IF iDir.com

The far-right Swiss People's Party was on track to remain in first place in a parliamentary election in Switzerland on Sunday although a strong showing by the environmentalist Greens could dilute the centre-right's grip on power, an initial projection for broadcaster SRF showed. The Greens were expected to finish in fourth place but that could vault them and allies into the mix for a seat in the grand coalition that has governed for decades.

Sun, 20 Oct 2019 10:16:59 -0400

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he never saw the kind of quid pro quo that acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney referred to on Thursday with regard to the decision-making process he was involved in. "The conversation was always around what were the strategic implications," Pompeo said on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday.

Sun, 20 Oct 2019 10:10:00 -0400

France's Louvre museum, home to Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, is putting the final touches to one of the biggest ever exhibitions of the Italian master's work with the presence of the world's most expensive painting agonisingly unresolved. The Louvre has assembled more than 160 paintings, sculptures, letters and drawings from the Renaissance era in an exhibition to mark the 500th anniversary of the Italian master's death. Whether Salvator Mundi, a painting attributed to da Vinci and sold by auctioneers Christie’s in 2017 for $450 million, and believed by many art experts to be in the Gulf, will be part of the show remains to be seen.

Sun, 20 Oct 2019 10:00:00 -0400

Crews from the Phoenix Fire Department have returned from helping local authorities search for a man who fell into a sinkhole and was swept away in a storm drain. The incident happened last Monday when a large sinkhole opened up in Hermosillo, Mexico, and the man was swallowed up by it and carried away by the underground water currents. Phoenix, a sister city to Hermosillo, sent technical advisers from the Phoenix Fire Department to help with the rescue operation on Friday morning, according to ABC Phoenix affiliate station KNXV.

Sun, 20 Oct 2019 09:57:00 -0400

Milan's mayor is asking U.S. authorities to apologize for a World War II bombing raid that killed 184 elementary school children. The news agency ANSA said Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala made the request following a Mass marking the 75th anniversary of the Gorla massacre, named for the quarter in the city that was struck. Sala said "I think it's necessary that the American government apologizes, knowing that we are here to forgive." He said he would formalize the request with the U.S. consul.

Sun, 20 Oct 2019 09:56:14 -0400