worldwide news
Russian health officials Thursday reported a record number of COVID-19 deaths – 986 – for the third consecutive day, while also reporting a record 31,299 new confirmed infections. The number of new cases breaks a record set last December, and marks the first time Russia has officially reported more than 30,000 cases in a single …
Read more “Russia Sets COVID-19 Death Record for 3rd Straight Day”
France has threatened to retaliate against Britain in yet another post-Brexit dispute, this time over fishing rights in what the British call the English Channel and the French refer to as La Manche, the narrow arm of the Atlantic Ocean separating England’s southern coast from the northern shores of France. French government spokesman Gabriel Attal …
Read more “Paris Threatens Retaliation in an Explosive Anglo-French Fishing Dispute”
Turkey’s president has brushed aside criticism of the country’s press freedom record, telling a U.S. broadcaster the country is “incomparably free.” But his comments on CBS came in the same month that several journalists were fighting lawsuits. One of those — journalist and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) representative Erol Onderoglu– was back in court on …
Read more “Erdogan Says Media Are ‘Incomparably Free,’ But Turkish Journalists Disagree”
A man armed with a bow and arrows killed five people and wounded two others on Wednesday in southeastern Norway, police said, adding that they had arrested the suspect. The motive for the attack, which took place in several locations in the center of Kongsberg, was not yet known, but police said terrorism could not …
Read more “Five Killed, Two Hurt in Norway Bow-and-Arrow Attack; Suspect Arrested”
The chief of the World Health Organization on Wednesday honored the late Henrietta Lacks, an American woman whose cancer cells were taken without her knowledge during the 1950s and ended up providing the foundation for vast scientific breakthroughs, including research about the coronavirus. The recognition from WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus came more than …
Read more “WHO Honors Henrietta Lacks, Woman Whose Cells Served Science”
Human rights activist Julienne Lusenge of the Democratic Republic of Congo was recently proclaimed the winner of the 2021 Aurora Humanitarian Prize for her work with wartime victims of sexual violence. She was one of five humanitarian finalists who were up for the award, often referred to as the Nobel prize for humanitarian work. The …
Syrian government forces backed by Russia have recently ramped up attacks against Idlib, the last rebel enclave. A Turkish military force stands in the way of Syrian troops that are poised to seize Idlib, a move Ankara fears could result in millions of refugees fleeing to Turkey. For VOA, Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul …
Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk said Tuesday it had started to divert vessels away from Britain’s biggest container port because of congestion, the latest fallout from multiple crises hitting the United Kingdom. The country is suffering runaway energy prices, shortages of goods, fuel delivery issues and a worsening long-term shortage of lorry drivers, with post-Brexit immigration …
Read more “Shipping Giant Diverts Vessels From Crisis-Hit UK”
Members of the G-20 group of industrialized nations have pledged billions of dollars in aid to prevent a catastrophe in Afghanistan, following an emergency meeting Tuesday. Henry Ridgwell reports. …
Friends and colleagues of Jonathan Mirsky, an American journalist known as one of the sharpest observers of China, are reflecting fondly on his legacy ahead of his funeral in London Wednesday, one month short of his 89th birthday. Mirsky, who died in September, was a prolific writer, with hundreds of bylines inked in major publications …
Read more “Journalist Jonathan Mirsky Remembered as Sharp Observer of China”
European Union leaders met Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, pledging to strengthen ties and support the eastern European nation, particularly on the issue of Russia and energy security. Zelenskiy hosted EU Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for the 23rd EU-Ukraine summit, a meeting …
Read more “EU Officials Pledge to Support Ukraine’s National Energy Security “
A report produced by the British parliament says a state of “groupthink” among government officials led to a costly delay in ordering a nationwide lockdown in the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 151-page report from the joint science and health committees in the House of Commons says Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Cabinet deliberately …
Read more “British MPs Slam Government’s Initial COVID Response”
It was late last Christmas Eve when the European Union and Britain finally clinched a Brexit trade deal after years of wrangling, threats and missed deadlines to seal their divorce. There was hope that now-separated Britain and the 27-nation bloc would sail their relationship toward calmer waters. With Christmas closing in again one thing is …
Read more “Divorced UK and EU Head for New Brexit Fight Over N Ireland”
With Afghanistan facing humanitarian and economic crises, G-20 leaders are set to meet virtually Tuesday to discuss ways to meet aid needs and address security concerns following the Taliban’s August takeover. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi is hosting the summit, with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, U.S. President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and …
Read more “G-20 Leaders to Discuss Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan”
The German city of Cologne says it will start allowing mosques to broadcast the call to prayer, or azan, over loudspeakers. The city said Monday the call to prayer could be broadcast on Friday afternoons for up to five minutes. Mosques will need to apply for a permit to broadcast and must comply with volume …
Read more “German City of Cologne Allows Mosques to Broadcast Call to Prayer “
Russia, Germany and France have agreed that their foreign ministers should meet to discuss the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by phone Monday on the issue of Ukraine. Both the German and Russian governments said the leaders agreed that their foreign …
Read more “Russia, Germany, France to Hold Ministerial-Level Meeting on Ukraine “
European Union officials have warned that the bloc “is at risk of collapse” unless it challenges a ruling by Poland’s top court over the supremacy of EU law, which is seen as a central pillar of European integration. Vera Jourova, the EU commissioner from the Czech Republic, said Monday: “If we don’t uphold the principle …
Read more “‘Polexit’: Is Poland About to Quit the European Union?”
The Italian glassblowers of Murano have survived plagues and pandemics. They transitioned to highly prized artistic creations to outrun low-priced competition from Asia. But surging energy prices are shattering their economic model. The dozens of furnaces that remain on the lagoon island where Venetian rulers transferred glassblowing 700 years ago must burn around the clock, …
Read more “Murano Glassblowing Model Shattered by Methane Price Surge”
Austria’s new Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg pledged on Monday to work closely with his predecessor Sebastian Kurz, who quit in the face of corruption allegations, fueling opposition assertions that the new leader will simply do Kurz’s bidding. The Greens, the junior partner to Kurz’s conservatives, had demanded Kurz’s head after he and nine others including senior …
Read more “Austria’s New Leader Defends Kurz as Opposition Calls him Kurz’s Puppet”
Next month, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, will get under way, setting the climate agenda for decades to come, and ahead of the summit, Western leaders have been scrambling to make promises to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Some economists, however, are warning that in the pledge-making …
Read more “Energy Crunch Prompts Questions About Net Zero Promises”
British police said on Monday they would be taking no further action after conducting a review of evidence relating to sex crime allegations against Queen Elizabeth’s son, Prince Andrew, and the late U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein. London’s police chief, Cressida Dick, said in August that detectives would look at the allegations for a third time …
Read more “UK Police: No Further Action on Prince Andrew, Epstein Allegations”
The mynah bird squawks from a new cage in the French ambassador’s sunlit living room in Abu Dhabi, a far cry from its life as the pet of a young Afghan woman who has since found refuge in France. Talkative, yellow-beaked “Juji” had a brief star turn on social media, its story of survival amid …
Read more “A Bird Stars in Rare Feel-good Tale About Afghan Evacuations “
The United States and Britain warned their citizens on Monday to avoid hotels in Afghanistan, days after dozens were killed at a mosque in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group active in Afghanistan, Islamic State Khorasan. The Taliban, which seized power in August and declared an Islamic emirate, are seeking international recognition and assistance …
Read more “US, UK Warn Citizens to Avoid Afghanistan Hotels”
Jailed former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been on a hunger strike since October 1, needs to be hospitalized, as his condition is worsening, his doctor said Sunday in a television interview. Saakashvili declared a hunger strike after he was arrested on October 1 and incarcerated in the city of Rustavi, hours after he …
Read more “Doctor: Jailed Former Georgian President Saakashvili Needs Hospital Treatment”