Reuters UK Top

(Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin, facing an election in March, made only passing reference in his New Year address on Sunday to his war in Ukraine, hailing his soldiers as heroes but mostly emphasising unity and shared determination. The pre-recorded address, being aired just before midnight in each of Russia’s 11 time zones, was in …

Putin, in New Year address, makes only passing reference to Ukraine Read More »

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican marked the first anniversary on Sunday of the death of Pope Benedict XVI, with one of his closest aides saying he never would have approved a recent declaration allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples. Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, who was the Church’s doctrinal chief under Benedict, …

Benedict would have banned same-sex blessings, aide says on anniversary Read More »

PARIS (Reuters) – President Emmanuel Macron vowed on Sunday that 2024 will be the year of French pride and hope, marked by the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games and the re-opening of Notre-Dame cathedral after a devastating fire. “Only once in a century does one host Olympic and Paralympic Games, only once in a millennium …

Macron says 2024, marked by Olympics, will be year of French pride and hope Read More »

(Reuters) – Police on Sunday detained three further suspects in an alleged Islamist plot to attack Germany’s famed Cologne Cathedral on New Year’s Eve, authorities said. The alleged attackers had planned to use a car to attack the 800-year-old Gothic edifice by the Rhine river, Cologne police director Frank Wissbaum told a news conference. The …

German police arrest three more over alleged Cologne Cathedral attack plot Read More »

By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Ahmed Elimam COPENHAGEN/DUBAI/CAIRO (Reuters) -Iranian-backed Houthi militants attacked a Maersk container vessel with missiles and small boats, prompting the company to pause all sailing through the Red Sea for 48 hours, Maersk said on Sunday. The crew of the Maersk Hangzhou crew was safe and there was no indication of fire …

Maersk pauses Red Sea sailings after Houthi attack on container ship Read More »

By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, Europe’s longest-serving monarch, will abdicate on Jan. 14 after 52 years on the throne and will be succeeded by her eldest son Crown Prince Frederik, she announced on Sunday. The 83-year-old queen, who ascended the throne in 1972, made the surprise announcement on live TV during …

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II announces surprise abdication on live TV Read More »

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Maya Regev lay badly wounded in a nondescript house in Gaza, her leg mangled from a gunshot, under orders not to make a sound. The 21-year-old begged her captors to let her younger brother Itay, who was being held in a room nearby, join her while the bandages on her leg …

Painful surgeries and passing notes, how Israeli siblings survived Hamas captivity Read More »

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis on Sunday said the city of Rome has to improve its basic services for residents and visitors before the start of the 2025 Holy Year that is expected to draw tens of millions of pilgrims. Francis made his comments at the Vatican’s traditional year-end vespers of …

Pope Francis tells Rome to clean up its act before 2025 Holy Year Read More »