Europe

BERLIN (AP) — A German convert to Islam was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday on charges that, as a member of the extremist Islamic State group in Iraq, she allowed a 5-year-old Yazidi girl she and her husband kept as a slave to die of thirst in the hot sun.

The Higher Regional Court in Munich convicted the 30-year-old, identified only as Jennifer W. in line with privacy rules, of — among other things — membership of a terrorist organization abroad, aiding and abetting attempted murder, attempted war crimes and crimes against humanity, German news agency dpa reported.

PRAGUE (AP) — Taiwanese government ministers were visiting the Czech capital on Monday accompanied by dozens of business and research representatives to boost trade and investment, a move that has angered China.

Minister of National Development Kung Ming-hsin is leading a delegation of 66 officials representing business and research groups and organizations, including biotechnology, green energy, information technology, machinery and tourism.

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu will visit later in the week.

GENEVA (AP) — The World Meteorological Organization reported Monday that greenhouse gas concentrations hit a new record high last year and increased at a faster rate than the annual average for the last decade despite a temporary reduction during pandemic-related lockdowns.

PARIS (AP) — A survivor of the terrible journey to Auschwitz remembered how the youngest wailed. There were 99 children squeezed among 751 adults gasping for air, crazed by thirst and hunger, aboard convoy No. 63 that departed Paris at 10 minutes past midday on Dec. 17, 1943.

The 828 murdered at the death camp from that trainload alone included 3-year-old Francine Baur, her sister Myriam, 9, their brothers Antoine and Pierre, 6 and 10, and their parents Odette and André.

LONDON (AP) — Former Facebook data scientist turned whistleblower Frances Haugen plans to answer questions Monday from lawmakers in the United Kingdom who are working on legislation to rein in the power of social media companies.

WHITEHAVEN, England (AP) — In the patchwork of hills, lakes and sea that makes up England’s northwest corner, most people see beauty. Dave Cradduck sees broken dreams.

The coal mine where Cradduck once worked has long closed. The chemical factory that employed thousands is gone. The nuclear power plant is being decommissioned.

For the 74-year-old Cradduck, a plan for a new coal mine that could bring hundreds of jobs is cause for hope.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia reported another daily record of confirmed coronavirus cases Monday as a surge in infections has prompted the Kremlin to tell most people to stay away from work starting later this week.

The Russian government’s coronavirus task force tallied 37,930 new confirmed cases in 24 hours, the highest number since the start of the pandemic. The task force also reported 1,069 more COVID-19 deaths in the same period, slightly fewer than a record of 1,075 reached over the weekend.

MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/: The expulsion of two Russian diplomats from the unrecognized republic of Kosovo will not entail consequences for their legal status, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement posted on the ministry’s website on Saturday.

"We proceed from the fact that this step of Pristina’s administration will not entail any consequences for the legal status of the mentioned Russian diplomats," she said.

MOSCOW, October 24. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking at a plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club has not mentioned the confrontation with the West on the basis of values, it would be silly to perceive this message in that way, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the Moscow.Kremlin.Putin program on Rossiya-1 TV channel.

MOSCOW, October 24. /TASS/: The number of coronavirus cases in Russia increased by 35,660 over the past day to 8,241,643 total cases, the anti-coronavirus crisis center said on Sunday.

In relative terms, the COVID-19 incidence stood at 0,43% over the past day.

In particular, over the past day, some 3,297 COVID-19 cases were registered in St. Petersburg, 1,093 cases of the infection were recorded in the Samara Region, 772 - in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, 736 - in the Voronezh Region, 668 - in Bashkortostan.