By Ivana Kottasová, Kostan Nechyporenko and Jo Shelley, CNN President Volodymyr Zelensky has fired a slew of senior Ukrainian officials amid a growing corruption scandal linked to the procurement of war-time supplies, in the biggest shakeup of his government since Russia’s invasion began. During his nightly address on Monday evening, Zelensky announced he was banning
Continue ReadingBy Rob Picheta and Antonia Mortensen, CNN Poland has formally asked for approval from Germany to transfer some of its German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, its defense minister said Tuesday, raising the pressure on Berlin to respond to Kyiv’s pleas and send its own shipment of vehicles into the battlefield. “The Germans have already
Continue ReadingCNN By Muhammad Darwish, Katharina Krebs and Tara John, CNN A former Wagner mercenary says the brutality he witnessed in Ukraine ultimately pushed him to defect, in an exclusive CNN interview on Monday. Wagner fighters were often sent into battle with little direction, and the company’s treatment of reluctant recruits was ruthless, Andrei Medvedev told
Continue ReadingBy Tim Lister, Frederik Pleitgen, and Victoria Butenko, CNN Wagner Group fighters have become the disposable infantry of the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, but a Ukrainian military intelligence document obtained by CNN sets out how effective they have been around the city of Bakhmut — and how difficult they are to fight against. Wagner
Continue ReadingBy Jomana Karadsheh, Tamara Qiblawi and Artemis Moshtaghian, CNN The cries of the women outside a Tehran courthouse swell to a collective wail. The gathering is reminiscent of a vigil, but it is one of the vestiges of a nationwide uprising that has all but died down after the Iranian judiciary’s breathless handing down of
Continue ReadingBy Niamh Kennedy, CNN The military government of Burkina Faso has demanded the departure of French troops from the country, according to the government press agency Agence d’Information du Burkina (AIB). France has exactly one month to remove its troops from Burkina Faso, according to the terms of the 2018 agreement, AIB reported, citing sources.
Continue ReadingBy Amir Tal and Pauline Lockwood, CNN Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed key ally Aryeh Deri from all ministerial posts on Sunday, complying with an Israeli High Court ruling that it was unreasonable to appoint the Shas party leader to positions in government. The court had said Deri’s appointment “cannot stand” due to his
Continue ReadingBy Tim Lister and Fred Pleitgen and Matthias Somm, CNN A few kilometers from the Belarus border, Ukrainian forces are training for what they expect to be a brutal spring. Ageing T-72 tanks — some twice the age of their crews — fire off rounds into the mist, while ground troops practise storming abandoned buildings.
Continue ReadingBy Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk has expressed frustration in an interview with CNN over Germany’s indecision over whether to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Speaking to CNN’s Isa Soares on Friday, Melnyk called Germany’s lack of action a “disappointment,” after first praising the United Kingdom for moving forward
Continue ReadingBy Rob Picheta, CNN Pressure is growing on Germany to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, with Kyiv stepping up its pleas and a spat brewing between Berlin and some of its NATO allies. On Friday, Germany failed to reach agreement with its key Western partners on sending the vehicles, ahead of a potential Russian
Continue ReadingBy Celine Alkhaldi, CNN Lebanon vowed to restore its payments to the UN’s operating budget on Friday after losing its right to vote in the 193-member UN General Assembly, according to the country’s state-owned National News Agency (NNA). Lebanon is one of six countries to lose its right to vote for not meeting minimum contributions,
Continue ReadingBy Molly Stazicker and Allegra Goodwin, CNN Influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan will remain in police custody until February 27 after a Romanian court on Friday extended their detention, Tate’s lawyers told CNN affiliate Antena 3. The brothers are being investigated on allegations of human trafficking and rape. Authorities in Romania said police
Continue ReadingBy Barbie Latza Nadeau and Sharon Braithwaite, CNN The arrest of Cosa Nostra mob boss Matteo Messina Denaro at a private health clinic in Palermo on Monday stunned many around the world due to the extraordinary length of time he’d been on the run — but came as little surprise for some who watched the
Continue ReadingBy Uliana Pavlova, CNN Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council and key ally of President Vladimir Putin, warned on Thursday that defeat for Russia in Ukraine could lead to nuclear conflict. The former Russian president made the threat in a Telegram post ahead of a key meeting of NATO allies and other
Continue ReadingBy Artemis Moshtaghian, Hande Atay Alam, Jonny Hallam and Mostafa Salem, CNN An Iranian man who beheaded his 17-year-old wife in February 2022 was sentenced to just eight years and two months in prison on Wednesday, according to the country’s semi-official Khabar Online website, sparking criticism over the leniency of the prison term. Following the
Continue ReadingBy Celine Alkhaldi, Mostafa Salem and Aqeel Najim, CNN A Gulf Cup final match between Iraq and Oman will take place in Basra on Thursday as scheduled, Iraqi soccer officials said, despite a deadly stampede outside the stadium just hours earlier. “The match between the Iraqi and Omani national teams will take place as scheduled,”
Continue ReadingBy Amir Tal and Richard Allen Greene, CNN Israel’s top court ruled 10-1 on Wednesday that Aryeh Deri, leader of the Shas party and a key ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, should not be allowed to serve as a cabinet minister because of a February 2022 conviction for tax fraud. Netanyahu should remove Deri
Continue ReadingBy Rachel Ramirez, Laura Paddison, Inke Kappeler, Lindsay Isaac and Nadine Schmidt, CNN Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was released by German police on Tuesday evening after being detained earlier in the day at a protest over the expansion of a coal mine in the western village of Lützerath, police confirmed to CNN on Wednesday.
Continue ReadingCNN By Maria Kostenko, Sophie Tanno, Brent Swails and Ivana Kottasová, CNN A helicopter crash near a kindergarten in the Kyiv region has killed at least 16 people, including the leadership team of Ukraine’s interior ministry who were traveling on the aircraft and three children on the ground, according to officials. At least 30 others,
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By Maria Kostenko, Sophie Tanno, Brent Swails and Ivana Kottasová, CNN A helicopter carrying the leadership team of Ukraine’s interior ministry crashed near a kindergarten and residential block in the Kyiv region on Wednesday, killing at least 14 people, including all nine people on board, according to officials. A further 25 people were injured following
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