CNN – Europe/Mideast/Africa

By Nathan Hodge and Tim Lister, CNN Tensions in Ukraine are escalating. The country’s eastern Donbas region — where fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces have simmered since 2015 — experienced its worst shelling in years this week. And diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions have, so far, failed to reach a conclusion. As tensions

By Eliza Mackintosh, CNN After months of military buildup and brinkmanship on Ukraine’s border, Russia is ratcheting up pressure on its ex-Soviet neighbor, threatening to destabilize Europe and draw in the United States. Russia has been tightening its military grip around Ukraine since last year, amassing tens of thousands of soldiers, as well as equipment

By Nadeen Ebrahim and Eoin McSweeney, CNN A Russian invasion of Ukraine would send shockwaves across Europe and perhaps as far west as the United States. But a region further south may find itself an unlikely victim of a potential conflict. Ukraine and Russia account for 23% of the world’s wheat exports, according to S&P

By Xiaofei Xu and Anaëlle Jonah, CNN “The Little Prince” has arrived in Paris, nearly eight decades after it was written. The iconic novella was penned by French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery in New York during World War II, and now 30 handwritten pages of the original manuscript are on display at the Museum of

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the USSR. Personal Birth date: March 2, 1931 Death date: August 30, 2022 Birth place: Privolnoye, Russia, Soviet Union Birth name: Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev Father: Sergei Andreyevich Gorbachev Mother: Maria (Gopkalo) Gorbacheva Marriage: Raisa (Titarenko) Gorbacheva (1953-September 20, 1999, her

By Tim Lister, Paul P. Murphy, Gianluca Mezzofiore and Katie Polglase, CNN Don’t Trust — Do Verify: That’s the unofficial mantra from Western officials in response to Russia’s declarations that some of their units that have been encircling Ukraine are now returning to base. Russia appears keen to prove those declarations to the world through

By Xiaofei Xu and Anaëlle Jonah, CNN France and Western countries involved in French-led anti-terrorist operations in West Africa will begin their withdraw from Mali, French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday. “We cannot remain militarily engaged alongside de facto authorities whose strategy and hidden objectives we do not share,” Macron told reporters. “The fight against

By Sean Lyngaas, Anastasia Graham-Yooll, Tim Lister and Matthew Chance, CNN A high-volume cyberattack that temporarily blocked access to the websites of Ukrainian defense agencies and banks on Tuesday was “the largest [such attack] in the history of Ukraine,” according to a government minister. Speaking at a press conference Wednesday, Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation

By Bethlehem Feleke, CNN Fighters affiliated with the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have been accused of committing atrocities including gang rape and assault in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, according to a new Amnesty International report. The Amnesty report, released Wednesday, said TPLF fighters “deliberately killed dozens of people, gang-raped dozens of women and girls —

By Ivana Kottasová, Nathan Hodge and Uliana Pavlova, CNN President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia was sending some troops back to base after completing drills and that while he is open to further negotiations on the Ukraine crisis, Moscow’s security demands were an “unconditional priority.” Russia’s claims about troop movements were met with skepticism

By Tim Lister, Gianluca Mezzofiore and Paul P. Murphy, CNN The build-up of Russian forces close to the Ukrainian border continues apace, with everything from submarines and amphibious landing ships in the Black Sea to short-range ballistic missiles, tanks and howitzers around Ukraine’s northeastern edges. CNN has geolocated and authenticated social media videos of these

By Nimi Princewill, CNN Nigeria’s ‘super cop’ Abba Kyari, has been arrested over his alleged involvement in a cocaine smuggling cartel, the police said Monday. Kyari and four other police officers were arrested “for…criminal conspiracy, discreditable, unethical, and unprofessional conduct, official corruption and tampering with exhibits in a case of illicit drug trafficking involving a

By Jomana Karadsheh and Eoin McSweeney, CNN The speed of the shifts in the Middle East’s geopolitical scene is enough to give even the most seasoned regional observers whiplash Longtime foes Iran and Saudi Arabia are talking, the UAE is trying to mend ties with Iran, and Qatar was welcomed back into the Gulf Cooperation

By Max Foster and Hannah Ryan, CNN Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall has tested positive for Covid-19, Clarence House said on Monday, four days after her husband Prince Charles was revealed to have contracted the virus. “Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall has tested positive for Covid-19 and is self-isolating. We continue to follow government

By Sana Noor Haq, CNN A mezzanine floor collapsed at a bar in east London on Saturday, leaving more than a dozen people injured. The London Air Ambulance Service (LAS) responded to reports at 4:44 p.m. local time that an area of the building had given way at the Two More Years bar and restaurant

By Tara John, CNN Corpses strewn through wrecked buildings in the aftermath of an apparently deadly explosion. Distraught mourners, grieving for lost loved ones. And amid the smoldering ruins, evidence of Western military equipment. In a world all too familiar with graphic images of one disaster after another, it’s easy to imagine the grim footage.

By Elle Pickston, CNN A 12-year-old boy has died after the car he was driving collided with a truck in County Limerick, Ireland, early Friday morning, CNN affiliate Virgin Media News reported. The boy was the sole occupant of the car and died after a collision with the truck just before 2 a.m. local time

By Allegra Goodwin, CNN The President of North Macedonia walked an 11-year-old girl with Down syndrome to school after he heard she was being bullied. President Stevo Pendarovski held Embla Ademi’s hand as he walked her to her elementary school in the city of Gostivar on Monday. Embla has experienced bullying at school due as

By Tara John, Joseph Ataman, Xiaofei Xu and Anna Chernova, CNN There’s socially distanced, and then there’s French President Emmanuel Macron sitting on the opposite end of an enormous table during talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Monday. There is now insight as to why: The French leader declined the

By Nadeen Ebrahim and Eoin McSweeney, CNN He’s arguably Iraq’s best-known face abroad. Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd, was the country’s longest-serving foreign minister, often hobnobbing with Western diplomats and journalists, but also cultivating strong ties with neighboring Arab states to make his country’s case. But a bid to crown his political career with a run

By Nathan Hodge, Tara John and Anna Chernova, CNN Russia and Belarus began 10 days of joint military drills Thursday amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis over fears that the Kremlin is planning an incursion into Ukrainian territory. The military drills, called “Allied Resolve-2022,” began in Belarus and will end February 20, the

By Rob Picheta and Henrik Pettersson, CNN The threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine has placed heightened importance on the United States’ and NATO’s defenses across eastern Europe, which for decades have acted as a buffer between Russia and the West. NATO has four multinational battalion-size battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, which

By Mostafa Salem and Ramin Mostaghim, CNN The beheading of a 17-year-old girl​,​ allegedly by her husband​, in ​western Iran’s Khuzestan province last week has once again raised concern over ​the country’s laws around murder and gender-based violence. Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) referred to the alleged murder as an “honor killing.” ​A

By Hada Messia, Sharon Braithwaite and Hannah Ryan, CNN The body of a 70-year-old woman has been found in her house in northern Italy, two years after her death. Marinella Beretta lived alone near Lake Como in Lombardy. Her decomposed body was discovered on Friday by the Como fire brigade following complaints that a tree

By Ivana Kottasová, CNN The German government has appointed Jennifer Morgan, the long-time boss of Greenpeace International, as its new special envoy for climate, the country’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock announced on Wednesday, giving a boost to the green credentials of the country’s coalition government. The new appointment comes as the German government faces intense

By Andrew Carey, Abeer Salman and Amir Tal, CNN Large crowds turned out in the West Bank city of Nablus Tuesday for the funerals of three men shot dead by Israeli forces. The three belonged to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the armed wing of the Fatah organization, according to the militant group, which named

By Gianluca Mezzofiore and Tim Lister, CNN New satellite imagery obtained by CNN shows that a large base which held Russian tanks, artillery and other armor near the Ukrainian border has been largely emptied, with the equipment apparently being moved much closer to the frontier in recent days. The base is at Yelnya, southeast of

By Mick Krever and Melissa Bell, CNN It’s a frigid Friday in Ukraine’s Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, and dozens of journalists in fluorescent yellow vests are frantically elbowing each other as they vie for camera position in a town where no one has lived since 1986. Chernobyl has been abandoned since the world’s worst nuclear disaster

By Tim Lister, CNN New satellite images released by a US-based technology company appear to show that Russia’s military has advanced deployments at several locations in Belarus, a move likely to concern Ukraine and NATO amid fears that the Kremlin is planning an incursion into Ukrainian territory. The deployments are likely linked to joint exercises

By Tamara Qiblawi and Eoin McSweeney, CNN The so-called caliphate has lost its leader again. On the surface, the US commando raid in Syria that left ISIS chief Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi dead may look like a game-changer, but experts warn the resurgence of the group is likely to press on undeterred. “Thanks to the

By Arnaud Siad and Hannah Ryan, CNN A spill of more than 100,000 dead fish in the Atlantic Ocean off the French coast has been described by the French Maritime Minister as “shocking” in an incident that has drawn the attention of environmental activist groups. The French arm of Sea Shepherd — a non-profit marine

By Isil Sariyuce, for CNN Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife, Emine, have tested positive for Covid-19. Erdogan said on Twitter that the couple had contracted the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and were experiencing mild symptoms. “We will continue our work at home. We look forward to your prayers,” he said. Erdogan

By Arnaud Siad and Sana Noor Haq, CNN Iceland says it will end whaling from 2024 amid dwindling demand and continuing controversy. “There are few justifications to authorize whale hunting beyond 2024,” when current quotas expire, Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Svandís Svavarsdóttir said in an op-ed in Friday’s Morgunblaðið newspaper. The minister wrote it

By Nadine Schmidt and Tara John, CNN Austria became the first country in Europe to introduce a national Covid-19 vaccine mandate for adults on Friday after President Alexander Van der Bellen signed it into law. Austria’s sweeping measures will see those without a vaccine certificate or an exemption potentially slapped with initial fines of 600

By Celine Alkhaldi and Lianne Kolirin, CNN Moroccan rescuers are continuing rescue efforts to reach a 5-year-old boy who is trapped in a well in the north of the African country. The child, identified only as Rayan, is stuck in the well which reaches more than 100 feet (30 meters) underground in Chefchaouen province. Machines

By Tim Lister and Tamara Qiblawi, CNN In the early hours of Thursday morning, the head of ISIS died during a US raid in northwest Syria just as the extremist group was in the midst of a revival. Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi killed himself and his family after igniting a bomb at the beginning of

By Vasco Cotovio, Frederik Pleitgen and Martin Bourke, CNN The smell of jet fuel fills the air as an F/A-18 Super Hornet prepares for take-off. Its engines are idle and it’s already unbearably loud on the flight deck of the USS Harry S Truman. A flight director on the United States Navy carrier gestures towards

By Mostafa Salem and Hamdi Alkhshali, CNN Three hostile drones were intercepted over the United Arab Emirates at dawn on Wednesday, the country’s defense ministry said. The drones managed to penetrate Emirati airspace but were destroyed away from populated areas, the ministry said on Twitter. It’s unclear to whom the drones belonged. Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi

By Gianluca Mezzofiore and Tim Lister, CNN More evidence has emerged of a steady build-up of Russian military equipment and deployments around Ukraine, with new satellite images revealing a further expansion of the military presence at multiple locations in Belarus, Crimea and western Russia. Russian forces have moved into Belarus in the last two weeks.

By Tim Lister and Clarissa Ward, CNN On the frontlines east of the port city of Mariupol, the Ukrainian army’s defensive positions look much as they did two years ago: Platoons shelter in improvised bunkers and ruined houses, and trenches curl through the frigid landscape. The Russian border is less than 20 miles away. Beyond

By Umaro Djau, Stephanie Busari and Mitchell McCluskey, CNN Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embaló said an attempted military coup to overthrow him had failed on Tuesday, and called for calm across the country during a national address broadcast on Radio TV Bantaba. “I have never imagined that we would arrive to this type of situation,”

By Ivana Kottasová, Nathan Hodge, Anna Chernova and Jennifer Hansler, CNN The Kremlin said Tuesday that there had been a “mix-up” over its reply to the United States on the Ukraine crisis, as diplomatic efforts to deter a Russian invasion picked up pace. State Department officials confirmed Monday they had “received a written followup from

By Tamara Qiblawi, Eoin McSweeney and Abbas Al Lawati, CNN Qatar is on its way to becoming a major non-NATO ally of the United States, a sign of its growing relevance to Washington’s global agenda. Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani became the first Gulf Arab leader to visit the Biden White House on

By Andrew Carey, CNN Amnesty International has become the latest human rights organization to accuse Israel of apartheid for its treatment of Palestinians, prompting an angry response from Israel, which has denounced the report as anti-Semitic. Amnesty’s nearly 300-page report, released Tuesday, details “inhuman or inhumane acts of forcible transfer, administrative detention, torture, unlawful killings

A stripped-back report into gatherings held at the heart of the UK’s government while the country was under strict Covid-19 restrictions has now been published. In her findings, senior civil servant Sue Gray highlights “failures of leadership,” poor judgment and heavy alcohol consumption in Johnson’s administration during the pandemic. Read the full text here: The-CNN-Wire™