CNN – Europe/Mideast/Africa

By Andrew Carey and Hadas Gold, CNN For the first time in history an Israeli Prime Minister has made an official visit to the United Arab Emirates. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed at his private palace in Abu Dhabi on Monday, according to Bennett’s office.

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at the life of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of the alleged 9/11 co-conspirators. Personal Birth date: March 1, 1964 or April 14, 1965 (both are used) Birth place: Kuwait Father: Father’s name unavailable publicly Mother: Mother’s name unavailable publicly Marriage: Wife’s name unavailable publicly Education: Attended Chowan College;

By Hannah Ryan, CNN A bishop in Spain has had his clerical powers removed following his marriage to a “transgressive” author of erotica with satanic undertones. The diocese of Solsona — where Xavier Novell Goma has been serving as a bishop — issued a statement on Saturday that said Novell is now forbidden from administering

By Tamara Qiblawi, CNN Four-year-old Azhi hobbles across a makeshift migrant center on the Polish-Belarusian border. Grabbing his mother’s hand for support, he carefully tucks his legs under piles of donated blankets. Metal rods tower above the people to prop up a giant zinc roof. Azhi, who has splints on his legs, is smiling and

By Radina Gigova and Barbie Nadeau, CNN At least three people have died and at least six others are missing after several buildings in the southern Italian town of Ravanusa collapsed early Sunday morning, according to the Civil Protection Department in Sicily. Two people have been rescued, authorities said. Ravanusa Mayor Carmelo D’Angelo said in

By Vasco Cotovio and Phillipe Vieira, CNN South African authorities have arrested a convicted Portuguese banker that had fled from the country in mid-September. “We first want to thank South African police authorities,” Portugal’s Judiciary Police director Luís Neves said, as he announced that banker João Rendeiro had been captured, on Saturday morning. Neves said

By Jeevan Ravindran, CNN The bishop of Noto in Sicily stunned schoolchildren last week when he dropped a bombshell during an arts festival — telling them Father Christmas wasn’t real. “No, Santa Claus does not exist. In fact, I would add that the red of the suit he wears was chosen by Coca Cola exclusively

By Mohammed Tawfeeq and Charbel Mallo, CNN A Hamas warehouse filled with ammunition at a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon exploded on Friday, causing casualties, according to Lebanon state-run NNA news. “Sounds of explosions were heard in the al-Burj al-Shamali camp for Palestinian refugees, east of Tyre, in one of the Palestinian Islamic centers

By Martin Goillandeau, CNN Tigrayan forces summarily executed dozens of civilians in two towns they controlled in Ethiopia’s northern Amhara region between August 31 and September 9, 2021, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday. HRW urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to create an international inquiry into the abuses committed by warring parties

By Laura Smith-Spark, Claudia Rebaza and Sebastian Shukla, CNN US authorities have won their bid to overturn a British judge’s ruling that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should not be extradited to face charges in the United States, on the basis of assurances given about his treatment there. The 50-year-old Australian has been charged in the

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at the life of Ahmed Qorei, former prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority. Personal Birth date: March 1937 Birth place: Abu Dis, West Bank Birth name: Ahmed Ali Mohammed Qorei Other Facts His last name can be spelled Qurei, Qureia, Qrei, Qurai or Korei. It is pronounced

By Matthew Chance, CNN Ukrainian defense officials say Russia has increased troop numbers near the Ukrainian border to 120,000 people, including additional army, air force and naval personnel. According to its latest ongoing security assessment — shared with CNN by Ukrainian security sources — the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said “combat and other military equipment,

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas leader in Gaza. Personal Birth date: 1962 Birth place: Shati refugee camp, near Gaza City Father: Father was a fisherman Marriage: Amal Haniyeh Children: 13 Education: Islamic University of Gaza, 1987 Religion: Muslim Timeline 1987-1988 – Joins Hamas, during the first intifada. 1988 –

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of Angela Merkel, former chancellor of Germany. Personal Birth date: July 17, 1954 Birth place: Hamburg, Germany Birth name: Angela Dorothea Kasner Father: Horst Kasner, a Lutheran minister Mother: Herlind Kasner, an English teacher Marriages: Joachim Sauer (1998-present); Ulrich Merkel (1977-1982, divorced) Education: University of Leipzig,

By Laura Smith-Spark and Stephanie Halasz, CNN Germany recorded its highest number of daily deaths from Covid-19 since February on Wednesday, as it struggles to bring a fourth wave of the pandemic under control. A total of 69,601 new infections were reported and an additional 527 people died in the past 24 hours, according to

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of Keith Richards, musician and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Personal Birth date: December 18, 1943 Birth place: Dartford, Kent, United Kingdom Birth name: Keith Richards Father: Bert Richards, factory worker Mother: Doris (Dupress) Richards Marriage: Patti Hansen (1983-present) Children: with Patti Hansen: Theodora and

By Salma Abdelaziz, CNN Illustrations by Alberto Mier, CNN Produced by Monica Sarkar, CNN Editor’s note: This story is part of CNN’s commitment to covering issues around identity, including race, gender, sexuality, religion, class and caste. Berlin (CNN) — “We can do it!” When tens of thousands of desperate migrants made the treacherous journey to

By Ivana Kottasová, CNN Olaf Scholz has been sworn in as Germany’s new Chancellor on Wednesday, bringing to an end Angela Merkel’s four terms at the helm of Europe’s largest economy. Scholz, the leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), won the secret vote in the Parliament as expected, a culmination of months of negotiations

By Matthew Chance and Katharina Krebs, CNN Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has told CNN there will be a “really bloody massacre” if Russia decides to invade Ukraine, and warned that “Russian guys also will come back in the coffins,” amid heightened alarm about troop movements on the nations’ border. Reznikov urged US President Joe

By Clarissa Ward, Brent Swails and Scott McWhinnie, CNN Photographs by Brent Swails, CNN Many of the main roads running through Unity State are now completely submerged, yet the traffic remains. There are no cars, just people, some of whom swim, others wade, pushing their way through the heavy silt-laden water. The more fortunate glide

By Larry Madowo and Bethlehem Feleke, CNN Johannesburg’s Rivers Church, a trendy Christian community for the city’s hip and spiritual, has suspended in-person services indefinitely due to a new surge in Covid-19 cases in South Africa. “We love and miss you but stay safe,” wrote the church’s senior pastor Wilma Isabel Olivier on her Instagram.

By Delia Gallagher, CNN Pope Francis met with refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Sunday, his second trip to the island — which has become a symbol of the migrant crisis — in five years. “Please let us stop this shipwreck of civilization!” the Pope said at the Mytilene Reception and Identification Center, decrying

By Zaina Adamu and Stephanie Busari, CNN African leaders are hitting back against travel bans imposed over the Omicron variant, accusing wealthy countries of being hypocrites for delivering new restrictions instead of the vaccine doses the continent desperately needs. Omicron, initially detected in Botswana, has reignited debate over the effectiveness of strict border closures and

By Hadas Gold, CNN In a nondescript office park in the desert town of Be’er Sheva, a “war room” filled with screens showing various maps, rolling information, and graphics inform around a dozen or so staffers, manning computers at the central heart of Israel’s civilian cyber defense system. So important is their mission that the

CNN Editorial Research Syria is a Middle Eastern country sharing a border with Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. About Syria (from the CIA World Factbook)Area: 187,437 sq km Population: 21,563,800 (2022 est.) Median age: 23.5 years old Capital: Damascus Ethnic Groups: Arab 50%, Alawite 15%, Kurd 10%, Levantine 10%, other 15% (includes Druze, Ismaili,

By Matthew Chance and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN Tensions between Ukraine and Russia are at their highest in years, with a Russian troop build-up near the two nations’ borders spurring fears that Moscow could launch an invasion. Ukraine has warned that Russia is trying to destabilize the country ahead of any planned military invasion. Western powers

By Delia Gallagher, CNN and Reuters Pope Francis arrived in Cyprus Thursday, where he called on residents to “welcome and integrate one another,” referencing the divisions that the migrant crisis has sowed on the island nation. The country has said that it is struggling to cope with an influx of migrants, many of whom travel

By Xiaofei Xu, CNN A man dressed like a ninja was shot by French police after he attempted to attack two officers with a sword in the western city of Cherbourg on Thursday, authorities said. The incident escalated as two female police officers approached the man to question him regarding a car theft. “He was

By Xiaofei Xu and Anaëlle Jonah, CNN Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Michel Aupetit from the position of Archbishop of Paris following reports that Aupetit had a consensual “intimate relationship” with a woman. The move was announced in a statement from the Vatican Thursday after French magazine Le Point broke the news of

By Nadine Schmidt, CNN Former Austrian leader Sebastian Kurz said Thursday his political career was over, weeks after his office was raided by prosecutors investigating him and close team members on suspicion of bribery and breach of trust. The 35-year-old said in a televised statement he would resign as leader of the center-right Austrian People’s

By Stephanie Halasz and Chris Stern, CNN Four people have been injured in an explosion caused by an old aircraft bomb near a busy train station in the German city of Munich, police said Wednesday. The explosion happened after drilling during construction work near Donnersbergerbruecke station caused the bomb to go off, police said. By

By Al Goodman, CNN New lava tubes from the Cumbre Vieja volcano on Spain’s La Palma island have sent molten lava flowing downhill at speeds of up to 1 meter (3 feet) per second since Monday, according to the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute. Further down the mountain, on the west side of the island just

By Eliza Mackintosh, CNN Europe is considering a step once unthinkable among Western democracies: Making Covid-19 vaccinations compulsory for the entire bloc. Until now, governments around the world had rejected the idea of a universal coronavirus vaccine mandate, opting instead for incentives and other “nudges” to motivate people to get shots. Even in authoritarian states,

By John Mastrini and Ivana Kottasová, CNN When the Czech President Milos Zeman formally appointed Petr Fiala as the country’s new Prime Minister on Sunday, he did so sitting inside an acrylic glass box accompanied by health workers covered head to toe in hazmat suits. Zeman tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this week, and

By Martin Goillandeau, CNN Swiss voters on Sunday approved their government’s pandemic response plan in a referendum by a 62.01% majority, according to official results published on the Federal Chancellery’s website. With a 65.72% participation, the Sunday referendum showed that most Swiss voters are unwilling to give up restrictive measures against Covid-19, with the result

By Laura Smith-Spark, CNN Police in Liverpool, northwest England, have launched a murder inquiry after a 12-year-old girl was killed in an assault in the city center Thursday evening. Merseyside Police said the girl, named as Ava White, had been with friends at the time. The lights on the Christmas tree on Church Street, at

By CNN Staff Global police agency Interpol has elected UAE Inspector General Ahmed Naser al-Raisi, who has been accused of overseeing torture, as its new president. Raisi, who has been part of the UAE’s police force since 1980 and serves as inspector general at the country’s ministry of interior, received 68.9% of the vote at

By Radina Gigova and Nimi Princewill, CNN At least eight civilians were killed and 17 others injured, including 13 school children, after a suicide car bomb exploded in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu Thursday morning, according to state media. The blast occurred in Mogadishu’s Hodan district, near two schools and the residence of former president Abdikasim Salat

By Katie Hunt, CNN Scientists studying ancient disease have uncovered one of the earliest examples of spillover — when a disease jumps from an animal to a human — and it happened to a Neanderthal man who likely got sick butchering or cooking raw meat. Researchers were reexamining the fossilized bones of a Neanderthal who

By Helen Regan, Pierre Bairin, Dalal Mawad and Xiaofei Xu, CNN A young girl was among 27 people who drowned in bitterly cold waters off the coast of France on Wednesday, after an inflatable boat carrying migrants bound for Britain capsized, in one of the deadliest incidents in the English Channel in recent years. French

By Amy Cassidy and Niamh Kennedy, CNN, and Reuters Sweden’s first female Prime Minister, Magdalena Andersson, has resigned from office only hours after being voted in, Sweden’s official Twitter account announced Wednesday. The dramatic move came before Andersson was fully in office as she had not yet had counsel with the King, a spokesperson told

By Sheena McKenzie, CNN Three German political parties have sealed a deal for a new government, with left-leaning Olaf Scholz the proposed next chancellor following lengthy coalition negotiations and a historic election that sees Angela Merkel stepping down after 16 years at the helm. The incoming government’s vision for Germany includes plans to legalize cannabis.

By Sebastian Shukla and Frederik Pleitgen, CNN The Ukrainian naval patrol boat “Kremenchuk” churns out into the gun-grey waters of the Sea of Azov, one mounted machine gun pointing aft, another pointing fore into the drizzle. Commander Ivan Ovchar explains his ship’s mission: “To defend and maintain the sovereignty of Ukraine.” The threat, the officer

By Bethlehem Feleke, CNN Ethiopian Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy Ahmed has announced he will lead his country’s soldiers on the front lines of the war against advancing rebel fighters, in the latest escalation of the year-long conflict between his government and rebel groups from the northern Tigray region. “Starting tomorrow, I

By Hada Messia, CNN Rudy Guede, the only person to remain convicted over the murder of British student Meredith Kercher in Italy, has been released from prison, his lawyer Fabrizio Ballarini told CNN on Tuesday. Kercher’s body was found in the apartment she shared with roommate Amanda Knox in Perugia, Italy, in November 2007. The

By Xiaofei Xu and Sheena McKenzie, CNN France’s prime minister has tested positive for Covid-19, forcing five Belgian ministers to also go into self-isolation after meeting with the French politician Monday. Prime Minister Jean Castex, who is fully vaccinated, tested positive for the virus after returning to France from a visit with ministers in Brussels,

By Radina Gigova, CNN and Reuters At least 45 people, including 12 children, were killed when their bus crashed and erupted in flames in Bulgaria early Tuesday, authorities said. Authorities believe the bus was carrying a total of 52 passengers, most of whom were tourists from North Macedonia, when the incident occurred at around 3

Story by Reuters Portugal shut down its last remaining coal plant over the weekend, ending the use of the polluting material for electricity generation and becoming the fourth country in the European Union to do so. Environmental group Zero said in a statement the Pego plant in central Portugal had been the country’s second-largest emitter

By Cristiana Moisescu and Ben Wedeman, CNN “It’s relentless — relentless,” sighed nurse Claudiu Ionita, standing in front of a line of gurneys in Bucharest University Hospital’s morgue. On each gurney lay a body inside a black plastic bag. The morgue has a capacity for 15 bodies, but on the day CNN visited, it had

By Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN Most of the 250 permanent residents of a volcanic Italian island have been told to evacuate after levels of carbon dioxide in the air spiked dangerously, causing respiratory problems to people and their pets. Carbon dioxide levels around the volcanic island of Vulcano in the Aeolian archipelago off the north

By Martin Goillandeau and Sana Noor Haq, CNN A 70-year-old man sustained a “serious leg injury” in southwestern France on Saturday after an encounter with a bear, according to a statement from the southwestern prefecture of Ariège. The hunter, who had been pursuing wild boars, was assisted by the high mountain gendarmerie team and promptly

By Yassir Abdullah and Eyad Kourdi, CNN Sudan’s military chief on Sunday reinstated Abdalla Hamdok as prime minister, almost a month after he was ousted in a military takeover. Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan appeared with Hamdok at a signing ceremony in the Presidential Palace, according to a live video broadcast on state television. The deal