An Olympic medal inlaid with a piece of the Eiffel Tower. How’s that for a monumental prize?A hexagonal, polished chunk of iron taken from the iconic landmark is being embedded in each gold, silver and bronze medal that will be hung around athletes’ necks at the July 26-Aug. 11 Paris…

Chinese coast guard vessels have been passing by Japanese-claimed waters for weeks in the East China Sea and China’s warships have been edging near Japan’s southwestern islands in recent days, Japanese officials said.A fleet of four Chinese coast guard vessels on Thursday passed just outside of the territorial waters of…

Thailand plans to open a humanitarian corridor within a month to deliver aid to suffering civilians in war-torn Burma.The plan initially targets a small proportion of the 2.6 million displaced civilians in Burma due to ongoing armed conflict.The aid plan is described as a government-to-government deal, to be managed by…

President Katalin Novák of Hungary is facing mounting pressure to resign after it was disclosed that she granted a presidential pardon to a man convicted as an accomplice in a child sexual abuse case.Novák issued the pardon to the former deputy director of a state-run children’s home who had been…

European Union lawmakers have called for an independent investigation into alleged vote-rigging in Serbia’s recent elections.They demanded that EU funds be cut off if authorities in Belgrade fail to cooperate with the inquiry or are implicated in election irregularities.International rights watchdogs reported harsh rhetoric, media bias, pressure on public sector…

Boris Nadezhdin, a Russian presidential hopeful, met with soldiers’ wives opposing Moscow’s actions in Ukraine, criticizing the government’s decision to keep soldiers in the ranks.Nadezhdin, who is collecting signatures to challenge Putin in the upcoming election, said there is a need for decent treatment of soldiers.Yekaterina Duntsova, another peace advocate,…

The German Navy frigate Hessen has departed from Wilhelmshaven towards the Red Sea for a European Union mission aimed at defending cargo ships from Houthi rebel attacks.Approximately 240 personnel are aboard the Hessen, awaiting official approval from both the EU and the German parliament to join the mission.EU foreign ministers…

Ingo the Flamingo, the oldest resident of the Berlin Zoo, died at approximately 75 years old, having lived there since the mid-1950s.Ingo arrived at the Berlin Zoo in 1955 from the Tierpark zoo in East Berlin, and the inscription on his ring was only discovered recently.He lived well beyond the…

Thousands rallied in front of Slovakia’s Parliament on Wednesday to condemn a plan by the new government of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico to eliminate the office of the special prosecutor dealing with major crime and corruption.The rally took place as lawmakers concluded a debate over that and other proposed…

As the 2nd anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, more evidence has emerged that Moscow’s goal is to redraw the map of Europe and erase Ukraine, according to the testimony of three formerly abducted Ukrainian teenagers.Authorities in Kyiv have provided evidence to the International Criminal Court that more than…