CNN – Europe/Mideast/Africa

By Rob Picheta and Chris Liakos, CNN Greece has finished building a 40-kilometer (25-mile) wall along its border with Turkey, amid concerns in parts of Europe that the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan could cause an influx of people seeking asylum. Greek government ministers toured the fence on Friday and said the overthrow of Afghanistan’s government

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the Beslan School Siege. On September 1, 2004, armed Chechen rebels took approximately 1,200 children and adults hostage at a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, Russia, at approximately 9 a.m. local time. The siege ended on September 3, 2004, with more than 330 killed, including 186 children, and

By Clarissa Ward, Brent Swails and Ivana Kottasová, CNN As news broke that the Taliban had captured Kabul, some images of uncovered women adorning the walls of beauty salons in the Afghan capital were painted over. The Taliban says it has changed, promising that women living under their rule will have more rights this time

By Anita Patrick, CNN It is one of the most anticipated Nollywood films of all time and the trailer for King Of Boys: The Return Of The King was released Monday amid frenzy from fans of the crime and political thriller, who call themselves the KOB Army. The seven-part project is Netflix’s first Original Series from

By Rob Picheta, Clarissa Ward, Brent Swails, Anna Coren and Nic Robertson, CNN Hundreds of people poured onto the tarmac at Kabul’s international airport, desperately seeking a route out of Afghanistan on Monday, after the Taliban’s sudden seizure of power sparked a chaotic Western withdrawal and brought to a crashing end the United States’ two-decade

By Julia Hollingsworth, CNN Just last week, US intelligence analysts had predicted it would likely take several more weeks before Afghanistan’s civilian government in Kabul fell to Taliban fighters. In reality, it only took a few short days. On Sunday, Taliban militants retook Afghanistan’s capital, almost two decades after they were driven from Kabul by

By Gul Tuysuz, CNN Flash floods across Turkey’s Black Sea coast have killed 58 people, officials said Sunday. The country’s Natural Disasters and Emergency Directorate (AFAD) said in a statement that 48 people died in the Kastamonu province, nine people died in Sinop and one person died in Bartin. Eight people are also receiving treatment

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of Hassan Nasrallah, secretary-general of Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shiite Muslim militant group. Personal Birth date: August 31, 1960 Birth place: Beirut, Lebanon Father: Abd al-Karim, who worked as a grocer Marriage: Fatima Yassin Children: Muhammad Hadi (died in 1997), Muhammad Jawad, Zeinab, Muhammad Ali and Muhammad

By Katharina Krebs, Zahra Ullah and Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN A BBC journalist working in Moscow said Saturday that she felt shocked she was being expelled from Russia and said she had been told she could never return to the country, in what her employer, the UK’s public broadcaster, described as a “direct assault on media

By Gul Tuysuz and Zahra Ullah, CNN A Russian aircraft deployed to Turkey to fight wildfires crashed on Saturday, killing all eight people on board, officials said. The aircraft’s five crew members were Russian and three Turkish nationals were also on board, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday, according to state

By Nimi Princewill, CNN Cameroonian tech entrepreneur Rebecca Enonchong, who was arrested earlier this week, says that the charges against her have now been dropped. “I’m free!! All charges dropped!” Enonchong said Friday on Twitter. “We can retire the #FreeRebecca hashtag. So immensely grateful to all of you for believing in me and supporting me.”

By Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Desperate, frightened and begging for help, they emerge from the darkness: a group of Yazidi migrants, lost in the forests of eastern Europe. It’s a surreal sight — and one that has been repeated over many recent nights. Having survived persecution by ISIS at home in Iraq, here on the

By Nimi Princewill, CNN Rebecca Enonchong, a Cameroonian tech entrepreneur, has been arrested and brought before a court in Douala, in Cameroon’s Littoral Region, according to her lawyer and another close associate. Enonchong has been in government custody since her arrest on Tuesday, social activist Edith Kahbang Walla told CNN Thursday. “On Tuesday she was

By Samantha Tapfumaneyi, Lauren Kent and Tim Lister, CNN Social media and messaging apps, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Twitter, appeared to be shutdown in Zambia on Thursday as the country voted in presidential and parliamentary elections, according to a Facebook spokesperson. “We’ve looked into this and can confirm that there seems to be a

By Rob Picheta, Niamh Kennedy and Anna Chernova, CNN A Russian millionaire and politician has confessed to shooting a man he says he mistook for a bear. Igor Redkin was served a two-month house arrest sentence as an interim restrictive measure for accidentally shooting the man outside a dump near the village of Ozernovsky, in

By Nima Elbagir and Lauren Kent, CNN Troops and militias aligned with the Ethiopian government have subjected hundreds of women and girls to sexual violence in Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray region, according to a new report by Amnesty International. The report details widespread rape and sexual violence carried out by members of the Ethiopian National Defense

By Monica Garrett and Angela Dewan, CNN Authorities in Italy say the island of Sicily may have set an all-time heat record for Europe, hitting a temperature of 48.8 degrees Celsius (119.8 degrees Fahrenheit). The city of Siracusa hit the blistering record on Wednesday afternoon, as an anticyclone — which Italian media reports are referring

By Mostafa Salem and Francesco Pitzalis, CNN Forest fires in Algeria killed 65 people on Tuesday, including 28 soldiers deployed to help put out the blaze, the state-run Algeria Press Service (APS) and Algerian media said. Twelve soldiers remain in critical condition after the fires broke out in the mountainous region of the country, the

By Hannah Ritchie, Nadine Schmidt and Jack Guy, CNN A nurse is being investigated by police in Germany for allegedly replacing Covid-19 vaccines with saline solution. The nurse replaced the vaccines between March and April this year at Roffhausen immunization center in Friesland, northwest Germany, the Friesland district administrator, Sven Ambrosy, said on Facebook Tuesday.

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at the abduction of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured and imprisoned by the military wing of Hamas from 2006 to 2011. Personal Birth date: August 28, 1986 Birth place: Naharia, Israel Father: Noam Shalit Mother: Aviva Shalit Marriage: Nitzan Shabbat (June 23, 2021-present) Military service: Israel Defense

By Nima Elbagir, Hamdi Alkhshali and Yassir Abdullah, CNN The Sudanese government will hand Omar al-Bashir over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) along with other officials wanted over the Darfur conflict, according to a Cabinet of Ministers in a statement to CNN. Bashir, who ruled Sudan for three decades before being deposed in 2019,

By Nadine Schmidt and Lindsay Isaac, CNN A British embassy employee suspected of spying for Russia has been arrested in the German city of Potsdam, British and German authorities said on Wednesday. The British national, identified only as David S., is suspected of having passed documents onto a Russian intelligence service in exchange for cash

By Stephanie Busari, CNN A patient with the rare, but highly infectious Marburg virus disease has died in Guinea, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) statement on Monday. It’s the first case of the Ebola-like virus in West Africa. Samples of the virus, which causes hemorrhagic fever, were taken from the patient in Gueckedou.

By Chris Liakos, Elinda Labropoulou and Amy Woodyatt, CNN Greece is facing a “natural disaster of unprecedented proportions,” as 586 wildfires burn in “all corners” of the country, according to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The Mediterranean nation is broiling under one of its worst heat waves in decades and firefighters continue to battle blazes

By Zahra Ullah, Jennifer Hansler and Hannah Ritchie, CNN Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko denied Monday that state repression exists in Belarus, while answering questions from local and foreign media. He also invited members of the public to ask questions during the press conference in Minsk. “Using repressions in Belarus would be akin to shooting oneself,”

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at the life of former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta. Personal Birth date: August 20, 1966 Birth place: Pisa, Italy Father: Giorgio Letta, a mathematics professor Mother: Anna (Banchi) Letta Marriage: Gianna Fregonara Children: Giacomo, Lorenzo, Francesco Education: University of Pisa, International Law, 1994; Scuola Superiore “S.Anna,” European

By David McKenzie, CNN Jailed former South African president Jacob Zuma has been admitted to an outside hospital for medical observation, the country’s Department of Correctional Services (DCS) said Friday in a statement. “A routine observation prompted that Mr Zuma be taken for in-hospitalization,” the statement said, without providing further details to his condition. “As

By Richard Roth, Michael Conte and Sarah Dean, CNN Fighters from Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray region have seized control of a UN World Heritage Site in a neighboring region, Reuters and AFP reported, citing eyewitnesses. Lalibela is home to 11 medieval monolithic churches that were carved out of rock some 900 years ago. The churches are

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi. Personal Birth date: December 14, 1960 Birth place: Mashhad, Iran Full name: Sayyid Ebrahim Raisol-Sadati Father: Seyyed Haji, a cleric Mother: Sayyedeh Esmat Khodadad Husseini Marriage: Jamileh Alamolhoda (1983-present) Children: Two daughters Education: Attended seminary in Qom; Shahid Motahari University, Ph.D

By Hadas Gold, CNN Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is warning that Israelis over 60 are at risk unless they go get their third booster shot immediately. In a recorded audio message meant to be forwarded to friends and family, Bennett said that in the next two to three weeks anyone who is over the

By Frederik Pleitgen, Claudia Otto and Ramin Mostaghim, CNN Ebrahim Raisi was inaugurated as Iran’s next president on Thursday, signaling the start of a new harder-line era that could herald major shifts in the Islamic Republic’s policies at home and abroad. After eight years of Hassan Rouhani’s moderate administration, Iran now turns to Raisi, an

By Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Three layers of electrified fence. New security cameras. A military guard and a sign saying “Entry forbidden.” Windows with bars and reflective glass, on newly refurbished barrack buildings. All empty, bar the occasional security officer, deep in the forest of authoritarian Belarus. These are the indications, according to videos seen

Words by Sasha Fairhead, video by Gisella Deputato, CNN Hidden amongst lush Welsh woods and fields of wildflowers, grows an assortment of rare vegetable varieties. They might look ordinary enough, but many have been saved from extinction. Each variety has its own story. The Syrian long pepper was grown from seeds taken out of the

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at the life of Pervez Musharraf, former president of Pakistan. Personal Birth date: August 11, 1943 Birth place: New Delhi, India Birth name: Pervez Musharraf Father: Syed Musharraf Uddin, career diplomat Mother: Begum Zarin Musharraf Marriage: Sehba Musharraf (December 1968-present) Children: Ayla; Bilal Education: Pakistan Military Academy, 1961;

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at the life of the Duchess of Sussex, the former actress Meghan Markle. Personal Birth date: August 4, 1981 Birth place: Los Angeles, California Birth name: Rachel Meghan Markle Father: Thomas Markle, Hollywood lighting director Mother: Doria Ragland, social worker and yoga instructor Marriages: Prince Harry, The Duke

By Chris Liakos, Laura Smith-Spark and Isil Sariyuce, CNN Extreme heat and wildfires continued to plague parts of southern Europe on Wednesday, a day after the top temperature in Greece reached 47.1 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Fahrenheit) — just shy of the highest ever recorded in Europe. Greece is facing one of its worst heat

By Tamara Qiblawi, CNN It’s been a year since one of the world’s largest ever non-nuclear explosions ripped through Lebanon’s capital, killing more than 200 people. On any given day in Beirut’s worst-affected neighborhoods, theories about the explosion still circulate. No two stories of human tragedy are alike, and most interactions between people here end

By Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Belarusian sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya was set to compete in the women’s 200 meters at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday, with hopes that her hard work would catapult her onto the awards podium. Instead, she has been thrust into the global spotlight for her moves off the track. According to Timanovskaya,

Story by Reuters At least 30 corpses have washed up on the Sudanese banks of a river that abuts Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray, according to two Ethiopian refugees and four Sudanese witnesses who told Reuters on Monday they had retrieved the bodies. The bodies were found in the Setit River, known in Ethiopia as

By Tim Lister and Nick Paton Walsh, CNN A car bomb exploded near the home of Afghanistan’s acting defense minister in Kabul on Tuesday evening, just hours after the Afghan army urged residents in another city to evacuate ahead of an operation against the Taliban. Eight civilians are now confirmed dead in the Kabul attack,

By Radina Gigova, Denis Lapin, Jessie Yeung and Tara John, CNN A Belarusian dissident who helped his countrymen flee persecution was found dead in a park on Tuesday in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, where police have launched a murder investigation. Vitaly Shishov, the head of the Kiev-based Belarusian House in Ukraine (BDU) organization, was

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War. In response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, the United States and other countries launched military operations known as Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Facts The Allied coalition was made up of 39 countries: Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh,

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at the life of Massoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Iraq. Personal Birth date: August 16, 1946 Birth place: Mahabad, Kurdistan, Iran Birth name: Massoud Barzani Father: General Mustafa Barzani, was chief of the military of the Kurdish Republic of Mahabad Mother: Hamayil Khan Marriage:

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at the life of Yoweri Museveni, president of Uganda since 1986. Personal Birth date: August 15,1944 Birth place: Ntungamo, Uganda Birth name: Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Father: Amos Kaguta, a cattle keeper Mother: Esteri Kokundeka Marriage: Janet (Kataaha) Museveni (August 1973-present) Children: one son, three daughters Education: Dar Es

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of Romano Prodi, former prime minister of Italy. Personal Birth date: August 9, 1939 Birth place: Scandiano, Italy Father: Mario Prodi Mother: Enrica Prodi Marriage: Flavia Franzoni Prodi (1969-present) Children: Giorgio and Antonio Education: Catholic University in Milan, Law, 1961; Studied at the London School of

By Tim Lister, CNN Heavy fighting between the Taliban and Afghan government forces has continued in the capital of Helmand province, Lashkar Gah. The Taliban now control several districts of the city, according to local journalists contacted by CNN. The Afghan military reinforced its presence in the city on Saturday, bringing in special forces, according

By Nimi Princewill, CNN Cars and houses submerged in water, commuters wading through buses knee-high in floods, and homeowners counting the cost of destroyed properties. Welcome to Lagos during rainy season. Residents of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, are used to the yearly floods that engulf the coastal city during the months of March to

By Elaine Ly and Luke McGee, CNN Carrie Johnson, the wife of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has announced the couple are expecting their second child in December. Carrie revealed she was pregnant and that she suffered a miscarriage earlier this year in an Instagram post on Saturday. “Hoping for our rainbow baby this Christmas,”

By Nyasha Chingono, for CNN Pauline Chinyandura adjusts her face mask as she rushes to serve lunch to a group of men visiting her makeshift canteen in Domboshava, a rural area around 25 miles northeast of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare. The chatter around the canteen is all about the death of a popular health official from

By Jonny Hallam, Kareem El Damanhoury, Barbara Starr and Sheena McKenzie, CNN Maritime tensions are escalating in the Middle East following the deadly attack on a tanker connected to an Israeli billionaire in the Arabian Sea. Two crewmembers, a Briton and a Romanian, died on Thursday when the Mercer Street tanker was attacked by an

By Rob Picheta, Jonny Hallam, Barbara Starr and Kareem El Damanhoury, CNN Two crewmembers died when a tanker connected to an Israeli billionaire was attacked off the coast of Oman, the ship’s management firm said Friday. A Briton and a Romanian were killed amid what the company described as a “suspected piracy incident” onboard the

By Rob Picheta, James Briggs and Larry Madowo, CNN The UN World Food Programme said it expected to run out of food in the war-torn Ethiopian region of Tigray on Friday, and that hundreds of thousands of people in the area were on the brink of famine. The agency confirmed that no food trucks have

By Stephanie Busari and Nimi Princewill, CNN A high-ranking Nigerian police officer is being investigated by the FBI for allegedly making an arrest at the request of Instagram influencer Ramon Abbas, who has pleaded guilty to money laundering, according to the US Justice Department. Nigerian police spokesman Frank Mba sent a statement to CNN confirming

By Andrew Carey and Kareem Khadder, CNN A Palestinian man has died after being shot by Israeli forces in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, during large clashes that broke out during the funeral of a 12-year old boy who was shot by Israeli soldiers a day earlier. Health ministry officials

By Amir Tal, Jacqueline Howard and Andrew Carey, CNN Israel’s Prime Minister has announced a program to roll out a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine to people over the age of 60, becoming one of the first countries in the world to make such a move. People over 60 will need to show they

By Rob Picheta, Sharon Braithwaite and Sarah Dean, CNN Malta’s government must bear responsibility for creating an “atmosphere of impunity” that contributed to the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, an independent inquiry has found. Caruana Galizia, a leading Maltese anti-corruption journalist, was killed in October 2017 when a bomb in her rented car was

By Andrew Carey and Kareem Khadder, CNN A 12-year old Palestinian boy has died after being shot by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said. Mohammed Allamy was a passenger in a car being driven by his father when the incident happened at the entrance to the town of Beit

By Nimi Princewill, CNN A Nigerian Instagram celebrity, Ramon Abbas, known as “Hushpuppi” has admitted his involvement in a conspiracy to defraud a Qatari businessman of more than $1m, the U.S. Justice Department has said. Abbas, 37, also admitted to laundering money “through bank accounts around the world,” including “several other cyber and business email

CNN Editorial Research Here’s some background information about the London Underground, also known as “The Tube,” the oldest subway or metro transit system in the world. Facts There are currently 272 stations open and 249 miles (402 km) of active lines. There are a number of old stations and tunnels that are now closed. In

By Larry Madowo, CNN Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Wednesday launched the country’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign after receiving just over a million Johnson & Johnson shots donated by the United States through the COVAX scheme. President Hassan was the first to receive the vaccine on live television and reassured the country that the shots

By Duarte Mendonca, Nina Avramova, Chris Liakos, Hada Messia and Rob Picheta, CNN Devastating wildfires have spread across parts of southern Europe, tearing through the Spanish and Greek countryside and forcing around 1,000 people from their homes on the Italian island of Sardinia. Sardinia’s local government declared a state of emergency on Sunday, due to

By John Allen, CNN In what many are calling the Vatican’s “trial of the century,” a Vatican court on Tuesday opened proceedings against Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the Pope’s former chief of staff, and nine other defendants charged with fraud and embezzlement, principally for their roles in a controversial $400 million real estate deal in

CNN Editorial Research Here’s some background information about Great Britain’s Houses of Parliament, located on the Thames River in London. Facts The meeting place of Great Britain’s bicameral legislature – composed of the House of Commons and the House of Lords – is also known as Westminster Palace. Visitors are subject to airport style security

By Ivana Kottasová, CNN Cars stranded in streets turned to rivers. Bus passengers rescued by raft. Train stations submerged, sparking travel chaos. The now-familiar scenes of a city inundated by floods played out in London over the weekend, when heavy rainfall put parts of the UK capital underwater. When two London hospitals turned non-emergency patients

By Tara John, CNN As the pace of Covid-19 vaccinations in Europe shows signs of a slowdown, leaders are racing to find answers to a key dilemma of the rollout’s next phase: how to convince reluctant citizens to roll up their sleeves. From cash payments to phone data, free football stadium tours to free grilled

By Ramin Mostaghim and Jonny Hallam, CNN At least three people have been killed during violent protests over water shortages in Iran, according to state media. The protests started in southwest Khuzestan province and spread to the nearby city of Aligoodarz in western Lorestan province. Authorities are blaming the deaths in Aligoordarz on “suspicious bullets

By Saskya Vandoorne, Melissa Bell and Kara Fox, CNN Some 30,000 people have joined the annual Pride celebrations in Budapest on Saturday, organizers say, with attendees marching in colorful outfits across the Hungarian capital in support of inclusion and freedom. But this year, Pride is also a protest, as LGBTQ people and their allies rally

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of professional soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo. Personal Birth date: February 5, 1985 Birth place: Funchal, Portugal Birth name: Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro Father: Jose Dinis Aveiro, a gardener Mother: Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, a cook Children: with Georgina Rodriguez: Alana Martina, 2017; Bella Esmeralda

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at the life of soccer player Lionel “Leo” Messi, who plays for Argentina’s national team and Paris Saint-Germain. Personal Birth date: June 24, 1987 Birth place: Rosario, Argentina Birth name: Lionel Andrés Messi Father: Jorge Messi, factory worker Mother: Celia Cuccittini de Messi Marriage: Antonela Roccuzzo (June 30,

By Ghazi Balkiz, Ben Wedeman and Kareem Khadder, CNN Lebanon‘s water supply system is on the verge of total collapse, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in what would mark the latest development in the eastern Mediterranean country’s slide into chaos. More than 71% of the country’s population — over 4 million people

By Nadine Schmidt, Frederik Pleitgen, Barbara Wojazer and Jeevan Ravindran, CNN A week after severe flooding hit western Europe, devastating Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, German officials said Thursday they fear the 158 people still missing there may not be found. The death toll from the floods has risen to at least 205 across the

By Stephanie Busari and Nimi Princewill, CNN The daughter of Paul Rusesabagina, a former hotelier who inspired the movie “Hotel Rwanda,” has hit out at Rwandan authorities after a report emerged that she was on a list of people targeted by Pegasus, a military-grade spyware licensed by an Israeli company to governments. Carine Kanimba’s phone number was

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on August 7, 1998, which killed 224 people. Terrorist group al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the bombings. Facts The bombings took place eight years to the day after US troops were ordered to Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at the life of Francois Hollande, former president of France. Personal Birth date: August 12, 1954 Birth place: Rouen, Normandy, France Birth name: François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande Father: Georges Hollande, a physician Mother: Nicole Tribert, a social worker Marriage: Julie Gayet (June 4, 2022-present) Children: with Ségolène

By Rob Picheta, CNN Chimpanzees‘ lethal attacks on gorillas in the wild have been observed for the first time, a team of researchers has said. Experts observing dozens of chimps at Loango National Park in Gabon had expected them to be relaxed around gorillas. But while the two species were usually playful, the researchers were