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12-12-2022 MOSCOW: The Russian co-winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize has said Kremlin authorities told him to turn down the award. Yan Rachinsky, who heads Memorial, said he was told not to accept the prize because the two other co-laureates, a Ukrainian human rights organization and jailed Belarusian rights …

12-12-2022 KYIV: All non-critical infrastructure in the Ukrainian port of Odesa was without power after Russia used Iranian-made drones to hit two energy facilities, leaving 1.5 million people without power, officials said on Saturday. “The situation in the Odesa region is very difficult,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly …

12-12-2022 ROME: Italy, which has vowed a tough line on immigration, took in more than 500 refugees as two charity rescue ships were allowed to dock at ports in the south after several days at sea in bad weather. The Geo Barents ship, operated by the Doctors Without Borders (Medicines …

11-12-2022 TEHRAN/ DUBAI: A prominent dissenting cleric on Friday said the death sentence of an Iranian protester involved in anti-government unrest violated sharia law, as President Ebrahim Raisi promised to press on with a crackdown a day after the man’s execution. On Thursday, Iran hanged Mohsen Shekari, who had been …

11-12-2022 PARIS/ LONDON: One person was killed and a number of others were missing after an explosion early on Saturday morning at a block of flats on the island of Jersey, off the coast of northern France. “Tragically we have one confirmed fatality,” Robin Smith, Chief Officer of the States …

11-12-2022 DOHA, QATAR: A prominent football journalist from the United States has died while covering the World Cup in Qatar. Grant Wahl, 48, collapsed as extra time began in the Argentina-Netherlands game on Friday night. Early reports suggest he may have had a heart attack, but this has yet to …

11-12-2022 BERLIN: In the depths of the countryside in eastern Germany, there’s an invisible border. The turrets of an imposing castle loom out of the treetops. A sign on its front door solemnly informs the visitor that they’ve entered, in effect, a new country. The “Konigreich Deutschland” (Kingdom of Germany) …

11-12-2022 MINNEAPOLIS: A former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s back has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for his role in Floyd’s death. J Alexander Kueng pleaded guilty to a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in October. He was one of four officers …

11-12-2022 RIYADH: Chinese President Xi Jinping met Gulf Arab leaders in Riyadh on Friday in the first of two “milestone” Arab summits showcasing Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as an aspiring leader of the Middle East and key partner for global powers. Xi, who has been welcomed in …

11-12-2022 OSLO, NORWAY: This year’s Nobel Peace Prize will be presented on Saturday to Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian activists for promoting the right to criticize power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens. Jailed activist Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian organization Memorial, and the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties …