More than half a million people were left without power in Crimea, Russia and Ukraine after a storm in the Black Sea area flooded roads, ripped up trees and took down power lines, Russian state news agency Tass and Ukraine's energy ministry said. Meanwhile, the Moscow region experienced its heaviest snowfall in 40 years, the governor said. The storms and snowfall were part of a weather front that left one person dead and many places without electricity amid heavy snow and blizzards in Romania and Moldova on Sunday. The head of Russia's national meteorological service said the storm that hit Crimea was the most powerful since record keeping began, state news agency RIA Novosti reported. Crimea was annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014 and is a key military and logistics hub for Russia as it pursues its war in Ukraine. It is unclear whether the storm damaged any Russian military equipment or defenses. The storm also hit southern Russia and sent waves flooding into the beach resort of Sochi, blew the roof off a five-story building in Anapa and damaged homes and schools in Kuban, the state news agency said. It also caused a cargo ship to run aground near Anapa. Local Russia-installed officials said one person died in Crimea after going out to look at the waves in a village near the town of Sudak in the southern part of the peninsula, while other people were hospitalized or evacuated from their homes. The government in Crimea told people to stay at home on Monday and closed government facilities including schools and hospitals as strong winds were expected to continue. The storm prompted several Crimean regions to declare a state of emergency, Tatyana Lyubetskaya, a Russia-installed official at the Crimean environmental monitoring department, told Tass. Roman Vilfand, the head of Russia’s national meteorological service, told RIA Novosti that a similar storm hit the region in November 1854 during the Crimean War. It aused at least 30 ships to sink off Crimea’s coast, RIA Novosti said. The head of one Crimean region, Natalia Pisareva, said everyone in the Chernomorske area of western Crimea lost water supply as well as central heating because pumping stations had lost power. There were also reports of a problem with a gas pipeline in Saky in western Crimea. Around 800 exotic fish died in an aquarium in Sevastopol after the room they were in was flooded, the Crimea 24 TV channel reported. The fish, including pikes and piranhas, died from thermal shock after cold sea water flooded the aquarium, the aquarium director told RIA Novosti. Ukraine's Ministry of Energy said more than 2,000 towns and villages were without electricity in 16 Ukrainian regions, including Kyiv, Odesa and Mykolaiv. It said it expected the weather to worsen, with forecasters predicting more strong winds and snowfall. In southern Russia, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium stopped crude oil loading at the Novorossiysk port on Monday due to “extremely unfavorable weather conditions,” including winds of up to about 86 kilometers (54 miles) per hour and waves of up to 8 meters (26 feet). Heavy snow in the Moscow region caused drifts of up to 25 centimeters (almost 10 inches), three times more than normal, Tass said. Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region, said about 3,000 people worked to clear the streets after the heaviest snowfall in 40 years. In Serbia, heavy snow that fell over the weekend left villages cut off and thousands of people without electricity. A 53-year-old man was reported missing on Sunday in central Serbia and the search for him is continuing, RTS state television reported. Read More Ukraine aims a major drone attack at Crimea Russia puts Ukrainian winner of 2016 Eurovision on wanted list Ukraine's troops work to advance on Russian-held side of key river after gaining footholds Ukrainian marines claim multiple bridgeheads across a key Russian strategic barrier Russia admits Ukrainian troops crossed Dnipro river but says ‘fiery hell’ awaits them Blow for Putin as Ukraine takes major step in bid to outflank Russian troops

Richer Americans are curtailing their spending ahead of Black Friday, a worrisome sign for an economy that has

NASA and SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft blasted off on Saturday carrying four astronauts to the...

The former '90 Day Fiance' star was known for her signature blonde hair, but her ever-evolving face often sparked curiosity among fans

A man accusing Kevin Spacey of sexually assaulting him said the Hollywood actor told him to "be cool" as he kissed his neck and grabbed his crotch...

Iraqi Christians have struggled since the Nineveh plains, their historic homeland of rolling hills dotted with wheat and barley fields, were wrested back from Islamic State extremists six years ago. Although the threat from IS has receded, some towns are still mostly rubble. There are few inhabited homes or basic services, including water. Many Christians have given up and left for Europe, Australia or the United States. Others are trying to follow. Now the shrinking religious minority that was also violently targeted by al-Qaida before the rise of IS has been rocked by yet another crisis in the form of a political showdown between two influential Christian figures — a Vatican-appointed cardinal and a militia leader, with land and influence at the core of the drama. The dispute adds to the woes of Iraqi Christians, who have often felt sidelined in the political order. A 2021 visit by Pope Francis provided a glimmer of hope that quickly faded. Meanwhile, the Christian population has plummeted. The number of Christians in Iraq today is estimated at 150,000, compared to 1.5 million in 2003. Iraq’s total population is more than 40 million. The political tension rose last month when Cardinal Louis Sako withdrew from his headquarters in Baghdad to northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region after Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid revoked a decree recognizing his position as patriarch of the Chaldeans, Iraq’s largest Christian denomination and one of the Catholic Church’s eastern rites. Sako said he will not return to Baghdad until his recognition is reinstated. His departure added to the feeling of helplessness among many Christians. “Of course, this affects us psychologically,” said Sura Salem, a Christian social activist in Baghdad. “You feel like a family without a father.” Christians staged a small protest in Baghdad over Sako’s departure, but Salem said “listening to the voice of the Christians is the last concern” of Iraqi leaders. Sako blames a campaign against him by Rayan al-Kildani, a fellow Chaldean Christian who formed a militia called the Babylon Brigades that fought against IS and still patrols much of the Nineveh plains. The group is affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces, a collection of primarily Shiite, Iran-backed militias. Its associated political party, the Babylon Movement, won four of five Christian-designated seats in Iraq’s 2021 parliamentary elections. Sako believes al-Kildani is angling to take over Christian endowments and properties. Al-Kildani has made similar allegations about Sako. “I have stood up to this militia and others who wanted to take over what rightfully belongs to the Christians,” Sako told The Associated Press, days after arriving in Irbil to a warm welcome from Kurdish officials. “Of course, no one defends Christians other than the church.” In Baghdad's upscale Mansour neighborhood, al-Kildani was busy building political alliances. On a recent afternoon, several couches in the palatial lobby of his party headquarters were occupied by well-dressed women wearing hijabs, beneath a painting of the Last Supper and a portrait of al-Kildani. One by one, the women entered the inner office, each one emerging with a gift bag. One of the visitors explained that they were political candidates interested in running on al-Kildani’s list in Mosul in December’s provincial elections. After the visitors departed, a smiling and courtly al-Kildani made his entrance. He insisted that he had no role in the withdrawal of the patriarch's decree and dismissed allegations that he was seeking to seize church lands. “I am the son of this church, and it is my duty to respect it, but it is unfortunate when a clergyman accuses someone without proof,” he said. Al-Kildani has accused Sako of selling off church properties, allegations the patriarch denies, and he has filed a lawsuit against Sako alleging slander. But al-Kildani said he is ready to meet with Sako to reconcile. Sako rejected the suggestion. Al-Kildani ”has a militia, and his loyalty is not to the church,” the patriarch said. “He is not a respectable person." The Iraqi president has downplayed his revocation of Sako's recognition as bureaucratic housekeeping, claiming it did not diminish the patriarch’s legal or religious status. The Vatican has remained largely silent. Its embassy in Baghdad said in a statement that the Iraqi Constitution guarantees that the heads of churches can administer church properties. A senior Vatican official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment to the media, said the decree was unnecessary given the constitutional guarantees. He said the Holy See did not want to get involved in the dispute but had invited Sako to tamp down tensions with the Iraqi authorities for the sake of Iraqi Christians. The United States sided with Sako. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said last month that the U.S. is concerned that Sako’s position "is under attack” by a militia leader who in 2019 was slapped with U.S. sanctions for his alleged involvement in human rights abuses, including cutting off a captive’s ear. Al-Kildani denied the allegations and accused the international community of being ungrateful after his group’s role in the fight against IS. He accused the Kurdish Democratic Party — the ruling party in the Kurdish region and a rival of the Iraqi president's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Party — and the United States of engineering Sako’s withdrawal from Baghdad for political reasons. For some Christians, the drama is overshadowed by more pressing problems. As Baghdad resident Anan al-Dawi left a sparsely attended Mass on Sunday, her main concern was a recent power outage in the scorching summer heat. She struck a diplomatic tone regarding the feud between Sako and al-Kildani. Although physically absent, she said, Sako “lives in all of our hearts.” As for al-Kildani's group, she said: “I serve the country in my way. You serve it in yours, and they are also serving their country." Back in the Nineveh plains, in the town of Batnaya, patrolled by members of Kildani's militia, Lawrence Sabah owns a small factory where he makes mop handles out of wood imported from Russia. Sabah did not share his opinion on Sako or al-Kildani, but he had other complaints. “There are no services, even the water sometimes doesn’t come, and 70 or 80 percent of the houses were destroyed,” he said. He is hoping to join his parents and siblings, who have resettled in California. Some 8 kilometers (5 miles) to the north, in Kurdish-controlled territory, Raad Ekram owns an electrical supply store in the sparsely populated town of Telskof. When his family was displaced from the village to the city of Dohuk, Ekram believes he got short shrift from both the Iraqi government and the church. “We never saw the patriarch,” he said. “Of course, I don’t accept what happened to him ... and I don’t accept for him to be harmed.” But the patriarch "didn’t do everything he should have done for us.” He is encouraging his children to seek their fortunes abroad. “There’s nothing left in Iraq," he said, "especially for the Christians.” ___ Associated Press writers Nicole Winfield in Rome and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Biden's inaction on death penalty may be a top campaign issue as Trump and DeSantis laud executions On 3rd anniversary, Beirut port blast probe blocked by intrigue and even the death toll is disputed Mega Millions players will have another chance on Friday night to win a $1.25 billion jackpot

WASHINGTON U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday that lawmakers from his chamber should be ready

Somnath Zende won 15m rupees ($180,310, £149,009) on a fantasy sports platform.

Bryn Seion church was built in Oregon in 1884 and Betty Pierce has been going since 1969.

Adam Guillette clarifies that despite their popular label, the trucks are not engaging in doxxing per se

xQc recently moved to Austin, Texas, and found himself in a very uncomfortable situation

Connecticut’s public safety commissioner says state lawmakers should expect a federal investigation into a recent audit's findings showing hundreds of state troopers provided false information from 2014 to 2021 on at least 26,000 traffic stops