Recent attacks by Turkey-backed rebels have caused another round of displacement in Syria, where dozens of families have left their homes in the border town of Ain Issa. The town is held by Kurdish forces that Turkey views as terrorists. VOA’s Reber Kalo reports from Syria. …
Leading clerics and monks in Greece are urging the state to take legal action against Bulgaria in a bid to win back hundreds of rare religious relics, including Byzantine manuscripts, that Greece alleges were stolen by Bulgarian guerrillas during World War I.The move comes after the U.S.-based Museum of the Bible, which holds some of …
Read more “Greek Monastery Seeks Return of Stolen Religious Objects from Bulgaria”
As French authorities prepare to roll out their COVID immunization strategy this week, they face skepticism in a country where surveys show many people do not trust the vaccine.France was among the nations of Europe taking the heaviest hit from the COVID-19 outbreak as more than 50, 000 people died of the virus.Like the rest …
As French authorities prepare to roll out their COVID immunization strategy this week, they face skepticism in a country where surveys show many people do not trust the vaccine.France was among the nations of Europe taking the heaviest hit from the COVID-19 outbreak as more than 50, 000 people died of the virus.Like the rest …
Four French police officers have been charged in connection to the beating and racial abuse of a black music producer, a judicial source said Monday, days after the incident in Paris that intensified controversy over a proposed security law. The beating of music producer Michel Zecler — exposed in video footage published last week — has become a focus of anger against the …
Read more “French Police Charged in Beating, Racial Abuse of Black Man”
A public inquiry opens Monday in London to determine the role played by air pollution in the death of a girl living near a busy London street, a case that could set a precedent. Then 9 years old, Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah died February 15, 2013, of a serious asthma attack after nearly three years of repeated attacks and more than 30 hospitalizations related to …
Read more “UK Inquiry Looks into Role of Air Pollution in Death of Girl”
Authorities in Belarus have detained dozens of protesters amid ongoing demonstrations aimed at ousting strongman Alexander Lukashenko from the presidency. At least 130 people were reported detained in Minsk and Barauliany, according to the Vyasna human rights group. Other detentions were reported across the country. This is the second week in which the Belarus demonstrations have been held under the …
Read more “Dozens Reported Detained in Anti-Lukashenko Marches in Belarus “
France’s highest administrative court on Sunday ordered a rethink of a 30-person attendance limit for religious services put in place by the government to slow down the spread of coronavirus.The measure took effect this weekend as France relaxes some virus restrictions, but it faced opposition by places of worship and the faithful for being arbitrary …
Read more “Court Orders France to Rethink 30-Person Limit on Worship “
A leading Hungarian opposition party joined calls on Sunday for Prime Minister Viktor Orban to sack the head of a state-funded museum for making extreme anti-Semitic comments likening U.S. financier George Soros to Adolf Hitler.Nationalist Orban has long vilified Soros, a Hungarian Jew who emigrated after World War II, as part of a general campaign …
Read more “Opposition Calls on Hungary’s Orban to Sack Museum Head for Likening Soros to Hitler “
The European plazas where people would usually gather at crowded stalls to partake in hot mulled wine, gingerbread, sausages and other delicacies are just empty squares.Christmas markets, a cherished tradition in Germany and neighboring countries, have joined the long list of annual traditions that were canceled or diminished this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. …
Britain and France on Saturday signed an agreement aimed at ending illegal migration across the English Channel.Starting Dec. 1, patrols on French beaches will be doubled, and technology, including drones and radar, will be used detect the would-be migrant crossings, British Home Secretary Priti Patel said.Patel said the agreement would help the two countries “make …
Read more “Britain, France in Pact to Stop Illegal Migrant Crossings”
Teams from Britain and the European Union resumed face-to-face talks on a post-Brexit trade deal Saturday, with both sides sounding gloomy about striking an agreement in the little time that remains.EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier returned to London to meet his U.K. counterpart, David Frost. Talks have been held virtually for the past week as …
Read more “UK, EU Resume Face-to-face Trade Talks With Time Running Out”
Violent clashes erupted Saturday in Paris as tens of thousands took to the streets to protest new security legislation, with tensions intensified by the police beating and racial abuse of a Black man that shocked France.Several fires were started in Paris, sending acrid smoke into the air, as protesters vented their anger against the security …
Read more “French Protesters, Police Clash Over New Security Legislation”
As French authorities ease some measures taken due to the coronavirus pandemic, Catholics in the country are challenging the size limit still imposed by the government on prayer services.The coronavirus pandemic places a heavy burden on France, where more than 50,000 people have died of COVID-19. Places of worship were still open during the lockdown, …
Read more “Catholics in France Oppose Prayer Service Restrictions Imposed on Places of Worship”
A report by the Cluster Munition Coalition finds significant progress has been made in stigmatizing and eliminating these weapons since the global treaty banning cluster munitions came into force 10 years ago. Activists note that over the past decade, 1.5 million cluster bombs containing more than 178 million bomblets have been destroyed. This represents 99% of …
Read more “Cluster Munitions Ban is Saving Lives and Livelihoods”
Denmark’s government said on Friday it wants to dig up mink that were culled to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, after hundreds resurfaced from mass graves.Denmark ordered all farmed mink to be culled early this month after finding that 12 people had been infected by a mutated strain of the virus that causes COVID-19, …
Read more “Hundreds of ‘Zombie Mink’ Resurfacing from Mass Graves”
The U.S. announced economic sanctions Friday on Chinese and Russian companies that Washington said had supported the development of Iran’s missile program.The four firms, accused of “transferring sensitive technology and items to Iran’s missile program,” will be subject to restrictions on U.S. government aid and on their exports for two years, Secretary of State Mike …
Read more “US Sanctions Chinese, Russian Firms Over Iran Dealings”
President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that images showing Paris police beating up a Black music producer were shameful for France and that government would have to find a way to restore public confidence in the force.Prosecutors are investigating the violent arrest of Michel Zecler, who said he was also racially abused by the officers, after …
Read more “Macron Calls Images of Police Beating Black Man Shameful for France “
Jim, from Taiwan, slipped a face mask inside the greeting card he sent to Santa and marked “I (heart) u.” Alina, 5, asked in her Santa letter written with an adult’s help that he please use the front door when he drops in, because the back door is reserved for Grandma and Grandpa to minimize …
Read more “In Santa’s Mailbag, a Peek into Children’s Pandemic Worries”
Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny urged the EU on Friday to put targeted economic sanctions on the oligarchs surrounding President Vladimir Putin.”There is no sense in sanctioning colonels or generals or some people who are definitely not travelling a lot,” Navalny told MEPs by videolink.Addressing the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Navalny, who is recovering …
Read more “Navalny Urges EU to Target Putin’s Oligarch Backers”
An Iranian diplomat and three other Iranian citizens went on trial in Belgium Friday for allegedly plotting to bomb a 2018 rally of the Paris-based National Council Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an opposition group in exile.Belgian prosecutors charged Vienna-based diplomat Assadolah Assadi and the other Iranians for the alleged plot against the gathering, where the …
Read more “Iranian Diplomat on Trial in Belgium, Charged with Plotting Attack”
A Turkish court on Thursday handed down life sentences to more than 300 military and civilian personnel who had been on trial for three years for their roles in a failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government in July 2016.They were among 475 people who had gone on trial in August 2017 in connection …
Read more “Hundreds Sentenced to Life Terms in 2016 Turkey Coup Attempt”
A Black man beaten by several French police officers said he is seeking justice after the publication of videos showing officers repeatedly punching him, using a truncheon and tear gas against him for no apparent reason.French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin ordered the officers involved in the case suspended.The incident came as President Emmanuel Macron’s government …
Read more “Paris Police Suspended Over Beating of Black Man”
Thanksgiving just got a little bit better for the Maine lobster industry. The European Union parliament on Thursday approved a mini trade deal with the United States, which includes the elimination of customs duties on U.S. lobster imports. The passage with 638 votes for, 45 against and 11 abstentions was the last major political step …
Read more “EU Parliament Backs Lobster Deal And EU-US Mini Trade Pact”