CNN – Europe/Mideast/Africa

By Josh Pennington and Jennifer Hauser, CNN The former rector to the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) has died, according to a statement from the organization, amid a recent string of mysterious deaths among top Russian officials and executives. Anatoly Gerashchenko “died in an accident” on September 21 and had served as the institute’s rector from

By Ivan Watson, Masho Lomashvili, Simone McCarthy, Tim Lister and Uliana Pavlova, CNN Vladimir Putin’s “partial mobilization” of citizens for his war in Ukraine has already set in motion sweeping changes for many Russians, as drafted men bid their families emotional goodbyes, while others attempt to flee, scrambling to make it across land border crossings

By Tim Lister, Julia Kesaieva, Olga Voitovych, Simone McCarthy and Mick Krever, CNN Four Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine began voting in referendums on joining Russia, according to their separatist leaders, in a move that raises the stakes of Moscow’s invasion seven months after fighting began. The referendums, which are illegal under international law and dismissed

By Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN When Giorgia Meloni first burst onto the political scene in 2006 as the youngest ever vice-president of the National Alliance party, she sealed her fate as a far-right politician. The National Alliance, formerly the Italian Social Movement, was unapologetically neo-fascist, formed by supporters of Benito Mussolini. Meloni herself openly admired

CNN’s Amy Cassidy and Jorge Engels Icelandic police say they have arrested four men for alleged “preparations for terrorist acts” — an unprecedented situation for the tiny country. The four Icelandic men, all in their 30s, were detained “in connection with an investigation into planned preparations for terrorist acts,” said Gunnar Hörður Garðarsson, Iceland’s National

By Amarachi Orie, CNN While it is known that some children are not huge fans of greens, a new study suggests that such dietary preferences could come about before they’re even born. Fetuses create more of a “laughter-face” in the womb when exposed to the flavor of carrots consumed by their mother and create more

By Jessie Yeung, Jomana Karadsheh, Ramin Mostaghim and Sahar Akbarzai, CNN The father of an Iranian woman who died in police custody last week has accused authorities of lying about her death, as protests rage nationwide despite the government’s attempt to curb dissent with an internet blackout. Amjad Amini, whose daughter Mahsa died after being

By Simone McCarthy, Matthew Chance, Tim Lister, Anna Chernova and Mick Krever, CNN As the first phase of Russia’s new “partial mobilization” got underway on Thursday, videos appeared on social media purporting to show newly mobilized men preparing to be deployed. In the city of Neryungi — six time zones east of Ukraine — a

By Jessie Yeung, Ramin Mostaghim, Jomana Karadsheh, Mostafa Salem and Jennifer Deaton, CNN In the video, a massive crowd cheers as a woman lifts a pair of scissors to her hair — exposed, without a hijab in sight. The sea of people, many of them men, roar as she chops off her ponytail and raises

By Simone McCarthy and Rob Picheta, CNN Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the immediate “partial mobilization” of Russian citizens on Wednesday, a move that threatens to escalate his faltering invasion of Ukraine following a string of defeats that caused recriminations in Moscow. Putin said in a speech that he would use “all the means at