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Turkey summons Danish envoy over Koran burnings

Turkey summoned Denmark's ambassador on Friday to condemn Copenhagen for allowing a far-right extremist to burn Korans over Ankara's refusal to let Sweden and Finland join NATO. Anti-Islam activist Rasmus Paludan, a Danish-Swedish dual national, first burnt a copy of the Muslim holy book near a mosque in the Danish capital and then a second copy outside the Turkish embassy.. Paludan vowed on Friday to stage weekly actions involving the Koran until Turkey approves Sweden and Finland's NATO membership.

Fri, Jan 27, 2023 2 mins read

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France's shrinking footprint in Africa

With anti-France feelings running high in many of its former colonies in West Africa, Paris is being forced to retreat ever further from the increasingly unstable region and re-think its presence, experts say.. After the ruling junta in Mali forced French troops out last year, the army officers running neighbouring Burkina Faso followed suit this week, asking Paris to empty its garrison in the next month.

Fri, Jan 27, 2023 3 mins read

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At funeral, hundreds mourn verger killed in Spain church attack

Hundreds of mourners gathered Friday for the funeral of the verger who was killed when a machete-wielding assailant attacked two churches in Spain as investigators probed the reasons for the deadly assault. . Valencia, who was in his 60s, was first injured inside the church, fleeing outside to escape the attacker who pursued him into the square and killed him.

Fri, Jan 27, 2023 2 mins read

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UK teen jailed for far-right videos linked to US killings

A British teenager was on Friday sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for videos promoting racist violence that have been linked to two mass killings in the United States.. The judge at Manchester Crown Court in northern England sentenced Harris to 11 and a half years, with a further three years under supervised probation.

Fri, Jan 27, 2023 3 mins read

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Greek government survives vote over wiretap scandal

Greece's government on Friday easily survived a no-confidence vote called by the opposition over a long-running wiretap scandal in which top officials were targeted by state intelligence for months.. But leftist former premier Alexis Tsipras called for the no-confidence vote on Wednesday, calling Mitsotakis the "mastermind and leader" behind a "criminal network" that had wiretapped officials' phones.

Fri, Jan 27, 2023 2 mins read

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France to probe microplastic pellet pollution on Atlantic beaches

French prosecutors said on Friday they would investigate the appearance of vast quantities of tiny toxic plastic pellets along the Atlantic coast that endanger marine life and the human food chain.. Fish and birds often mistake them for food and, once ingested, the tiny granules can make their way into the diet of humans.

Fri, Jan 27, 2023 2 mins read

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US on edge over video of fatal police beating

The southern US city of Memphis braced itself for unrest Friday as authorities prepared to release a video depicting the fatal assault of a Black man by five police officers who, the victim's mother said, "beat him to a pulp.". "They had beat him to a pulp," Nicholas's mother RowVaughn Wells told CNN. "He had bruises all over.

Fri, Jan 27, 2023 2 mins read

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WHO panel in talks on Covid emergency status

The World Health Organization's emergency committee on Covid-19 was meeting Friday to discuss whether the pandemic still merits the highest level of global alert.. Last time the committee met in October it concluded that the pandemic still constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) -- the WHO's highest level of alert. rjm/nl/ea

Fri, Jan 27, 2023 1 mins read

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Ukraine says fighting for Vugledar 'fierce' in east

Ukraine said Friday its troops were locked in "fierce" fighting with Russian troops for control of the town of Vugledar in the region of Donetsk on the eastern front.. Vugledar is about 150 kilometres (93 miles) south of Bakhmut, where Russian troops have been fighting for control longer than for any other city since the invasion.

Fri, Jan 27, 2023 1 mins read

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Putin blasts 'neo-Nazis' in Ukraine on Holocaust Remembrance Day

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday repeated a claim that neo-Nazis were committing crimes in Ukraine -- an allegation Moscow has used to justify its military intervention -- as the world marked Holocaust Remembrance Day.. Friday is the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp built by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland -- a date that has become Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Fri, Jan 27, 2023 1 mins read