News in Brief

Date: 10 May 2023 - 22:56

News ID: ۱۱۴۹۱۸

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Poland’s decision to rename the Russian city of Kaliningrad in its official documents was a “hostile act”, as bilateral ties continue to fray over the conflict in Ukraine. Kaliningrad was known by the German name of Koenigsberg until after World War II, when it was annexed by the Soviet Union and renamed to honor Soviet politician Mikhail Kalinin. Warsaw said on Tuesday that Kalinin’s connection to the 1940 Katyn massacre - when thousands of Polish military officers were executed by Soviet forces - had negative connotations and that the city should now be referred to as Krolewiec, its name when it was ruled by the Kingdom of Poland in the 15th and 16th centuries.

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LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia (AP) — Southeast Asian leaders condemned an attack on an aid convoy that the regional group had arranged for displaced people in Myanmar, calling Wednesday for an immediate stop to violence and for the military government to comply with a peace plan. Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations convened in the picturesque harbor town of Labuan Bajo in southern Indonesia at the start of a two-day summit. Their host, President Joko Widodo, called for unity amid global economic headwinds and major-power rivalry that’s lashing the region.

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NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Rep. George Santos, who faced outrage and mockery over a litany of fabrications about his heritage, education and professional pedigree, has been charged with federal criminal offenses, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The charges against Santos, filed in the Eastern District of New York, remain under seal. The New York Republican has admitted to lying about having Jewish ancestry, a Wall Street background, college degrees and a history as a star volleyball player. Serious questions about his finances also surfaced — including the source of what he claimed was a quickly amassed fortune despite recent financial problems, including evictions and owing thousands of dollars in back rent.

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KALEHE, DR of Congo (AP) - The death toll from flooding in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo crept higher as aid workers found more bodies among the muddy devastation and wounded residents succumbed to their injuries in an underequipped local clinic. The floods, in a remote, mountainous area of South Kivu province, ripped through the riverside villages of Nyamukubi and Bushushu five days ago, razing houses, destroying crops and killing more than 400 people. It was the deadliest natural disaster in recent Congo history. Survivor Paul Serushago was still searching for the bodies of two family members on Tuesday, digging with a spade in the mud and debris that reached halfway up the doorway of their home in Nyamukubi.

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ROME (AP) — Greenpeace and an environmental coalition including 12 Italian citizens are suing Italian energy company ENI, accusing it of knowingly contributing to climate change. The complaint names ENI as well as its two biggest shareholders, the Italian Economy Ministry and the Italian state lender and public investment bank, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. It’s seeking past and future damages as a result of “climate change to which ENI has significantly contributed by its conduct in recent decades, while being aware of it,” according to a statement from Greenpeace Italy.

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Long lines of migrants have amassed this week in the border city of Tijuana, near the sprawling wall that divides Mexico from the United States, in the final days of a three-year long COVID-19 policy that blocked people crossing from seeking asylum. The policy, known as Title 42, is set to expire at midnight on May 11, prompting a rush of migrants to the border, now huddled under black plastic or makeshift tents waiting to cross into the U.S. Activists say that queues of migrants started arriving this week to the city of Tijuana, which borders San Diego, California, hoping to get ahead of a potential rush in asylum applications after May 11.