Europe

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia claimed it foiled an attack by Ukrainian drones on the Kremlin early Wednesday, calling it an unsuccessful assassination attempt against President Vladimir Putin and promising retaliation for what it termed a “terrorist” act. The Ukrainian president denied it, saying: “We don’t attack Putin or Moscow.”

Putin wasn’t in the Kremlin at the time and was at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti.

MILAN (AP) — A day and a half of nonstop rain has caused caused flooding in Italy’s populous Emilia-Romagna region, leaving at least two people dead as riverbeds left dry by drought overflowed their banks.

One person was swept away by floodwaters while riding a bicycle in the Ravenna province, and another died near Imola when a residence was hit by a flood-triggered landslide. Another person was missing.

BERLIN (AP) — Two people were killed and several experienced a psychologically damaging shock in a train accident near the western German city of Cologne on Thursday, German news agency dpa reported.

The train apparently crashed into a group of people who were working on the tracks close to the town of Huerth. Emergency personnel, police and psychologists were at the scene and the route was closed to further train traffic.

Five people experienced psychological trauma, because they witnessed two of their colleagues being hit and killed, dpa reported.

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization says it has fired the scientist who led a high-profile delegation from the U.N. health agency to China two years ago to jointly look into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, citing sexual misconduct.

Peter Ben Embarek, who led the WHO side of a joint team with scientists in China, was dismissed last year, the health agency said. WHO says it has stepped up efforts to root out sexual abuse, exploitation and harassment in recent months after a string of cases and incidents were reported in the press.

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s populist prime minister likened liberalism to a “virus” in an opening speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in the Hungarian capital on Thursday, painting a picture of a global right-wing movement mobilizing to defeat “progressive elites.”

Viktor Orban’s speech at CPAC Hungary centered around battling what he frequently described as “woke culture,” and delved primarily into hot-button cultural topics such as transgender and LGBTQ+ rights, migration and the content of education for children.

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian police on Thursday urged citizens to lock up their guns after a 13-year-old boy used his father’s guns in a shooting rampage that killed eight of his fellow students and a school guard, sending shock waves through the nation.

Thousands of people in Belgrade and other cities throughout the Balkan country lined up to lay flowers, light candles and leave toys to commemorate the victims of the shooting that happened in a central district in the Serbian capital on Wednesday morning.

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — As Russian officials tell it, two Ukrainian drones flew into the very heart of Moscow under the cover of darkness, reaching the Kremlin before they were shot down at the last minute.

A cloud of questions hangs over the claim.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday he was convinced that Russian President Putin would face an international war crimes court when Ukraine wins the war that has been raging for over a year.

In a speech titled “No Peace without Justice for Ukraine” given in The Hague, the city that hosts the International Criminal Court, Zelenskyy said that Putin “deserves to be sentenced for these criminal actions right here in the capital of the international law.”

03 May 2023; MEMO: Greece issued a series of warnings to ship-owners to avoid sailing close to Iranian waters days before Tehran seized two tankers amid heightening tensions in the region, according to documents and industry sources, Reuters reports.

Iran seized a second oil tanker in a week on Wednesday in Gulf waters, the US Navy said, the latest escalation in a series of seizures or attacks on commercial vessels in Gulf waters since 2019.

LONDON (AP) — The coronation of King Charles III involves one of the most important and complex security operations in U.K. history, Britain’s security minister said Wednesday, after police arrested a man and blew up a suspicious bag outside Buckingham Palace.

A suspect was being questioned by police over Tuesday’s incident, which happened four days before scores of foreign royals, dignitaries and heads of state are expected to attend the coronation of King Charles III.