Month: May 2020

British War veteran Colonel Tom Moore, who became a national celebrity this week when he raised about $50 million  for the National Health Service, was awarded a knighthood Wednesday by Queen Elizabeth.  The 100-year-old Moore, who was a captain in the British Army in World War II, wanted to thank the health service for treatment …

Read more “100-Year-Old Fundraising Champion Tom Moore Knighted”

Croatia’s President Zoran Milanovic on Wednesday scheduled a parliamentary election in the European Union nation for July 5.  Milanovic formally set the date for the ballot after Croatia’s lawmakers voted earlier this week to dissolve parliament.The Balkan country of around 4.2 million people has been easing lockdown measures against the new coronavirus after a drop …

Read more “Croatian President Sets Parliamentary Vote for July 5”

Spain’s prime minister appears before parliament on Wednesday to ask for its endorsement to extend the state of emergency that his government has used to rein in the country’s coronavirus outbreak that has killed at least 27,000 people.   It would be the fifth two-week extension to the state of emergency, which is currently set …

Read more “Spain’s Leader Asks Parliament for 2 More Weeks of Lockdown”

Here’s a look at how Muslims worldwide are marking Ramadan, a month of fasting, prayer and reflection, during the Pandemic. …

The United Nations has hailed the arrest of a wanted Rwandan genocide suspect, Felicien Kabuga, who appeared before a Paris court under heavy police protection on Tuesday.Kabuga’s court appearance came three days after French police arrested the 84-year-old at his apartment in the Paris suburb of Asnieres-sur-Seine, where officials say he had been living under a false identity.  The date …

Read more “Rwandan Genocide Suspect Appears Before Paris Court “

Human rights activists are urging the government of Greece to release 276 unaccompanied migrant children from police detention cells. Human Rights Watch is leading the appeal, saying the children’s continued detention is a breach of both local and international laws. Back in November, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis launched an ambitious campaign, promising to leave …

Read more “Activists Urge Greece to Release Migrant Children  “

The United States said on Tuesday it would this week start delivering 200 medical ventilators to Russia, which has the world’s second highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases.   Russia reported 9,263 new infections on Tuesday, pushing its nationwide total to 299,941, and 115 more deaths, taking the total death toll to 2,837. Only the …

Read more “US to Send Russia 200 Ventilators as Russian Coronavirus Cases Near 300,000”

Human rights and survivor groups are cheering Saturday’s arrest in France of a top Rwandan genocide suspect, Felicien Kabuga. But questions are mounting about how he managed to evade justice for so long — and the fate of other suspects and accomplices in the 1994 killings.Neighbors in the Paris suburb where Kabuga lived say they …

Read more “Rwandan Genocide Suspect’s Arrest in France Raises Questions”

French actor Michel Piccoli, a prolific screen star who appeared in landmark films by directors such as Luis Bunuel – including in his Academy Award winning “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” —and Jean-Luc Godard, has died. He was 94.His family confirmed to French media Monday that he died last week, but they did not …

Read more “Prominent French Actor Michel Piccoli, Arthouse Star, is Dead at 94”

At the start of their coronavirus lockdowns, European governments scrambled to shore up businesses and the public sector with subsidies — a bid to ensure that a post-virus recession is not prolonged because of cascading layoffs and bankruptcies.  But the economic prospects look dim for Europe with the impact of the lockdowns, now being slowly relaxed, lasting years, analysts say. …

Read more “Coronavirus Pandemic Risks Widening EU Splits “

After some schools went through a “dry run” on Friday, more of Belgium’s schools opened Monday as the nation took its “next step” in easing its COVID-18 restrictions. Classes resumed with a limited number of pupils per school to make sure social distancing was fully respected. Temperatures were taken as students entered schools and face masks …

Read more “Students in Belgium Return to School After 2-Month COVID Break “

Churches across Italy prepared to reopen Monday with new rules at the end of a more than 2-month lockdown due to Covid-19. Pope Francis celebrated his last streaming morning mass  to mark the centenary of the birth of Saint John Paul II. After intense preparations inside the churches, the faithful are returning to services  Monday, as …

Read more “Churches Across Italy Reopen With New Rules “

Brazil become the country with the fourth-largest number of coronavirus infections in the world, surpassing Spain and Italy. Overnight, the South American country had more than 15,000 confirmed new cases, bringing the total to more than 235,000 Sunday, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally. Health experts say the real number of cases could be higher because many people have not been tested.  With the death toll …

Read more “Brazil Overtakes Spain, Italy In Number of COVID Cases”

Pirates attacked a British-flagged oil tanker off the coast of Yemen Sunday, causing some minor damage but no injuries.Operators of the Stolt Apel say six gunmen in two separate speedboats sped toward the tanker about 140 kilometers off Yemen in the Gulf of Aden.Armed guards aboard the boat returned fire, disabling one of the speedboats.A …

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On a weekend when many pandemic-weary people emerged from weeks of lockdown, leaders in the U.S. and Europe weighed the risks and rewards of lifting COVID-19 restrictions knowing that a vaccine could take years to develop.In separate stark warnings, two major European leaders bluntly told their citizens that the world needs to adapt to living …

Read more “US, European Leaders Weigh Reopening Risks Without a Vaccine”