South Africans Want Their Country Off Britain’s COVID Travel ‘Red List’

Britain is gradually easing COVID-19 travel restrictions among African countries on its so-called red list at highest risk of spreading coronavirus. However, South Africa remains on the list, despite a decline in infections. The status is taking a toll on South African tourism and people wanting to visit their families in Britain. Lynne Philip hasn’t …

UK In Talks with Westinghouse Over New Nuclear Power Plant in Wales, Times Says

Britain is in talks with U.S. nuclear reactor company Westinghouse on building a new atomic power plant on Anglesey in Wales, the British newspaper The Times reported. If it gets the go-ahead the new plant at Wylfa would be able to generate enough electricity to power more than 6 million homes and could be operational …

Catalan Separatist Leader Puigdemont Arrested in Italy

Exiled former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont was arrested in Italy on Thursday, his lawyer and an aide said, four years after fleeing following an independence referendum that Madrid ruled unconstitutional. The European MEP was expected to appear in court on Friday at a hearing that could see him extradited to Spain to face sedition charges. …

Unrest in Myanmar, Belarus Triggers Dramatic Drop in Internet Rights

Belarus and Myanmar registered a significant decline in global internet freedom ratings following political turmoil in which authorities in the two countries arrested journalists and blocked access to the internet.     In its annual Freedom on the Net report, the global nonprofit Freedom House found digital rights had declined globally for the 11th consecutive …

Goodbye Merkel: Germany’s ‘Crisis Chancellor’ To Step Down After 16 Years

After 16 years, Germany is preparing to bid farewell to Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is stepping down after elections scheduled for Sunday. As Henry Ridgwell reports from Berlin, Merkel was Germany’s first female chancellor and its first leader to have been raised in the former East Germany. Camera: Henry Ridgwell Produced by: Jon Spier    …

French Foreign Minister to US: Repairing Ties Will Take ‘Time’ 

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday that it would take “time” and “actions” to repair ties with the U.S. in the wake of a submarine deal that undercut a French agreement to supply Australia with diesel subs.  Last week, the United States, United Kingdom and Australia …

Lava, Smoke, Ash Cover La Palma as Volcano Threatens Banana Crop

Jets of red hot lava shot into the sky on Spain’s La Palma on Thursday as a huge cloud of toxic ash drifted from the Cumbre Vieja volcano toward the mainland and jeopardized the island’s economically crucial banana crops.   Walls of lava, which turn black when exposed to the air, have advanced slowly westward …

Europe’s Governments Set to Spend Billions as Energy Crisis Deepens

Europe is being buffeted by unprecedented recovery-related energy price spikes, prompting rising alarm about whether families will be able to remain warm as the northern hemisphere’s winter approaches. Politicians are also anxious about the electoral repercussions and how spiking prices will fuel further inflation. The price jumps in natural gas are due largely to a …

Biden, Macron to Meet to Ease Rift Over Submarine Sales to Australia

U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron have agreed to meet in person next month in Europe after a Wednesday phone call in which they sought to ease tensions over a high-profile submarine deal.  A White House statement after the phone call suggested regret over the handling of the deal, in which the …

US, Russian Military Chiefs Meet in Helsinki for Six Hours

The top U.S. military officers from the United States and Russia held six hours of talks in Helsinki, Finland, on Wednesday, the first face-to-face meeting between them since 2019, as both nations adjust to the U.S. pullout and Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.  General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Valery …

Lava Continues to Bear Down on Spain’s Canary Island

Lava continued to bear down Wednesday on La Palma, one of the Spanish Canary Islands, as residents fled following Sunday’s volcanic eruption.  More than 6,800 people have been evacuated from the island, one of the archipelago’s smaller and least populated, since Sunday.  The Associated Press reported that lava has engulfed and destroyed 320 buildings so …

US, European Allies Navigate Australian Submarine Deal’s Wake

The United States and its European allies are navigating the diplomatic disturbance following an enhanced trilateral security partnership known as AUKUS (Australia, the UK, and the U.S.) that triggered what French officials described as a “crisis of trust” between Paris and Washington. Under the new security pact, Australia will receive at least eight nuclear-powered submarines, …

Gunmen Open Fire on Car of Ukrainian President’s Assistant

Gunmen opened fire Wednesday on a car carrying a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, according to national police.  Zelenskiy, who is in New York for the U.N. General Assembly, said in a video statement there would be a “strong response” to what a senior official described as an assassination attempt on presidential advisor …

4 Migrants Found Dead Along Route Between Poland-Belarus Border

U.N. agencies are calling for an investigation into the deaths of four people whose bodies were found over the weekend near the border between Poland and Belarus. Three of the dead found on the Polish side of the border have been identified by Polish authorities as Iraqi men. The fourth person was identified by Belarusian …

As Merkel Bids Farewell, German Women Wish for More Equality

Angela Merkel, Germany’s first female chancellor, has been praised by many for her pragmatic leadership in a turbulent world and celebrated by some as a feminist icon. But a look at her track record over her 16 years at Germany’s helm reveals missed opportunities for fighting gender inequality at home.   Named “The World’s Most …

World Leaders Address UN General Assembly

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Malawi President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera are among the world leaders scheduled to take their turn to address the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday.  Johnson has highlighted in the days before his speech the need to take action to address climate change, saying a global economic recovery “must be rooted in green growth.”  …

German Election: Who Will Take Over From Angela Merkel at the Heart of Europe?

Germans are preparing to choose a new leader in elections scheduled September 26 to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is stepping down. As Henry Ridgwell reports from Berlin, Merkel has been seen as a pillar of stability in Europe for almost two decades — and the coming changes in Germany will be felt around the …

Canary Islands Volcano Lava Nears Sea, Sparking Fears of Toxic Gas

A vast river of molten lava from a Canary Islands volcano was edging toward the sea on Tuesday, destroying everything in its path and provoking fears it will generate clouds of toxic gases when it hits the water.  A new fissure emerged on the slopes of the Cumbre Vieja volcano overnight, belching out more lava …

7 Survivors of Russian University Shooting Airlifted to Moscow

Seven survivors of a shooting at a university in central Russia that left six people dead and 28 more wounded are to be airlifted to Moscow for medical treatment on Tuesday, according to a top education official. Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov said Tuesday that the shooting at the Perm State University …

Anti-Putin Protests Fail to Materialize After Sunday Vote

Results from Russia’s parliamentary and local elections Sunday have given a boost to the allies of President Vladimir Putin, who will now retain their majority. After denouncing alleged fraud, the Communist Party – the second largest in parliament – called for demonstrations in the Russian capital Monday but few people appeared. Jon Spier narrates this …