leave her home in southern Ukraine, despite being close to the front lines of the conflict. Tending to her geese, chickens and sole cow on the family’s small holding was a way of life, and she

From CNN’s Petro Zadorozhnny, Daria Makina and Vica Butenko The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it plans to establish a permanent presence at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, where constant shelling has sparked fears of a nuclear accident. The announcement from Rafael Grossi, the IAEA chief, came shortly after he and

By Tara Subramaniam, Lianne Kolirin, Adrienne Vogt and Aditi Sangal, CNN The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

By Jessie Yeung and Lianne Kolirin, CNN The death of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, known for his pivotal role in ending the Cold War and introducing key reforms to the USSR, has prompted an outpouring of condolences and tributes from world leaders. Gorbachev died age 91 on Tuesday following a long illness, according to

Story by Reuters Scientists in Spain have unlocked the genetic code of the “immortal jellyfish” — a creature capable of repeatedly reverting into a juvenile state — in hopes of unearthing the secret to their unique longevity, and find new clues to human aging. In their study, published on Monday in the Proceedings of the

By Susannah Cullinane and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN Mikhail Gorbachev — the last leader of the former Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991 — has died at the age of 91. Gorbachev died after a long illness, Russian state news agencies reported. “Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev died this evening after a severe and prolonged illness,” the Central

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of Diana, Princess of Wales. Personal Birth date: July 1, 1961 Death date: August 31, 1997 Birth place: Norfolk, England Birth name: Diana Frances Spencer Father: Edward John, 8th Earl Spencer Mother: Frances (Ruth Burke-Roche) Spencer Marriage: Charles (Philip Arthur George), Prince of Wales (July 29,

By Olga Voitovych, Jo Shelley, Tara John, Olga Konovalova, Rebecca Wright, CNN As Ukraine ramps up its offensive to retake Russian-occupied territory in the country’s south, its forces have regained four villages and broken through Russian defenses at multiple points of the frontline in the Kherson region, according to Ukrainian officials. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky

By Aqeel Najim, Mostafa Salem, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Eyad Kourdi and Ivana Kottasová, CNN Powerful Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his supporters to go home on Tuesday, 24 hours after his announcement of withdrawal from politics prompted his loyalists to rampage through the capital’s streets in a show of force. At least 21 people were