Month: July 2020

A suspected hacking attack caused the site of North Macedonia’s electoral commission to crash for hours after polls closed in national elections Wednesday, delaying preliminary results that showed the pro-Western Social Democrats narrowly leading the center-right opposition. The commission said early Thursday that with nearly 94% of the vote counted the Social Democrats have 36% and …

Read more “Pro-Western Party Claims Victory in North Macedonia Election “

Russian police arrested more than 100 demonstrators protesting constitutional reforms that could keep Vladimir Putin in power for 16 more years, a human rights monitoring group said.About 500 people, many wearing face masks branded with the word “no,” marched down a major street Wednesday in the Russian capital.Some waved banners demanding that Putin resign, while …

Read more “Scores of Anti-Putin Protesters Arrested in Moscow, Monitor Says”

A Belarusian human rights group says police detained dozens of demonstrators in the capital and the city of Borisov on Wednesday as protests against the exclusion of two opposition candidates from the presidential ballot roiled the country. In Minsk, thousands of people stood in a 3-kilometer-long (2-mile-long) line outside the national elections commission to sign complaints …

Read more “Police Detain Dozens in 2nd Day of Belarus Election Protests”

European heads of state will seek agreement over a proposed $856 billion pandemic recovery fund — and to discuss the bloc’s next multiyear budget — when they meet Friday in Brussels. Neither issue promises to be easily resolved. Backing the recovery package are hard-hit southern countries like Italy and Spain, which would benefit most from their …

Read more “EU Leaders Seek Agreement on COVID-19 Recovery Fund”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Wednesday defended his government’s COVID-19 response and preparations for a potential second wave of the pandemic as he fielded pointed questions from opposition lawmakers in parliament.In the House of Commons, opposition Labor leader Keir Starmer, referring to a report commissioned by the Government Office for Science, asked Johnson about the …

Read more “British PM Defends COVID-19 Response to Opposition”

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko dismissed Western criticism on Wednesday after his two main challengers were barred from next month’s presidential election and police detained over 250 protesters.The European Union delegation to Belarus said excluding the two rivals “undermines the overall integrity and democratic nature of the elections,” and Europe’s election watchdog expressed concern about “key …

Read more “Belarus Leader Criticizes West After Protests Over Election Bans”

An artist has erected a statue of a Black Lives Matter protester atop the plinth in the English city of Bristol formerly occupied by a statue of a slave trader.   Marc Quinn created the life-size resin and steel likeness of Jen Reid, a protester photographed standing on the plinth after demonstrators pulled down the …

Read more “Statue of Black Protester Replaces Toppled UK Slave Trader”

Hundreds marched in Minsk Tuesday after Belarus’ election officials refused to register two top opposition candidates for the August 9 presidential election. “We are categorically for honest and fair elections,” said one protester. It is unclear how many people were arrested Tuesday. The election commission allowed five candidates to put their names on the ballot but denied spots to opposition candidates Valery Tsepkalo and Viktor Babariko. Both are seen as the only serious competitors to longtime incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko. Tsepkalo is a former Belarusian ambassador to the United States. Election officials claim most of the names on the petition to …

Read more “Hundreds Protest Opposition Candidates’ Lockout in Belarus”

Spain’s Catalonia regional government pushed ahead Tuesday with FILE – Migrants who are seeking seasonal work stand in a square in Lleida, Spain, July 2, 2020.”What is proposed today goes far beyond a simple limitation of movement and seriously affects constitutionally recognized rights,” Judge Elena Garcia-Munoz Alarcos said. Quim Torra, president of Catalonia, stood firm and …

Read more “Catalonia’s Government Orders Coronavirus Lockdown, Bypassing Judge’s Ruling”

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is voicing concern about the humanitarian consequences of the Armenia-Azerbaijan clash as the two nations remain mired in conflict after two days of border clashes.      Each side is blaming the other for the clashes. Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said, “Armenia’s political and military leadership will …

Read more “ICRC Voices Concern Over Renewed Fighting in Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict”

France will soon require people to wear masks in enclosed public places to prevent a rebound in COVID-19 cases, French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday.After a two-month lockdown starting in March, France began easing restrictions in May, and reopened bars and restaurants in early June. But in recent weeks, France’s virus reproduction rate has crept …

Read more “France to Make Wearing Masks Compulsory in Enclosed Public Spaces, Macron Says”

The British government has banned China’s Huawei telecommunications equipment company from playing a limited role in Britain’s new high-speed mobile phone network.Britain’s Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said the country’s telecommunications operators have until 2027 to remove Huawei’s equipment that is currently used in Britain’s 5G network.Britain’s decision could have wide-ranging implications for relations between the …

Read more “Britain Bans China’s Huawei from New 5G Network”