BARCELONA, Spain — A religious procession in downtown Barcelona celebrated the appearance of long-awaited rain, after nine days of praying for relief from a severe drought. Around 100 local people took part in the Catholic ceremony on a rainy Saturday evening. They carried the figure of the Holy Christ of the Blood, winding their way … Read more
BRUSSELS — The European Union’s border and coast guard agency has a duty to inform Libyan authorities about migrant boats in trouble in the country’s waters and will keep doing so, the head of Frontex insisted Tuesday, after a charity accused Libya’s coast guard of threatening its crew during a rescue. German charity SOS Humanity … Read more
SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean court on Wednesday convicted three former police officers of destroying internal files and other evidence in an attempted cover-up after a Halloween crowd crush that killed nearly 160 people in the capital, Seoul, in 2022. They were the first convictions over the deaths. The high death toll was … Read more
KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian drone strike on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, killed seven people overnight, including three children, Kharkiv region governor Oleh Syniehubov reported Saturday. He said at least 10 drones were launched at Kharkiv, eight of which were shot down. Civilian infrastructure in the Nemyshlyan district of the city was hit, causing … Read more
BERLIN — Two Czech climbers were rescued Tuesday from Austria’s highest mountain after holding out in a shelter for two nights as high winds prevented helicopters from getting to them. The two men, ages 25 and 39, informed authorities on Sunday evening that they had been injured by a rockfall on the north face of … Read more
BUCHAREST, Romania — A fire at a guesthouse in central Romania on Sunday morning left one person dead and two hospitalized, authorities said. Emergency teams were deployed to the blaze in the town of Calimanesti in Valcea county where 10 people — including the owner and an employee — were staying at the guesthouse, according … Read more
GUALBA, Spain — Plastic jugs in hand, Joan Torrent takes a path into the woods in search of drinking water. He fills the 8-liter (2-gallon) receptacles at a natural spring and then hauls them back to his home in Gualba, a picturesque village near Barcelona that like many towns in Spain is bearing the worst … Read more
BEIJING — A landslide buried 47 people in a remote village in mountainous southwestern China on Monday, state media said. Hours later, two survivors were rescued amid freezing temperatures and falling snow. The disaster struck just before 6 a.m. in the village of Liangshui in the northeastern part of Yunnan province. By evening, nine bodies … Read more
WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s new Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Monday crucial elections to choose city mayors and provincial and county administration leaders would be held April 7, with a runoff April 21. The elections will test the new pro-European Union coalition government’s popular support, just six months after it won parliamentary elections. Tusk and … Read more
TOKYO — Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Sunday the country’s north-central region of Noto for the first time since the deadly Jan. 1 earthquakes to alleviate growing concern about slow relief work and the spread of diseases in evacuation centers. The magnitude 7.6 earthquake left 220 dead and 26 others still missing while injuring … Read more