“Van der Werff is a clearly pro-Putin figure,” says Sauer. “It is of course his right, but for the Russians it is now a practical tool.” FSB van According to Dobrochotov, the libel case is a stick with which to beat the dog. And it does indeed look a lot like this, says correspondent Geert Groot Koerkamp: “Why would you …

Is the collective memory of the nation in the water? “Fortunately, the state archives themselves were spared from the water damage,” communications manager Geertje Elaut told Het Nieuwsblad. “But many government records that we oversee have suffered significant damage. The depots of Verviers, Limbourg, Wanze and Eupen were so affected that they remained inaccessible for more than three days. Archives …

US President Biden expressed his support for the pro-democracy movement in that country during a meeting with Belarusian opposition leader Tikhanovskaya. Tikhanovskaya was received at the White House, something usually reserved for heads of state and government. Biden said after the meeting that the United States stands with the Belarusian people, where dictator Lukashenko has been in power for 27 …

The ANWB, among others, warns Wednesday of the consequences of the inclement weather at the start of the week. “There are a lot of problems on the way around Lugano, also towards Como, due to the floods.” The text continues below the photo. Some roads are impassable. Ⓒ via REUTERS Images of the storm have raged on social media in …

The Vatican began its second day of trial on Wednesday against ten financial crime suspects. Cardinal Angelo Becciu, former chief of staff of the Vatican Secretariat of State, is the most senior person in the Vatican on trial. The allegations concern offenses such as fraud, embezzlement, abuse of power, money laundering and corruption. Last year, Pope Francis accepted Becciu’s resignation …

A Dutch company, linked to the wealthy ex-daughter of President Isabel dos Santos, is due to return hundreds of millions of dollars in shares to Angolan state oil company Sonangol. This was determined by an international arbitration tribunal. This is the Dutch company Exem Energy which, according to the International Corsortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), is owned by Dos Santos. …

The man, named Reza Baluchi, was in a homemade device with buoys floating on its side. A spokesperson for rescuers said the man left about 50 miles north of Florida. But he ran into problems along the way that didn’t get him very far. In total, the man wanted to run 1,000 miles north, but eventually drifted 30 miles south. …

A historic trial opens today in the Vatican. For the first time, a cardinal must appear before the “lay judge” of the mini-state. And this is not just any cardinal: Angelo Becciu (73) held the third position in the hierarchy of the Roman Curia, the board of directors of the Roman Catholic Church, from 2011 to 2018. There heads the …

The temperature will skyrocket in Greece from tomorrow as warm air will be brought in from the Sahara. The mercury could already rise locally to 41 degrees Wednesday. The heatwave is expected to last until early August. Even after the sun goes down, people will no longer be able to rely on the cooling. The mercury is also not expected …

Records of surveillance cameras showed very powerful flashes of light, followed by a loud bang. Police have received numerous reports from concerned citizens, but no reports of injuries or damage. A meteor is a piece of rock that burns very quickly as it enters the atmosphere and glows brightly. Meteorites are called the pieces of meteor that did not burn …