CNN – Europe/Mideast/Africa

By Laura Smith-Spark, CNN Ten years ago, Norwegian far-right extremist Anders Behring Brevik killed 77 people, many of them teenagers, in a bomb attack and gun rampage. The July 22 attacks left Norway, a small, close-knit Nordic country, stunned and grieving. Just over a year later, Breivik was sentenced to 21 years in prison, the

By Luke McGee, Amy Cassidy and Boglarka Kosztolanyi CNN Hungary’s right-wing populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has proposed a referendum on the country’s controversial new LGBTQ law. The move is in response to the European Union which lambasted the new measure by the member state. In a Facebook video on Wednesday, the hardline leader outlined

By Nimi Princewill, CNN Around 100 women and children abducted in early June by gunmen known locally as “bandits” have been rescued, police authorities in Nigeria’s northwestern Zamfara State said. Zamfara police spokesman, Mohammed Shehu, told CNN on Wednesday that the victims — most of whom are nursing mothers — were released Monday after being

By Sebastian Shukla and Jomana Karadsheh, CNN In the central Syrian desert, an oil field has become a makeshift torture chamber. An unarmed man writhes in the dust, howling in pain. Four men in military fatigues pin him down and smash his hands and feet with a sledgehammer. As he cries out for help, they

By Kara Fox and Nic Robertson, CNN Three rockets landed in two different areas near the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan on Tuesday morning, as President Ashraf Ghani joined other high ranking officials for prayers to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. Images shown on national broadcaster Tolo TV showed Ghani and the group

By Anna Chernova and Zahra Ullah, CNN Russian President Vladimir Putin got a sneak peek of a new fifth-generation lightweight single-engine fighter jet at an air show just outside of Moscow on Tuesday. Russian aircraft makers unveiled a prototype of the stealth fighter dubbed “Checkmate” for the 68-year-old leader at the MAKS-2021 International Aviation and

By Mohammed Tawfeeq and Aqeel Najm, CNN ISIS have claimed responsibility for an suicide attack that ripped through a busy market in the Iraqi capital on Monday, killing 30 people and wounding 50. Children and women were among the dead and wounded, according to health and security officials. The attacker detonated his explosive vest in

By Jack Guy and James Frater, CNN Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, whose depiction of the prophet Mohammed wearing a turban made out of a bomb sparked a wave of violence in 2006, has died at the age of 86. Danish newspaper Berlingske reported Westergaard’s death on Sunday, citing information from his family. The cartoonist died

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the Tour de France. July 1-24, 2022 – The 109th Tour de France takes place. Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard wins his first Tour de France title. June 26-July 18, 2021 – The 108th Tour de France takes place. Tadej Pogacar wins his second consecutive Tour de France title.

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s most influential Shiite cleric. Personal Birth date: August 4, 1930 Birth place: Mashhad, Iran Birth name: Sayyid Ali Husaini Sistani Father: Sayyid Mohammad Baqir, a religious scholar Mother: Name unavailable publicly Marriage: Information unavailable publicly Children: Muhammad Rida al-Sistani –

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at Lebanon, a Middle Eastern country bordering Syria, Israel and the Mediterranean Sea. About Lebanon (from the CIA World Factbook)Area: 10,400 sq km (slightly larger than Connecticut) Population: 5,296,814 (2022 est.) Median age: 33.7 years Capital: Beirut Ethnic groups: Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1% Religion: Muslim 67.8%,

By Ivana Kottasová, CNN At least 189 people are dead and hundreds more remain missing after catastrophic flooding hit large swaths of western Europe, with tens of thousands unable to return to their homes and many still left without access to power and drinking water. The flooding, caused by unprecedented rainfall, has hit parts of

By Denise Hruby and Jennifer Hansler, CNN Austrian authorities said they are investigating reports that US diplomats in Vienna have experienced symptoms of a mystery illness known as Havana Syndrome. “We take these reports very seriously and, according to our role as the host state, are working with the US authorities on a joint solution,”

By Vasco Cotovio, Atika Shubert and Ivana Kottasová, CNN In Altenahr in western Germany, even the dead were not spared in this week’s devastating flood. The village cemetery was swept away, headstones damaged and toppled by the force of the muddy water. Antoinnette Steinhoff stands at the edge of the flooded graveyard, crushed by the

By Andrew Carey and Abeer Salman, CNN A small boy sits on a hillside in the occupied West Bank. Like the adults around him, he trains a green laser beam on a group of prefabricated housing units on a hilltop a few hundred meters away. It is an act of defiance. The buildings had been

By Angela Dewan, Nadine Schmidt and Ulrike Dehmel, CNN European officials have said climate change contributed to this week’s extreme flooding, which has left entire towns submerged and more than 120 people dead. Scientists have for decades warned that climate change will make extreme weather events, including heavy rain and deadly flooding, more likely. Around

By Nadine Schmidt, Schams Elwazer, Barbara Wojazer, Sharon Braithwaite, Joseph Ataman and Vasco Cotovio, CNN Catastrophic flooding in western Europe has killed more than 120 people, with hundreds more missing, authorities said Friday, as large-scale rescue efforts continue amid rising water, landslides and power outages. Shocking images of the devastation in Germany and Belgium showed

By Mostafa Salem, CNN The Middle East and North Africa is witnessing a surge in Covid-19 cases aggravated by the Delta variant of the virus — and it may get worse over coming weeks — according to the World Health Organization (WHO). An increase in coronavirus cases has been reported in Libya, Iran, Iraq and

By Tamara Qiblawi, Ghazi Balkiz and Ben Wedeman, CNN Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has stepped down nearly nine months after he was tasked with forming the crisis-ridden country‘s next government. On Thursday, Hariri told reporters that President Michel Aoun had not accepted his latest Cabinet lineup less than 24 hours after the three-time prime

By Nadine Schmidt, Schams Elwazer, Barbara Wojazer and Sharon Braithwaite, CNN A large-scale rescue effort was underway in Germany Friday after the heaviest rainfall in a century caused flash floods to devastate parts of Western Europe, leaving dozens dead and many more unaccounted for. Fast moving torrents of water inundated entire towns and villages in

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at Northern Ireland. For many years, Northern Ireland has been split over the question of whether it should remain part of the United Kingdom or become part of Ireland. Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland. The nation is part of the United Kingdom, along with England, Scotland and

By Luke McGee, CNN The European Union has unveiled some of the world’s most ambitious proposals to reduce carbon emissions and wean its 27 members off fossil fuels, including taxes on emissions-heavy imports into the union and non-renewable energy, such as oil, gas and coal. The package of measures looks to fundamentally transform the world’s

By Delia Gallagher, CNN Pope Francis was discharged from Gemelli University Hospital in Rome on Wednesday, 10 days after undergoing surgery for colon diverticulitis. In response to questions from journalists, Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said the pontiff was discharged shortly after 10:30 a.m. local time (4:30 a.m. ET). Bruni added that before returning to the

By David McKenzie, Pierre Bairin and Samantha Beech, CNN Soldiers and police were struggling to restore order in parts of South Africa on Tuesday, as police said the number of people killed in days of protests and looting rose to at least 72 in some of the worst violence the country has seen in years.

By Ivana Kottasová, CNN As Europe struggles with a rising number of coronavirus cases caused by the Delta variant, several countries are making vaccinations compulsory for health care workers, and some leaders are even considering making shots mandatory for all. France and Greece both announced new vaccine requirements on Monday, following in the footsteps of

By Sharon Braithwaite and Martin Goillandeau, CNN Police in Georgia were forced to eject dozens of people from Parliament after journalists and opposition lawmakers tried to force their way into the lower house in protest of a news cameraman’s death, according to agency video footage and reports. Protesters were demanding Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili resign

By Aqeel Najim and Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN The death toll in a fire at a hospital treating coronavirus patients in southeastern Iraq has risen to at least 92, according to health officials. Some 50 others were injured in the Monday night blaze at the Al-Hussein Hospital in the city of Nasiriya. Officials believe the fire

By David McKenzie and Pierre Bairin, CNN South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has deployed the country’s military to restore calm after days of violent protests and looting sparked by the imprisonment of former leader Jacob Zuma. Ramaphosa addressed the nation Monday evening, calling for calm after at least six people died in the violence and

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the Wimbledon tennis championships. June 27-July 10, 2022 – Wimbledon takes place in London. June 28-July 11, 2021 – The Wimbledon Championships take place. 2022 Results Novak Djokovic defeats Nick Kyrgios 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-6 (7-3) in the men’s final, to win his fourth straight Wimbledon singles title

By Jomana Karadsheh and Jassar Al-Tahat, CNN A former top adviser to Jordan’s king and a member of the country’s royal family have been sentenced to 15 years in prison during a landmark sedition trial that centered on former Crown Prince Hamzah bin al-Hussein. Bassem Awadallah, a dual Jordanian-US citizen and former chief of Jordan’s

By Sheena McKenzie, CNN A derelict plot on the banks of the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary, might seem like an unusual epicenter for a political earthquake. But that was before Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s populist government announced a controversial plan for a prestigious Shanghai university to open its first overseas campus there in 2024

By Hada Messia and Sharon Braithwaite, CNN Pope Francis appeared in public on Sunday for the first time since undergoing surgery for colon diverticulitis last week, as he held his weekly Angelus prayer from a hospital window. “I am happy to be able to keep the Sunday appointment of the Angelus, even here from the

By Mia Alberti Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s ruling Prosperity Party (PP) overwhelmingly won general elections Saturday, meaning he will stay in power another term, according to CNN affiliate Nation Media Group. Abiy’s party is expected take more than 410 of the 546 parliamentary seats in the first round of the contest, Ethiopia’s sixth national

By Livia Borghese and Sharon Braithwaite, CNN Pope Francis is gradually resuming work, is walking, his blood tests are “satisfactory” and “he is continuing the prescribed treatment” following last week’s surgery, according to a spokesperson for the Holy See on Saturday. The 84-year-old pontiff entered surgery in Rome’s Gemelli hospital last Sunday, hours after conducting

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of Queen Consort Camilla, wife of King Charles III. Personal Birth date: July 17, 1947 Birth place: London, England Birth name: Camilla Rosemary Shand Father: Major Bruce Shand, retired British Army officer, later a wine merchant Mother: Rosalind Cubitt, daughter of the 3rd Baron of Ashcombe

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the British Open. July 14-17, 2022 – Cameron Smith wins the 150th Open Championship on the Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland, for his first major title. July 15-18, 2021 – Collin Morikawa wins the 149th Open Championship at Royal St. George’s in Sandwich, Kent, England. Originally scheduled

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Personal Birth date: July 17, 1939 Birth place: Mashhad, Iran Birth name: Seyyed Ali Khamenei Father: Ayatollah Sayyid Jawad Husaini Khamenei Mother: Name unavailable publicly Marriage: Married in 1964 Children: Mostafa, Mojtaba, Massoud, Maysam, Hoda and Boshra Education: Studied under

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the terror attacks in Norway on July 22, 2011. Eight people died in a bombing in Oslo and another 69 people died on nearby Utoya island. This was the deadliest attack in Norway since World War II. The Perpetrator Anders Behring Breivik Pronounced: AHn-ders BRAY-vick Norwegian No military

By Amy Cassidy, Henrik Pettersson and Rob Picheta, CNN Nine people have been killed after a plane carrying skydivers crashed near the runway at Orebro airport in Sweden. A small aircraft with one pilot carrying eight parachuters crashed at 7.23 p.m. local time on Thursday shortly after takeoff and then caught fire, killing everyone on

By Laura Smith-Spark, CNN A Metropolitan Police officer pleaded guilty Friday to murdering marketing executive Sarah Everard, whose disappearance while walking home in London prompted an outpouring across social media from women sharing their own experiences of sexual assault and harassment. Wayne Couzens, a serving police constable whose “primary role was uniformed patrol duties of

By David McKenzie, CNN Patients are crammed into every corner of the hospital’s emergency room ward. They lie on beds and gurneys, or sit slumped in wheelchairs. Many suck on oxygen, but nobody talks. Some die while waiting for a bed. On the worst nights in Johannesburg, currently in the grips of a terrible wave

By James Frater and Mia Alberti, CNN On Thursday the European Parliament condemned in the “strongest possible terms” a new law in Hungary which many critics say is homophobic, and urged the European Commission to impose punitive measures such as budget cuts. European lawmakers “call on the Commission to launch an accelerated infringement procedure and

By Jack Guy and Martin Goillandeau, CNN Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel has left hospital after four days of treatment for Covid-19, according to a government announcement Thursday. Bettel will resume his duties from Friday after leaving hospital “given the improvement of his health condition,” according to the statement. Bettel will work from home until

By Rob Picheta and Denis Lapin, CNN Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has said it will give female soldiers “more comfortable” heels with a different kind of lacing, following a sexism outcry over its decision to train troops to march in high heeled footwear. The ministry had required women from the Ukrainian armed forces to march

By David McKenzie, CNN Former South African President Jacob Zuma handed himself over to police late Wednesday, authorities said, to begin a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court. The move ended days of intense speculation over whether the police and former President would comply with the country’s Constitutional Court for Zuma’s arrest and imprisonment.

By Caroline Faraj, Eleni Giokos and Tamara Qiblawi, CNN An explosion on a container ship docked at Dubai’s Jebel Ali port late Wednesday caused a large fire and was felt across the city, authorities said. There were no reported deaths or injuries and the fire was brought under control, authorities said. The Comoros Islands-owned ship

By Emmet Lyons and Rosanne Roobeek, CNN; with reporting by Reuters Celebrity Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries, known for his investigative work exposing the criminal underworld, is “fighting for his life” after being shot in the Netherlands’ capital. “He was seriously wounded and is fighting for his life,” Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said

By Al Goodman, CNN Spanish police have arrested three people over the killing of a male nursing assistant in a suspected homophobic attack that prompted protests across the country. The investigation into the death of Samuel Luiz, 24, is ongoing and no motive has been ruled out — including the possibility that it was a

By Nimi Princewill, CNN, and Reuters Authorities in Zambia held a state funeral Wednesday for the country’s first president and independence leader, Kenneth Kaunda, amid ongoing controversy over his burial site. Kaunda’s funeral arrangements became the subject of a court challenge after the Zambian government announced plans to inter the late nationalist at a presidential

By Eliza Mackintosh Photographs by Sarah Tilotta In May, as the United Kingdom began to emerge from one of the world’s longest and most stringent lockdowns, Kitty Grew started doing dry-runs of the commute from her home in north London to her office five miles away. Most evenings now, after logging off and closing her

By Jack Guy, CNN Brown trout can become addicted to the illegal drug methamphetamine when it accumulates in waterways, according to new research. Researchers led by Pavel Horky, a behavioral ecologist from the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, set out to investigate whether illicit drugs alter fish behavior at levels found in bodies

By Gertrude Kitongo, CNN Military and police patrols are on the streets of the tiny African nation of eSwatini, and opposition leaders are in hiding, they told CNN Tuesday, as the continent’s last absolute monarchy tries to contain pro-democracy protests. The president of the opposition People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), Mlungisi Makhanya, told CNN on

By Hadas Gold, CNN The new Israeli government suffered its first major setback in the early hours of Tuesday morning when it failed to secure enough votes to extend a regulation that effectively bars Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza married to Israelis from becoming citizens. The coalition had agreed to amend the law

By Anna Chernova, CNN A passenger plane with 28 people on board crashed in Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka peninsula on Tuesday, Russia’s aviation agency told CNN. The plane, a Russian-built Antonov An-26 twin-engined turboprop, was flying from the regional capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to the village of Palana, in Kamchatka’s north, when it missed a scheduled communication

By Sharon Braithwaite and Pierre Bairin, CNN Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel remains in “serious but stable” in hospital after contracting Covid-19, his spokesperson said Tuesday. Bettel, 48, is breathing on his own and is awake, his press attaché Liz Thielen told CNN. The Prime Minister tested positive just over a week ago on June

By Tim Lister, CNN When Youras Ziankovich, a lawyer with American citizenship, returned to his Moscow hotel after a lunch date with a friend in April, he found four men waiting for him in the street. Ziankovich’s wife, Alena Dzenisavets, says that according to the manager of the Nordic Rooms hotel, the men — all

By Sheena McKenzie, CNN A humanitarian ship that rescued over 400 migrants at sea in recent weeks has been seized by Italian authorities, in a move that French medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) warned would endanger the lives of migrants in the Mediterranean. In a press release Sunday, the organization called for the “swift

By Emmet Lyons, CNN Georgia has launched an investigation into violence against LGBTQ campaigners and journalists, after protesters on Monday stormed offices ahead of a planned pride march in the country’s capital Tbilisi. LGBTQ campaigners canceled the “March for Dignity” Pride event after violent protesters stormed and ransacked their offices before the march had begun.

By Nimi Princewill, CNN At least 26 students and a teacher have been rescued after armed men raided a private secondary school in Nigeria’s northwestern Kaduna State early Monday and kidnapped scores of people, said police. Officials from the school in Kaduna’s Chikun district told Agence France-Presse news agency that no fewer than 140 students

By Jack Guy and Denis Lapin, CNN Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has defended its decision to train female soldiers to march in high heels, following an outcry from local lawmakers. Women from the Ukrainian armed forces will march in a parade to mark the 30th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union on August 24,

By David McKenzie, CNN After succeeding in a last-ditch legal effort to delay his arrest for contempt of court, former South African President Jacob Zuma likened his treatment to apartheid-era detention without trial. “Things like detention without trial should never again see the light of day in South Africa. The struggle for a free South

By Livia Borghese, CNN Pope Francis has “reacted well” after undergoing surgery Sunday for colon diverticulitis, according to the Vatican. “The Holy Father reacted well to the surgery carried out under general anesthesia,” spokesperson Matteo Bruni said in a written statement. The 84-year-old pontiff entered surgery in Rome’s Gemelli hospital earlier in the day, hours

By Elinda Labropoulou At least four people have died in Cyprus from an ongoing wildfire ravaging the country, the country’s Interior Minister Nicos Nouris said Sunday. Four of the known victims of the fire have been identified as Egyptian nationals, Cyprus’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted on Sunday. The fire broke out on Saturday near

By John Allen, Delia Gallagher and Mia Alberti, CNN The Vatican has indicted 10 people, including an Italian cardinal, for several alleged financial crimes including extortion, corruption, fraud, forgery, embezzlement and abuse of power. The investigation, which started in July 2019, was carried out by the Vatican in cooperation with Italian authorities and revealed “a

By David McKenzie, CNN Jacob Zuma and his lawyers successfully delayed the former South African president’s prison sentence for contempt of court on Saturday when the country’s top court agreed to hear his application for a review of their decision to sentence him to 15 months in prison. In the application, 79-year-old Zuma and his

By Nima Elbagir and Richard Roth, CNN Food and fuel is running out in the capital of Ethiopia’s war-torn northern Tigray region, a CNN producer on the ground in Mekelle reports. A communications blackout in the region, in place since Ethiopian forces withdrew and announced a unilateral ceasefire last week, has made it difficult to

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Personal Birth date: August 30, 1954 (some sources say August 31) Birth place: Kopys, Belarus Full name: Alexander Grigorievich Lukashenko Father: name unavailable publicly Mother: Yekaterina Lukashenko, milkmaid Marriage: Galina (Zhelnerovich) Lukashenko (1975-present) Children: with Galina (Zhelnerovich) Lukashenko: Viktor and Dmitry;

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Personal Birth date: August 30, 1954 (some sources say August 31) Birth place: Kopys, Belarus Full name: Alexander Grigorievich Lukashenko Father: name unavailable publicly Mother: Yekaterina Lukashenko, milkmaid Marriage: Galina (Zhelnerovich) Lukashenko (1975-present) Children: with Galina (Zhelnerovich) Lukashenko: Viktor and Dmitry;

By Antonia Mortensen, Melissa Bell and Saskya Vandoorne, CNN Elie Rosen had never really listened as a child when his grandparents told him and his cousins to keep their heads down. He knew they had survived the Holocaust but he believed the world’s vow of “never again” and saw no reason for his generation of

Hateful attacks on Jews and their religion have been increasing in Europe for years, but pandemic restrictions and the recent violence between Israel and Hamas have led to an upsurge, reports CNN’s Melissa Bell.

By Antonia Mortensen, Melissa Bell and Saskya Vandoorne, CNN Elie Rosen had never really listened as a child when his grandparents told him and his cousins to keep their heads down. He knew they had survived the Holocaust but he believed the world’s vow of “never again” and saw no reason for his generation of

By Sandi Sidhu and Anna Coren, CNN As US President Joe Biden prepares for the formal withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, the man responsible for peace talks between the rampant Taliban and the official Afghan government is not entirely optimistic about the country’s future. Abdullah Abdullah, an Afghan official who leads the High Council

By Sandi Sidhu and Anna Coren, CNN As US President Joe Biden prepares for the formal withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, the man responsible for peace talks between the rampant Taliban and the official Afghan government is not entirely optimistic about the country’s future. Abdullah Abdullah, an Afghan official who leads the High Council

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the unsuccessful terrorist bombings on July 21, 2005, in London. No one was killed or injured in the attacks. Facts The attacks took place two weeks after a similar one killed 52 people and injured more than 700. The bombs were homemade and believed to contain a white,

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the unsuccessful terrorist bombings on July 21, 2005, in London. No one was killed or injured in the attacks. Facts The attacks took place two weeks after a similar one killed 52 people and injured more than 700. The bombs were homemade and believed to contain a white,

By Ivana Kottasová, CNN Márton Pál feels like he is in a parallel universe. Pál lives in Budapest with his husband and young son, and says Hungary has made a lot of progress on LGBTQ rights in the past two decades. He feels society is becoming increasingly more open and accepting towards him and his

By Eliza Mackintosh, CNN When Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, he was lauded as a regional peacemaker. Now, he is presiding over a protracted civil war that by many accounts bears the hallmarks of genocide and has the potential to destabilize the wider Horn of Africa region. In

By Amy Woodyatt, CNN The European Union will work to phase out caged animal farming across the bloc, after a petition calling for an end to the practice gathered more than a million signatures. The European Commission has outlined plans to propose legislation which would phase out — and ultimately ban — cages for farm

By Amy Woodyatt, CNN The European Union will work to phase out caged animal farming across the bloc, after a petition calling for an end to the practice gathered more than a million signatures. The European Commission has outlined plans to propose legislation which would phase out — and ultimately ban — cages for farm

By Sarah Dean, Amy Cassidy and Mia Alberti, CNN The African Union and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) have voiced “concern” after it emerged that Europe’s digital “green pass” does not recognize a vaccine that was donated to many African countries through the COVAX initiative. The European Union Digital Covid Certificate

By Ivana Kottasová, CNN Martón Pál feels like he is in a parallel universe. Pál lives in Budapest with his husband and young son, and says Hungary has made a lot of progress on LGBTQ rights in the past two decades. He feels society is becoming increasingly more open and accepting towards him and his