Europe

VATICAN CITY, June 15 (Reuters) - Pope Francis has ordered Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, the private secretary and long-time aide of the late Pope Benedict, to return to his native Germany by the end of the month without any new assignment, the Vatican said on Thursday.

A Vatican statement put an end speculation about what role Gaenswein, a powerful figure in the Vatican for more than a decade before Francis sidelined him after a personal falling out, would have in the Church.

MOSCOW, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Wednesday warned about the potential ecological and agricultural aftermath of a U.S. plan to supply depleted uranium shells to Ukraine.

During the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Zakharova said using radioactive materials in warfare could spread contamination. She said given its distance from the region, the United States has disregarded the harmful impact of its decision.

BRUSSELS (AP) — International donors said Thursday they would commit $10.3 billion in aid for millions of Syrians battered by war, poverty, and hunger, both at home and as refugees abroad.

The pledges by 57 nations and 30 international organizations at an annual European Union-hosted conference in Brussels for Syria fell about $800 million short of a United Nations humanitarian appeal.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Thursday he is opening a preliminary probe in Congo after the African nation asked him to investigate alleged crimes in its North Kivu province since January last year.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden is moving closer to another bid to host the Winter Olympics for the first time in what’s shaping up to be a race for the 2030 Games with only one obvious candidate.

Following a four-month feasibility study, Swedish sports officials said Thursday there is a desire for the Nordic country to stage the Olympics in Stockholm. It will be the ninth Winter Olympic bid for the nation that hosted the Summer Olympics in 1912.

BERLIN (AP) — The head of the United Nations launched a tirade against fossil fuel companies Thursday, accusing them of betraying future generations and undermining efforts to phase out a product he called “incompatible with human survival.”

14 June 2023; MEMO: At least 79 migrants drowned early on Wednesday and hundreds more were feared dead or missing after their overloaded boat capsized and sank in open seas off Greece, in one of Europe's deadliest shipping disasters, Reuters reports.

MINSK, June 14. /TASS/: Despite its latest steps, the West is very afraid about the possibility of a new large-scale war or a nuclear disaster, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with the 60 Minutes talk show on Rossiya-1 television.

"I have met with people playing an important role in this, who make radical, drastic and final decisions in the event of an `if’,’" Lukashenko said. "What they fear most is a nuclear disaster, and they have been sincere about this. They are afraid of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine. It’s only natural," he added.

MOSCOW, June 14. /TASS/: The Ukrainian military has lost about 7,500 troops killed and wounded since June 4 in its attempts to attack in the south Donetsk, Zaporozhye and Donetsk areas, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Wednesday.

BRUSSELS, June 14. /TASS/: The European Union’s envoys have postponed the approval of the 11th package of sanctions against Russia until June 19, a European diplomatic source told TASS on Wednesday.

"The envoys managed to move forward in discussing the 11th package of sanctions, with several elements to be revised still remaining. The next discussion is to be held at the meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives in the European Union next week," the diplomat said.