Month: December 2020

British health officials are warning that people with a “significant history” of allergic reactions should not receive the new coronavirus vaccine that was rolled out in a mass vaccination program Tuesday, pending investigation of two adverse reactions. Britain is the first western country to begin the mass vaccinations, as Henry Ridgwell reports from London. Camera: …

Read more “‘A New Beginning’: Relief, Hope as Britain Begins Mass Coronavirus Vaccinations”

Scientists are watching a giant iceberg in the southern Atlantic Ocean saying it appears to be on a collision course with South Georgia Island and could devastate wildlife there, including penguins, seals and albatross.      Britain’s Royal Air Force, or RAF, Tuesday released video taken by an aircraft that flew last week over the …

Read more “Royal Air Force Releases Video of 4,200-Square Kilometer Iceberg”

Players have taken a knee, unfurled slogans and demanded tougher action only to find soccer — their working environment — remains infected with racism. The tipping point might just have come, with elite players in Paris taking the extraordinary step of refusing to continue playing. At the end of a year of striking gestures against …

Read more “Soccer Players Lay Down ‘Marker’ in Fight Against Racism”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Tuesday called for tougher COVID-19 restrictions as the nation set daily record for deaths from the virus and infection numbers continue to rise.Speaking in the Bundestag – the lower house of the German parliament – a sometimes-emotional Merkel told lawmakers the nation was in a decisive period of fighting the pandemic, …

Read more “German Chancellor Calls for Tighter COVID-19 Restrictions as Nation Sets New Daily Death Record”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson heads to Brussels on Wednesday for dinner with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a last ditch attempt to avoid a tumultuous Brexit without a trade deal in three weeks’ time.With growing fears of a chaotic no-deal finale to the five-year Brexit crisis when the United Kingdom finally …

Read more “No-deal Brexit Fears Rise as Johnson Heads for Last Supper in Brussels”

Human rights abusers will face asset freezes and travel bans under new legislation adopted by the European Union.The so-called Magnitsky laws, officially titled the EU Human Rights Global Sanctions Regime, would target those accused of crimes including genocide, torture, assassination and arbitrary detentions.The European Union officially adopts the legislation on December 10 — World Human …

Read more “Europe Targets Human Rights Abusers With ‘Magnitsky’ Laws”

Researchers at Britain’s Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca published a study Tuesday showing their COVID-19 vaccine candidate to be “safe and effective” at fighting the virus.The peer-reviewed study was published Tuesday in the British medical journal The Lancet. The data showed the drug had an overall efficacy rate of 70.4%, higher than the 50% …

Read more “Oxford/AstraZeneca Vaccine Proves ‘Safe and Effective’”

Difficult talks continue between Britain and the European Union as both sides try to come up with a deal to govern their relationship after Brexit. Those efforts do not appear to be succeeding and in France, owners of many small businesses are worried about what that will mean for them. The clock is ticking for …

Read more “As UK Brexit Deadline Looms, French Small Business Owners Worry”

Britain has vaccinated its first citizen against the COVID-19 virus.Ninety-year-old nursing home resident Margaret Keenan received the first of two doses of a vaccine jointly developed by U.S.-based pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech.  The vaccination campaign, dubbed “V-Day” by Health Secretary Mark Hancock, began nearly a week after the government’s medical regulatory agency granted …

Read more “Britain Officially Launches COVID-19 Vaccination Drive”

Former members of Spain’s armed forces have published an open letter accusing the country’s Socialist-led minority government of threatening national unity.  The letter signed by 271 officers, including two former lieutenant generals and an admiral, coincided Sunday with the country’s Constitution Day, which marked the 42nd anniversary of a 1978 referendum and was seen as an …

Read more “Retired Spanish Officers Say Socialist-led Government Threat to National Unity”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the head of the European Commission plan to meet in person to see whether a last-minute trade deal can be reached, officials said Monday.Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a lengthy phone call that “significant differences” remained on three key issues.They said they were …

Read more “Boris Johnson to Head to Brussels for Crucial Brexit Talks”

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday to boost economic and military ties with France. The dealings present a dilemma for the French government in light of Egypt’s poor human rights record.  In January 2019, el-Sissi and Macron met in Cairo, where the French president said that Egypt …

Read more “Human Rights Issues Cloud France’s Dealings With Egypt”

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Monday toured the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, where staff are preparing to deliver the first COVID-19 vaccinations Tuesday. Last week, Britain’s health regulators authorized the use of vaccine created jointly by U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech, and supplies have begun to arrive to arrive in Britain from Pfizer’s …

Read more “Scotland’s First Minister Visits Hospital Where First COVID Vaccine Will be Administered “

Britain is on the eve of launching a COVID-19 vaccination campaign.   Staffers with the nation’s National Health Service, nursing home residents and their caregivers on Tuesday will begin to receive the first of two doses of a vaccine jointly developed by U.S.-based pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech.  The initiative will start nearly a week …

Read more “Britain Makes Final Preparations for First Round of COVID-19 Vaccinations”

Brexit hung in the balance on Monday as Britain and the European Union made a last-ditch attempt to bridge significant differences to strike a trade deal that would avoid a disorderly exit in just 24 days. As fears rose of a chaotic no-trade deal Brexit on Dec. 31 when the United Kingdom finally leaves the EU’s …

Read more “Brexit Crunch Time as EU and UK Still Divided Over Trade Deal”

Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban claimed victory in Sunday’s national election seen as pivotal for the country’s future in the European mainstream, although one exit poll showed his ruling Liberals (PNL) losing by a narrow margin.A reform-minded fiscal conservative, Orban is expected to be nominated by President Klaus Iohannis to form a coalition government, even …

Read more “Romanian PM Claims Election Win, But One Exit Poll Differs”

Thousands of people protested and blocked traffic in central London on Sunday over Indian agricultural reforms that have triggered mass demonstrations in India, and police made 13 arrests over breaches of COVID regulations.A crowd of demonstrators converged on the Indian embassy, located on a major artery in the center of the British capital, and groups …

Read more “Thousands in London Protest India’s Farming Reforms; 13 Arrested”

Belarusian security forces detained dozens of people across the country on Sunday as street protests calling on authoritarian ruler Alexander Lukashenko to resign continued.Demonstrators gathered in Minsk and other Belarusian cities in nearly continuous protests since a disputed presidential election in August that the opposition says was rigged.This is the third Sunday during which the …

Read more “Dozens Detained in Belarus at Anti-Lukashenko Marches”

A town in northern Syria has increasingly been under attack from rebel groups backed by Turkey amid fears of a new Turkish offensive into the region.   On Sunday, Syrian rebel fighters supported by the Turkish military carried out artillery attacks on the town of Ain Issa and several nearby villages, local news media reported.    Ain Issa is …

Read more “Turkish-Backed Rebels Intensify Attacks on Syrian Town  ”

British negotiators arrived in Brussels on Sunday for a last-ditch attempt to strike a Brexit trade deal with the European Union and avert a chaotic parting of ways at the end of the year. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke on Saturday and instructed their teams to resume …

Read more “Britain, EU Resume Trade Talks”

Belarusian security forces detained dozens of people across the country on Sunday as street protests calling on authoritarian ruler Alexander Lukashenko to resign continued.Demonstrators gathered in Minsk and other Belarusian cities in nearly continuous protests since a disputed presidential election in August that the opposition says was rigged.This is the third Sunday during which the …

Read more “Dozens Detained in Belarus at Anti-Lukeshnko Marches”

Christmas tradition won out over the coronavirus in Prague on Saturday with a COVID-19-compliant, socially distanced St. Nicholas giving out presents to excited children.Under normal circumstances, St. Nicholas, a bearded man accompanied by the devil and an angel, would give children in the Czech Republic presents in exchange for a song or a poem.But with …

Read more “St. Nicholas Tradition Triumphs Over COVID-19 in Prague”

Romanians head to the polls Sunday in a national ballot key to restoring the country’s reputation among investors, with the incumbent, reform-oriented centrists of Prime Minister Ludovic Orban holding a narrow lead over opposition Social Democrats.In power for a year despite his opponents’ hold over parliament, Orban, 57, has said he would undo a 40% …

Read more “Fiscal Reform, Corruption in Focus in Romania Parliamentary Election “

Thousands protested Saturday in Paris to denounce police violence and President Emmanuel Macron’s security policy plans, which the demonstrators say would crimp civil liberties.   In one incident, police fired tear gas and charged after fireworks were launched at their lines. Hooded youths smashed one store window. There were violent clashes between protesters and police …

Read more “Protesters Return to French Streets to Denounce Police Violence; Tear Gas Fired”