CNN – Europe/Mideast/Africa

By Matthew Chance, CNN Ukrainian defense officials say Russia has increased troop numbers near the Ukrainian border to 120,000 people, including additional army, air force and naval personnel. According to its latest ongoing security assessment — shared with CNN by Ukrainian security sources — the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said “combat and other military equipment,

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas leader in Gaza. Personal Birth date: 1962 Birth place: Shati refugee camp, near Gaza City Father: Father was a fisherman Marriage: Amal Haniyeh Children: 13 Education: Islamic University of Gaza, 1987 Religion: Muslim Timeline 1987-1988 – Joins Hamas, during the first intifada. 1988 –

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of Angela Merkel, former chancellor of Germany. Personal Birth date: July 17, 1954 Birth place: Hamburg, Germany Birth name: Angela Dorothea Kasner Father: Horst Kasner, a Lutheran minister Mother: Herlind Kasner, an English teacher Marriages: Joachim Sauer (1998-present); Ulrich Merkel (1977-1982, divorced) Education: University of Leipzig,

By Laura Smith-Spark and Stephanie Halasz, CNN Germany recorded its highest number of daily deaths from Covid-19 since February on Wednesday, as it struggles to bring a fourth wave of the pandemic under control. A total of 69,601 new infections were reported and an additional 527 people died in the past 24 hours, according to

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of Keith Richards, musician and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Personal Birth date: December 18, 1943 Birth place: Dartford, Kent, United Kingdom Birth name: Keith Richards Father: Bert Richards, factory worker Mother: Doris (Dupress) Richards Marriage: Patti Hansen (1983-present) Children: with Patti Hansen: Theodora and

By Salma Abdelaziz, CNN Illustrations by Alberto Mier, CNN Produced by Monica Sarkar, CNN Editor’s note: This story is part of CNN’s commitment to covering issues around identity, including race, gender, sexuality, religion, class and caste. Berlin (CNN) — “We can do it!” When tens of thousands of desperate migrants made the treacherous journey to

By Ivana Kottasová, CNN Olaf Scholz has been sworn in as Germany’s new Chancellor on Wednesday, bringing to an end Angela Merkel’s four terms at the helm of Europe’s largest economy. Scholz, the leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), won the secret vote in the Parliament as expected, a culmination of months of negotiations

By Matthew Chance and Katharina Krebs, CNN Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has told CNN there will be a “really bloody massacre” if Russia decides to invade Ukraine, and warned that “Russian guys also will come back in the coffins,” amid heightened alarm about troop movements on the nations’ border. Reznikov urged US President Joe

By Clarissa Ward, Brent Swails and Scott McWhinnie, CNN Photographs by Brent Swails, CNN Many of the main roads running through Unity State are now completely submerged, yet the traffic remains. There are no cars, just people, some of whom swim, others wade, pushing their way through the heavy silt-laden water. The more fortunate glide

By Larry Madowo and Bethlehem Feleke, CNN Johannesburg’s Rivers Church, a trendy Christian community for the city’s hip and spiritual, has suspended in-person services indefinitely due to a new surge in Covid-19 cases in South Africa. “We love and miss you but stay safe,” wrote the church’s senior pastor Wilma Isabel Olivier on her Instagram.

By Delia Gallagher, CNN Pope Francis met with refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Sunday, his second trip to the island — which has become a symbol of the migrant crisis — in five years. “Please let us stop this shipwreck of civilization!” the Pope said at the Mytilene Reception and Identification Center, decrying

By Zaina Adamu and Stephanie Busari, CNN African leaders are hitting back against travel bans imposed over the Omicron variant, accusing wealthy countries of being hypocrites for delivering new restrictions instead of the vaccine doses the continent desperately needs. Omicron, initially detected in Botswana, has reignited debate over the effectiveness of strict border closures and

By Hadas Gold, CNN In a nondescript office park in the desert town of Be’er Sheva, a “war room” filled with screens showing various maps, rolling information, and graphics inform around a dozen or so staffers, manning computers at the central heart of Israel’s civilian cyber defense system. So important is their mission that the