Europe

VATICAN CITY, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, suffering from a "lung inflammation", appeared seated in the chapel of his residence instead of in St. Peter's Square while an aide read the pontiff's Sunday message.

The 86-year-old pope, wearing his traditional white robes and with a bandage on his right hand, remained seated next to the aide during the reading.

"Dear brothers and sisters. Happy Sunday. Today, I cannot appear at the window because I have this problem of an inflammation in the lungs," Francis said.

AMSTERDAM, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Veteran Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders on Saturday vowed to be prime minister of the Netherlands eventually, following an election in which his party won the most seats.

In a long post on X, formerly Twitter, that expressed frustration at other parties for their apparent unwillingness to cooperate with his Freedom Party (PVV), Wilders said he would "continue to moderate" his positions if necessary to gain power.

MOSCOW, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Defense Ministry announced Sunday that the country's air defense forces had downed nine Ukrainian drones attempting to attack several regions in Russia, including Moscow, Tula, Kaluga and Bryansk.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on his social media channel that the air defense forces had intercepted and destroyed several drones flying towards Moscow over the Moscow region early Sunday morning. There were no casualties or property damage, he added.

COPENHAGEN, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Air pollution is currently the most important environmental health risk factor in Europe, the European Union (EU) environment agency warned in a report published on Friday.

"Air pollutant concentrations in 2021 remained well above the levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its air quality guidelines," said the European Environment Agency (EEA) in the report.

"Reducing air pollution to these guideline levels would prevent a significant number of attributable deaths in EU member states," it added.

LONDON (AP) — Tens of thousands of people turned out on central London’s streets Saturday for a pro-Palestinian march calling for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.

Police said that while the majority of people protested peacefully, 18 people were arrested including at least five people who were detained on suspicion of inciting racial hatred.

The National March for Palestine in central London was the latest in several huge protests staged in the British capital and many European cities every weekend since the Israel-Hamas war began last month.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia on Saturday morning launched its most intense drone attack on Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion in 2022, targeting the Ukrainian capital, military officials said.

In total, Russia launched 75 Iranian-made Shahed drones against Ukraine, of which 74 were destroyed by air defenses, Ukraine’s air force said.

“Kyiv was the main target,” Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on his Telegram channel.

GENEVA (AP) — As he sits in Geneva, Michel Dreifuss does not feel all that far away from the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza. The ripples are rolling through Europe and upending assumptions both global and intimate — including those about his personal safety as a Jew.

ROME (AP) — Tens of thousands took to the streets of Italy’s main cities on Saturday to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, just as an Italian man suspected of killing his ex-girlfriend was extradited from Germany.

The slaying of 22-year-old university student Giulia Cecchettin, allegedly at the hands of her former boyfriend, sparked outrage across Italy, where on average one woman is killed every three days.

LONDON (AP) — One of the world’s largest icebergs is drifting beyond Antarctic waters, after being grounded for more than three decades, according to the British Antarctic Survey.

The iceberg, known as A23a, split from the Antarctic’s Filchner Ice Shelf in 1986. But it became stuck to the ocean floor and had remained for many years in the Weddell Sea.

The iceberg is about three times the size of New York City and more than twice the size of Greater London, measuring around 4,000 square kilometers (1,500 square miles).

HELSINKI (AP) — When Finland joined NATO earlier this year, Russia threatened retaliation.

Now, hundreds of migrants from the Middle East and Africa have appeared at Finland’s border from Russia, seeking entry into the Nordic country.

Finnish officials say the sudden surge in asylum-seekers is no coincidence. They accuse Russia of driving the migrants to the border to sow discord as payback for Finland’s membership in NATO.

Here is a look at the migration challenge playing out along parts of Finland’s 830-mile (1,340-kilometer) border with Russia.