Europe

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — In an unprecedented move, the Vatican on Sunday beatified a Polish family of nine — a married couple and their small children — who were executed by the Nazis during World War II for sheltering Jews.

During a ceremonious Mass in the village of Markowa, in southeastern Poland, papal envoy Cardinal Marcello Semeraro read out the Latin formula of the beatification of the Ulma family signed last month by Pope Francis.

In his homily Semeraro noted that for their “gesture of hospitality and care, of mercy” the Ulmas “paid the highest price of martyrdom.”

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Two foreign aid workers were reportedly killed in eastern Ukraine on Sunday as Russian shelling hit a van carrying a team of four working with a Ukrainian nongovernmental organization, while dozens of Russian drones targeted Kyiv and wounded at least one civilian.

The four volunteers from the Road to Relief group, which helps evacuate wounded people from front-line areas, were trapped inside the van as it flipped over and caught fire after being struck by shells near the town of Chasiv Yar, the organization said on its Instagram page.

MOSCOW, September 9. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Vice Premier of China and Vice President of Laos on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"[Putin] will have international contacts. Vice President of Laos Pany Yathotou will be the main foreign guest at the forum. She will take part in the plenary session of the forum on September 12 together with President Putin. The head of the state will have a separate meeting with her before the forum’s plenary session," Peskov said.

LONDON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Britain recorded its hottest day of 2023 so far on Saturday, with provisional data showing a high of 33.2 degrees Celsius (91.8 degrees Fahrenheit) at London's Kew Gardens.

This year's previous high was 32.6 C, reached on Thursday.

Britain's national weather service said Saturday was also the sixth day in a row the country has recorded a temperature above 30 C, well above average for the time of year.

ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the G20 summit and vowed Saturday to “consolidate and deepen” relations, as Rome considers abandoning Beijing’s “Belt and Road” initiative of Chinese-built and -funded infrastructure projects.

Neither government mentioned the initiative in brief statements after the meeting in New Delhi, the first between Meloni and Li.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s conservative governing party and the opposition showered potential voters with promises on Saturday as the country’s political parties revealed their campaign programs before the Oct. 15 parliamentary election.

The nationalist ruling Law and Justice party, which took power in 2015, wants to win an unprecedented third term. The government’s tenure, however, has been marred with bitter clashes with the European Union over the government’s rule of law record and democratic backsliding.

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Hundreds of Pride activists gathered in the Serbian capital Saturday amid a heavy police presence and anti-gay messages sent by the country’s conservative leadership and far-right groups.

Last year, the LGBTQ+ event was marred by skirmishes between the police and anti-Pride groups who believe the event goes against traditional Serbian Christian Orthodox values and should be banned.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The United Nations atomic watchdog warned of a potential threat to nuclear safety from a spike in fighting near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine, whose forces continued pressing their counteroffensive on Saturday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said its experts deployed at the Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant reported hearing numerous explosions over the past week, in a possible indication of increased military activity in the region. There was no damage to the plant.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Several thousand climate activists blocked a Dutch highway on Saturday in anger at billions of euros in government subsidies for industries that use oil, coal and gas — before police dispersed them with water cannons.

A report earlier this week detailed 37.5 billion euros ($40.5 billion) in such subsidies in the Netherlands, notably related to the shipping industry, prompting calls for a quick halt to the practice.

LONDON (AP) — A former British soldier facing terrorism charges who snuck out of a London prison on a food delivery truck was captured Saturday, police said.

Daniel Abed Khalife was nabbed while riding a bicycle along a canal path west of London after a four-day manhunt.

Khalife escaped from the Wandsworth Prison kitchen Wednesday and got outside the gates by strapping himself to the bottom of a catering truck.