Europe

SARAJEVO, July 4 (Reuters) - The German government has suspended 120 million euros ($125 million) worth of infrastructure projects in Bosnia's Serb region over its leaders secessionist policies, international peace envoy Christian Schmidt said on Monday.

Schmidt said in an interview for regional N1 television that he could not rule out that Germany might follow the United States and Britain and impose sanctions against those seen as destabilising Bosnia.

"Nobody should feel safe in this regard," Schmidt said, without naming anyone.

VATICAN CITY, July 4 (Reuters) - Pope Francis has dismissed reports that he plans to resign in the near future, saying he is on track to visit Canada this month and hopes to be able to go to Moscow and Kyiv as soon as possible after that.

In an exclusive interview in his Vatican residence, Francis also denied rumours that he had cancer, joking that his doctors "didn't tell me anything about it", and for the first time gave details of the knee condition that has prevented him carrying out some duties.

BERLIN (AP) — A 101-year-old man who was convicted last week as an accessory to murder for serving as a guard at a Nazi concentration camp during World War II has appealed, a German court said Monday.

The man, whom local media have identified as Josef S., was convicted last Tuesday of more than 3,500 counts of accessory to murder and sentenced to five years in prison.

ROME (AP) — Thunderstorms hampered Monday the search for more than a dozen hikers who remained unaccounted for a day after a huge chunk of an Alpine glacier in Italy broke off, sending an avalanche of ice, snow and rocks down the slope. Italy’s state TV said another body was recovered, raising the known death toll to seven.

Nine others were injured when the avalanche was unleashed from the Marmolada glacier Sunday afternoon when dozens of hikers were on excursions, some of them roped together.

BAKHMUT, Ukraine (AP) — Torched forests and cities burned to the ground. Colleagues with severed limbs. Bombardments so relentless the only option is to lie in a trench, wait and pray.

Ukrainian soldiers returning from the front lines in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region — where Russia is waging a fierce offensive — describe life during what has turned into a grueling war of attrition as apocalyptic.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A gunman who killed three people when he opened fire in a crowded shopping mall acted alone and apparently selected his victims at random, Danish police said Monday, all but ruling out that the attack was an “act of terrorism.”

Police have not identified a motive for Sunday’s attack inside one of Scandinavia’s biggest shopping centers. A suspect carrying a rifle and knife was quickly arrested, and Copenhagen chief police inspector Søren Thomassen said the 22-year-old Danish man also had access to another gun.

03 July 2022; MEMO: An Iranian-flagged tanker seized by Greece in April, part of whose cargo was confiscated by the United States, was being towed to the port of Piraeus on Saturday, Greek coast guard officials said, after Greek authorities approved its release, Reuters reported.

For over two months the Iranian-flagged Lana has been anchored off the Greek island of Evia in a diplomatic impasse which strained Athens' relations with Tehran amid growing tensions between Iran and the United States.

MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/: Russia's Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin on the liberation of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Sunday.

"On July 3, 2022, the Russian Minister of Defense, General of the Army Sergey Shoigu reported to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces Vladimir Putin on the liberation of the Lugansk People's Republic," the ministry said.

MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 3,080 over the past day to 18,439,759, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Sunday.

As many as 510 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day. The number of hospitalized patients declined in 63 regions, while in 13 other regions the figure increased. A day earlier, 1,112 people were rushed to hospitals.

MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/: Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that his country will ban imports of Russian gold and will impose sanctions against 16 more Russian nationals, Reuters reported on Sunday.

According to Albanese, the new sanctions will cover ministers and businessmen.

When these sanctions are imposed, the blacklist of Russian nationals will include 843 names.

The Australian prime minister recalled that his country would send 20 more Bushmaster armored military cars and 14 armored infantry carriers.