From Italy and the World

CNN  —  Jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny appeared before a Russian court Monday to defend himself against fresh charges of extremism, in a trial that could extend his prison term by decades. Navalny, already serving sentences totaling 11-and-a-half years in a maximum security facility, was charged in 2021 with the…

CNN  —  Swiss voters have approved a new law to cut the use of fossil fuels and significantly reduce levels of planet-heating pollution, as the country faces alarming levels of glacier melt. The law, which was approved by just over 59% of voters during a referendum held on Sunday, requires…

CNN  —  Russia’s Ministry of Defense has claimed that a Ukrainian stronghold was destroyed by a remotely-controlled tank packed with a huge amount of explosives, in what appears to be a new battlefield tactic. In a post on its Telegram channel at the weekend, the ministry said that “about 3.5…

Ukrainian shelling on the Kursk region in western Russia wounded two people and damaged buildings, including a sugar factory, regional Gov. Roman Starovoyt said Sunday. The shelling targeted three settlements in the border district of Glushkovsky, the governor said, estimating that Ukraine launched more than two dozen strikes at various areas. Two residents…

Paris CNN  —  A dozen police officers and several protesters were injured Saturday in clashes at the construction site of an Alpine railway tunnel connecting France and Italy. Around 2,000 police were mobilized to the site to face more than 3,000 people protesting the 57-kilometer tunnel project that will connect…

CNN  —  Police in Austria say they foiled an attack on Vienna’s annual Pride parade Saturday after arresting three suspects with alleged links to Islamic extremism. The three – aged 14, 17 and 20 – are Austrian nationals of Bosnian and Chechen origin, Omar Haijawi-Pirchner from Austria’s State Protection and…

The Ukrainian Air Forces claims to have hit a Russian ammunition dump in the occupied Kherson region early Sunday. Air forces spokesman Yurii Ihnat said Ukraine had hit the ammunition depot in Rykov village in the Henichesk area of Kherson. “The less ammunition is there, the more of it on…

London CNN  —  Holly Reeves has a medical condition where she struggles to swallow food, so doctors fitted the five-year old from Devon with a feeding tube. But Holly has asthma and if she has a serious coughing episode the tube falls out – leading to her “starving to the…

CNN  —  At least 16 people are dead and 31 are missing in flooding from the Nova Kakhovka dam collapse, Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Saturday. The dam in southern Ukraine collapsed on June 6, destroying villages, flooding farmland and cutting power and clean water supplies to tens…

CNN  —  African leaders hoping to mediate in the Ukraine war met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg Saturday. The delegation aims to bring the warring sides to the negotiating table despite both of them playing down the possibility. Many African countries have been impacted by the Ukraine war,…

CNN  —  Tens of thousands marched through the streets of Warsaw on Saturday to demand equality for LGBTQ people, as the community eyes upcoming Polish elections in which gay rights could play a prominent role. The country’s ruling conservative nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party has focused on opposing what…

President Joe Biden speaks at the League of Conservation Voters annual capital dinner in Washington, D.C., on June 14, 2023. Susan Walsh/AP US President Joe Biden is comfortable with removing one of the hurdles for Ukraine to join NATO, a source familiar with the situation told CNN. According to the source,…

CNN  —  Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned there is a “serious danger” of NATO being drawn further into the Ukraine war if members of the alliance continue to supply military weaponry to Kyiv. “NATO, of course, is being drawn into the war in Ukraine, what are we talking here,”…

CNN  —  Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces has not yet gained the momentum that some overly optimistic observers anticipated. So far it feels like the prelude to a more expansive act. Offensive operations so far have yielded modest gains in the southern regions like Zaporizhzhia with multi-layered Russian defenses proving…

Kalamata, Greece CNN  —  Nine crew members have been arrested for people smuggling after a packed vessel sank in the Mediterranean on Wednesday, killing dozens of people, as human rights campaigners accused Greek authorities of neglecting those on board. The Greek coastguard said nine Egyptian nationals aged between 20 and…

Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine CNN  —  In a deserted shell of a building, a Ukrainian drone pilot blocks off his surroundings and focuses solely on the controller in his hands. The wall-less room gives him and his unit some cover in the moonless night. The small screen on the soldier’s remote control,…

Rome, Italy CNN  —  Pope Francis was discharged from Rome’s Gemelli hospital Friday where the 86-year-old was recovering from abdominal surgery. Hospital staff had gathered by the hospital entrance to say goodbye and people lined the walkway outside the facility in a bid to see the pope, as seen by…