List of All Articles with Tag 'europe'

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday that Sweden has “fulfilled its obligations” to Turkey to bolster its

Hello from New York, where we’re looking to fill the hole left by last week’s Succession finale. Back

The coders who maintain Bitcoin’s blockchain are clashing over whether to stamp out the meme tokens swarming the

Wall Street is caught by surprise by a rally in local emerging-market debt, an asset class that’s been

The prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case has claimed he became the focus of the investigation after a former friend alleged he made a chilling comment about the case, according to reports. German prisoner Christian Brueckner was first named in connection with the unsolved mystery in the summer of 2020, and officially named as a suspect last year. His yellow and white VW T3 Westfalia campervan was reportedly identified as having been near to the Praia da Luz resort in Portugal where the young girl went missing on May 3, 2007. Three-year-old Madeleine disappeared from the bed of her holiday apartment while her parents and family friends dined 180 feet away. The Metropolitan Police took over the investigation, Operation Grange, in 2011 but they hit dead ends. There has not been another significant suspect in the case since 2007 until Brueckner. Brueckner is in prison in Germany for the rape of a woman in Praia da Luz in 2005, and is suspected of further rapes and child sexual abuse committed in the area between 2000 and 2017. During his time in prison, he is said to have written several letters in a bid to clear his name and complain about his treatment in prison. According to a letter seen by the Daily Mail, Brueckner claimed he became a key suspect after his former friend told police he said “yes, she did not scream” when talking about the case around one year after Madeleine disappeared. According to the newspaper, Brueckner said the claim is "not even worthy of comment.” He said he was then hunted by police after his friend made the allegation to police. The Daily Mail said Brueckner refers to a statement made to the police by Helge Busching - who reportedly contacted police in 2017 saying he had information on the case. He wrote: “The following sentences from the ‘witness’ Helge B in 2017 were responsible for all the public hunting and hatred against me by the German authorities.” Then Brueckner relates an alleged conversation at a festival in Spain in 2008, one year after Madeleine disappeared. He quotes Busching as having said: “(Seyferth another witness) was also there as well and Michael (Tatschl another witness), Manfred, Christian and I then started talking about Portugal. "It was then Christian made a comment about the missing girl. Christian asked me if I was still going to Portugal, I replied; ‘I’m no longer going to Portugal because there are too many problems there, Portugal has too many police for me on account of the missing child. "It is indeed strange that she disappeared without a trace. Christian replied:’’Yes, she did not scream.’’ Brueckner’s lawyer Friedrich Fulschertold the newspaper: “It remains to be seen whether this conversation took place at all as we have other witnesses who said it didn’t.” Brueckner claims that the last time he had a conversation with Busching was in 2007 about a drug deal between them. Busching was arrested in 2017 while trying to smuggle migrants from Greece to Italy. It is claimed that he gave the statement to the police after his arrest. Read More What happened to Madeleine McCann? Sixteen years and countless heartbreaks as Madeleine McCann’s family wait for answers Madeleine McCann evidence will be hard to find after 16 years, expert warns Madeleine McCann case: Timeline of the missing child’s disappearance Sixteen years and countless heartbreaks: Where are Madeleine McCann’s family now? Who is Christian Brueckner? Madeleine McCann suspect and the accusations against him

Turkish investors are betting that the return of former Wall Street banker Mehmet Simsek as economic czar will

A highly anticipated defense forum in Singapore kicked off with a friendly handshake between Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin

Hello from London. Here’s what we’re looking at heading into the new week. The big vote: The Confederation

A few sentences in a note from an obscure United Nations group has ignited a firestorm in the

Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. For up-to-the minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan. ————————————- TOP STORIES ————————————- RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Defenders of Ukraine’s city of Bakhmut are keeping up the pressure even though Russian forces declared victory there after the longest, deadliest battle of the war so far. The ongoing defense gives commanders in Moscow another thing to think about ahead of an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive. By Mstyslav Chernov and Jamey Keaten. SENT: 970 words, photos. INDIA-TRAIN-DERAILMENT — With rescue work finished, authorities began clearing the mangled wreckage of two passenger trains that derailed in eastern India, killing more than 300 people and injuring hundreds in one of the country’s deadliest rail accidents in decades, officials say. By Rafiq Maqbool and Ashok Sharma. SENT: 540 words, photos, video. With INDIA-TRAIN DERAILMENT-SAFETY CONCERNS — India’s deadly train crash renews questions over safety as government pushes railway upgrade (sent). JIMMY-CARTER-THE-KINGS — Jimmy Carter is now 98 years old as he receives hospice care. His fellow Georgian, Martin Luther King Jr., would have been 94. The two men never met during all their time in Atlanta. But the Rev. Bernice King tells The Associated Press that Carter has been a “courageous” and “principled” figure who built on her father’s work, advancing the King family’s vision of racial equality and human rights. By Bill Barrow. SENT: 1,310 words, photos. BRITAIN-PRINCE-HARRY-LEGAL-CASES — Prince Harry is going where other British royals haven’t for over a century: to a courtroom witness stand. The Duke of Sussex is set to testify in the first of his five pending legal cases largely centered around battles with British tabloids. Opening statements are scheduled Monday in his case. By Brian Melley. SENT: 1,190 words, photos. MARIJUANA-UNSOLD-HARVEST — New York’s fledgling marijuana market doesn’t have enough licensed retailers to sell the 300,000 pounds of cannabis grown by farmers in the state. Farmers can only legally sell their product in a dozen licensed dispensaries statewide, and they’re feeling a financial pinch as another growing season gets underway. By Michael Hill. SENT: 960 words, photos. OPEC-OIL-PRICES — The major oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia are wrestling with whether to make another cut in supply to the global economy as the OPEC+ alliance struggles to prop up sagging oil prices that have been a boon to U.S. drivers and helped ease inflation worldwide. By David McHugh. SENT: 840 words, photos. ————————————————————————- MORE ON RUSSIA UKRAINE WAR ———————————————————————- RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-MARIUPOL-FILM — The award-winning film “20 Days in Mariupol” made its premiere in Ukraine, seen for the first time by some of the Ukrainian medics and first responders who were chronicled in the documentary about how Russian forces bombed and blasted their way into the southeastern port city last year. SENT: 550 words, photos. —————————— MORE NEWS —————————— CAPITOL-CHILDREN'S CHOIR — Videos of a children’s choir singing the national anthem in the U.S. Capitol, only to be unceremoniously cut off by federal authorities, spread across social media on Friday. Capitol Police say singers from Rushingbrook Children’s Choir from Greenville, South Carolina, were stopped May 26 because of a miscommunication. SENT: 720 words, photos, video. ALASKA-BODIES ON BOAT — Police in Juneau, Alaska, say three people were found dead over the course of three days on board a vessel anchored offshore. Police say the use of controlled substances may have contributed to the deaths. SENT: 150 words. PAKISTAN — The Pakistani Taliban or TTP claimed responsibility for an attack in northwest Pakistan that left two soldiers and two militants dead. SENT: 170 words. IMMIGRATION-MIGRANT-FLIGHTS — Sixteen Venezuelan and Colombian migrants who entered the country through Texas were flown to California by chartered plane and dropped off outside a church in Sacramento, Gov. Gavin Newsom and migrant rights advocates say. SENT: 310 words. ————————————————————- WASHINGTON/ POLITICS ———————————————————— ELECTION-2024-WISCONSIN-POLITICS — Wisconsin Republicans still reeling from an April election that saw conservatives lose majority control of the state Supreme Court for the first time in 15 years hope to use their upcoming state convention to unify and refocus on the 2024 presidential race in which Wisconsin will once again be a battleground. SENT: 900 words, photos. ELECTION 2024-HALEY — Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley suggested in an interview that United States forces “need to align” with non-European countries including Russia to enhance global security, a remark her campaign characterized as a gaffe. SENT: 750 words, photos. ———————- NATIONAL ———————- STADIUM-PUBLIC-FUNDING — Gov. Joe Lombardo wants to help build Major League Baseball’s smallest ballpark, arguing that the worst team in baseball can boost Las Vegas, a city striving to call itself a sports mecca. SENT: 1,070 words, photos. MISSOURI-EXECUTION — A federal appeals court has vacated a stay of execution for a Missouri inmate who is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday for his role in the deaths of two jailers. SENT: 260 words, photo. FLORIDA-SHOPLIFTING-FIRE — A Florida woman faces charges of aggravated child neglect and arson after her car became engulfed in flames while she was allegedly shoplifting at a mall, according to an arrest report. SENT: 280 words. ————————————- INTERNATIONAL ————————————— ASIA-DEFENSE — China’s defense minister defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, telling a gathering of some of the world’s top defense officials in Singapore on Sunday that such so-called “freedom of navigation” patrols are a provocation to China. SENT: 920 words, photos. CHINA-TIANANMEN-ANNIVERSARY — China tightened already strict access to Tiananmen Square in central Beijing on Sunday, the anniversary of 1989 pro-democracy protests. In Hong Kong, which had been the last Chinese-controlled territory to hold commemorations, eight people, including activists and artists, were detained on the eve of the 34th anniversary of the crackdown, a move underscording the city’s shrinking room for freedom of expression. SENT: 720 words. KOREAS-TENSIONS — The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed again to push for a second attempt to launch a spy satellite as she lambasted a U.N. Security Council meeting over the North’s first, failed launch. SENT: 640 words, photos. POLAND-DEMOCRACY MARCH — Poland’s largest opposition party is leading a march meant to mobilize voters against the right-wing government, which it accuses of eroding democracy and following Hungary and Turkey down the path to autocracy. SENT: 610 words, photos. SERBIA-SHOOTINGS-PROTESTS — Thousands of people have rallied for a fifth time in a month after two mass shootings in Serbia that shook the nation, even as the country’s populist president rejected any responsibility and ignored their demands to step down. SENT: 540 words, photos. CANADA-WILDFIRES — Officials in Canada’s Atlantic Coast province Nova Scotia said a wildfire that forced thousands of residents from their homes over the past week is now largely contained because of rain. SENT: 370 words, photos. EGYPT-SUEZ-CANAL — A tanker transporting crude oil broke down in a single-lane part of Egypt’s Suez Cana, briefly disrupting traffic in the global waterway, Egyptian authorities say. SENT: 340 words. MEXICO-ELECTIONS — Mexicans in two states, including the country’s most populous, will elect new governors, having only known single-party rule for nearly a century. SENT: 300 words, photos. ———————— SPORTS ————————— HKN--STANLEY CUP — Zach Whitecloud scored from long range with just over 13 minutes left, after Adin Hill made arguably the best save of the playoffs, and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Florida Panthers 5-2 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. SENT: 460 words, photos. BKN--NBA FINALS-PREVIEW — For the Miami Heat, shooting at Denver’s 5,280 feet of mile-high altitude during Game 1 of the NBA Finals wasn’t a problem. Not shooting from the foul line 15 feet away from the rim was. The Heat made NBA history by shooting only two free throws in Game 1 as Denver struck first in the title series with a 104-93 win. It was the fewest free throw attempts ever by a team in a playoff game and makes one of the adjustments for Game 2 simple to forecast: Expect Miami to go into attack mode. But the Nuggets say they can get much better as well. SENT: 800 words, photos. TEN--FRENCH OPEN — American Coco Gauff rallied from a tough opening set to beat Mirra Andreeva of Russia in an all-teen showdown in the third round of the French Open on Saturday. Experience eventually told as the 19-year-old Gauff, who was the runner-up at Roland Garros last year, prevailed 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1, sealing the result with a cross-court backhand winner. SENT: 900 words, photos. ——————————— HOW TO REACH US ——————————— At the Nerve Center, Vincent K. Willis can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, (ext. 1900). For graphics and interactives, ext. 7636. Expanded AP content can be obtained from AP Newsroom. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 844-777-2006. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide China tightens access to Tiananmen Square on anniversary of 1989 pro-democracy protests Ukraine piles on pressure after Russia declares victory in Bakhmut With oil prices slumping, OPEC+ producers weigh more production cuts

Watching imagery from a drone camera overhead, Ukrainian battalion commander Oleg Shiryaev warned his men in nearby trenches that Russian forces were advancing across a field toward a patch of trees outside the city of Bakhmut. The leader of the 228th Battalion of the 127th Kharkiv Territorial Defense Brigade then ordered a mortar team to get ready. A target was locked. A mortar tube popped out a loud orange blast, and an explosion cut a new crater in an already pockmarked hillside. “We are moving forward,” Shiryaev said after at least one drone image showed a Russian fighter struck down. “We fight for every tree, every trench, every dugout." Russian forces declared victory in the eastern city last month after the longest, deadliest battle since their full-scale invasion of Ukraine began 15 months ago. But Ukrainian defenders like Shiryaev aren't retreating. Instead, they are keeping up the pressure and continuing the fight from positions on the western fringes of Bakhmut. The pushback gives commanders in Moscow another thing to think about ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive that appears to be taking shape. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Russia sought to create the impression of calm around Bakhmut, but in fact, artillery shelling still goes on at levels similar to those at the height of the battle to take the city. The fight, she said, is evolving into a new phase. “The battle for the Bakhmut area hasn't stopped; it is ongoing, just taking different forms,” said Maliar, dressed in her characteristic fatigues in an interview from a military media center in Kyiv. Russian forces are now trying — but failing — to oust Ukrainian fighters from the “dominant heights” overlooking Bakhmut. “We are holding them very firmly,” she said. From the Kremlin's perspective, the area around Bakhmut is just part of the more than 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) front line that the Russian military must hold. That task could be made more difficult by the withdrawal of the mercenaries from private military contractor Wagner Group who helped take control of the city. They will be replaced with Russian soldiers. For Ukrainian forces, recent work has been opportunistic — trying to wrest small gains from the enemy and taking strategic positions, notably from two flanks on the northwest and southwest, where the Ukrainian 3rd Separate Assault Brigade has been active, officials said. Russia had envisioned the capture of Bakhmut as partial fulfillment of its ambition to seize control of the eastern Donbas region, Ukraine’s industrial heartland. Now, its forces have been compelled to regroup, rotate fighters and rearm just to hold the city. Wagner’s owner announced a pullout after acknowledging the loss of more than 20,000 of his men. Maliar described the nine-month struggle against Wagner forces in nearly existential terms: “If they had not been destroyed during the defense of Bakhmut, one can imagine that all these tens of thousands would have advanced deeper into Ukrainian territory.” The fate of Bakhmut, which lays largely in ruins, has been overshadowed in recent days by near-nightly attacks on Kyiv, a series of unclaimed drone strikes near Moscow and the growing anticipation that Ukraine's government will try to regain ground. But the battle for the city could still have a lingering impact. Moscow has made the most of its capture, epitomized by triumphalism in Russian media. Any slippage of Russia’s grip would be a political embarrassment for President Vladimir Putin. Michael Kofman of the Center for Naval Analyses, a U.S. research group, noted in a podcast this week that the victory brings new challenges in holding Bakhmut. With Wagner fighters withdrawing, Russian forces are “going to be increasingly fixed to Bakhmut ... and will find it difficult to defend,” Kofman told “War on the Rocks" in an interview posted Tuesday. “And so they may not hold on to Bakhmut, and the whole thing may have ended up being for nothing for them down the line,” he added. A Western official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Russian airborne forces are heavily involved in replacing the departing Wagner troops — a step that is "likely to antagonize” the airborne leadership, who see the duty as a further erosion of their “previously elite status" in the military. Ukrainian forces have clawed back slivers of territory on the flanks — a few hundred meters (yards) per day — to solidify defensive lines and seek opportunities to retake some urban parts of the city, said one Ukrainian analyst. “The goal in Bakhmut is not Bakhmut itself, which has been turned into ruins,” military analyst Roman Svitan said by phone. The goal for the Ukrainians is to hold on to the western heights and maintain a defensive arc outside the city. More broadly, Ukraine wants to weigh down Russian forces and capture the initiative ahead of the counteroffensive — part of what military analysts call “shaping operations” to set the terms of the battle environment and put an enemy in a defensive, reactive posture. Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesman for Ukrainian forces in the east, said the strategic goal in the Bakhmut area was “to restrain the enemy and destroy as much personnel and equipment as possible” while preventing a Russian breakthrough or outflanking maneuver. Analyst Mathieu Boulègue questioned whether Bakhmut would hold lessons or importance for the war ahead. Military superiority matters, he said, but so does “information superiority” — the ability “to create subterfuge, to create obfuscation of your force, to be able to move in the shadows." Boulègue, a consulting fellow with the Russia and Eurasia program at the Chatham House think tank in London, said those tactics “could determine which side gains an advantage that catches the other side by surprise, and turns the tide of the war.” Keaten reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Associated Press writers Hanna Arhirova and Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. Read More Russia-Ukraine war – latest: ‘Mutinies likely’ in Putin’s military as Zelensky prepares counteroffensive Protesters back on the streets of Belgrade as president ignores calls to stand down Turkey's Erdogan set to take oath for 3rd term in office, announce new Cabinet lineup Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

Investors who took out long positions in the euro could be in for some respite, even as a