An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 struck off the coast of Turkey’s Mediterranean coastal province of Antalya on Saturday, the Kandilli Observatory said. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 93.3 km (58 miles), it said, after revising the magnitude up from 5.4.Turkish media said the earthquake was felt in Antalya and neighboring provinces. There were …
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the European Union’s top official are set to discuss the state of play of post-Brexit trade discussions later Saturday after negotiators paused talks in light of their inability to bridge an array of differences.With the discussions stuck over the same issues for months, Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen, …
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Russia prosecutors are summoning Red Army veterans to recall their battlefield experiences to help identify Nazis and their collaborators who carried out Second World War atrocities in the Soviet Union.The new war crime investigations are being linked by observers to President Vladimir Putin’s renewed interest in historical memory and his determination to shape how the …
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Germany’s foreign minister said Friday he is glad the U.S. Congress appears to believe U.S. troops should stay in his country at current levels. At a news briefing Friday in Berlin, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas commented on the final version of the U.S. Defense Authorization Act released Thursday by Congress. That bill says U.S. troops stationed …
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet condemned gross violations of human rights in Belarus on Friday, calling on the government to put an end to the abusive treatment of its people.Bachelet told the U.N. Human Rights Council that conditions in Belarus have deteriorated since the council held an urgent debate on the human …
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Turkey is voicing concern over a new military alliance between Greece and the United Arab Emirates, warning it threatens to change the balance of power in the region. Turkey and Greece are engaged in a bitter dispute over territorial waters, as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul …
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has complained about an international conspiracy forming against Turkey, and he says it’s attempting to frustrate his projection of Turkish power and influence abroad.Domestic and foreign critics counter that there isn’t yet a conspiracy, but if one does emerge, it largely will be due to his picking fights with his country’s …
Read more “Western Frustration With Turkey Likely to Build Under Biden Administration”
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven announced Thursday that high schools would switch to distance learning beginning Monday through early January to slow the rate of COVID-19 infections in the country. Lofven made the announcement at a Stockholm news conference alongside Swedish Education Minister Anna Ekstrom. He said he hoped the move would have a “breaking effect” …
Read more “Sweden Closes High Schools Until Early January to Stem COVID-19 Infections”
A leading European human rights organization called out the Polish government Thursday with a memorandum condemning the Eastern European country’s treatment and stigmatization of its LGBTI citizens.In a report, Dunja Mijatovic, the Council of Europe’s commissioner of human rights, criticized Poland’s ruling nationalist Law and Justice party for eroding conditions and treatment of LGBTI people. …
Read more “Council of Europe Tells Poland: ‘LGBTI Are People, Not an Ideology’”
Greece has lashed out at Turkey, accusing it of pushing distressed asylum seekers into Greek waters, endangering their lives during risky sea crossings to Europe. Athens says such conduct highlights Turkey’s failure to keep its end of a deal with the European Union to stop illegal migration. There has been no comment from Ankara. …
Read more “Greece Slams Turkey for Deadly Migrant Vessel Sinking”
France is mourning the death of its former president Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, as a result of contracting the COVID-19 virus. Giscard led France for seven years, from 1974 to 1981 and many now remember him as a reformer and a champion of European unity.After several hospitalizations over the last few months, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing died …
Read more “Former French President Giscard D’estaing Dies of COVID”
The head of Germany’s disease control agency said Thursday that while COVID-19 infection rates have stabilized, they are still too high. Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases President Lothar Wieler told reporters in Berlin he believes the number of infections has not dropped because German citizens are not taking restrictions on large gatherings seriously …
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Valery Giscard d’Estaing, the president of France from 1974 to 1981 who became a champion of European integration, died on Wednesday. He was 94.Giscard d’Estaing’s office said he passed away in his family home in the Loir-et-Cher region, in central France, after contracting COVID-19.”In accordance with his wishes, his funeral will take place in strict …
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Britain has approved the use of the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer – and plans to begin inoculations in the coming days. As Henry Ridgwell reports, it represents a significant milestone in the battle against the pandemic – but challenges remain.Camera: Henry Ridgwell Producer: Bakhtiyar Zamanov …
Europe’s alpine nations are split regarding how to handle the ski season at their respective resorts during the COVID-19 pandemic.Germany, France and Italy are staying temporarily closed, while Switzerland, Spain and Austria are partially opening.France, like Italy, Austria and Germany, has ordered the high-altitude lifts to remain closed in the hope that all resorts can …
Read more “European Alpine Nations Split on Opening Ski Resorts During Pandemic”
The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed a $102 million contract with a Swiss start-up company to purchase a unique service: the first-ever removal of an item of space debris from orbit. The company, ClearSpace SA, will capture part of a used rocket using what is described as a “tentacle,” and then dragging it …
Read more “European Space Agency Signs Deal to Remove Debris from Orbit”
Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, has likened the scientists who have developed coronavirus vaccines to the cavalry arriving just in the nick of time. “The toot of the bugle is louder,” he reassured Britons during a recent news conference. But like his European counterparts, Johnson’s government is scrambling to come up with a vaccine distribution plan and is having to answer key logistical and epidemiological …
Read more “Mass COVID-19 Immunization Plans Raise Huge Challenges”
Britain has given emergency approval to a new COVID-19 vaccine developed by U.S.-based pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, becoming the world’s first western nation ready to begin mass inoculations against a disease that has sickened nearly 64 million people worldwide, including more than 1.4 million deaths.The government’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority granted approval Wednesday for …
A Hungarian member of the European Parliament abruptly resigned from the EU body after police broke up a party he attended in Brussels because it violated coronavirus restrictions.On his personal website Tuesday, Jozsef Szajer, a well-known figure in the right-wing Fidesz party led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, confirmed that he had been at the …
Five people, including 9-month-old baby, were killed in Germany on Tuesday when a car plowed into a pedestrian street, according to local police. At least 14 other people were injured. Police in the southwestern town of Trier arrested the driver, a 51-year-old Trier native, who was intoxicated and appeared to be suffering from psychological problems, prosecutor …
Read more “Five Killed When Car Plows into Pedestrian Zone in Germany”
World leaders should commit to a climate-smart recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, recognize a new human right to a healthy environment and make the deliberate destruction of nature a crime, youth climate activists urged on Tuesday.”Every moment of inaction makes things worse for our generation” as climate change impacts and nature losses surge, young representatives …
Read more “‘We Know What Needs to Be Done’: Young ‘Mock COP’ Delegates Deliver Climate Vision”
For weeks, NGOs including the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders, have expressed concerns over the draft bill, especially its Article 24, which would make it a criminal offense for anyone to disseminate images that — according to the text — might “harm the physical or mental integrity” of police officers. Those found guilty could be punished by a year in prison or a fine of up to $53,000. Lawmakers from …
Read more “After Protests, France Moves to Amend Security Law Text”
Police in the western German city of Trier say at least two people were killed and 15 others were injured when a car sped through a pedestrian area in the city’s center.At a news briefing from the scene, Trier police spokesman Karl-Peter Jochem told reporters that authorities received a call in the early afternoon about …
Read more “ 2 Pedestrians Killed, At Least 15 Injured in German City”
The United Nations appealed Tuesday for a record $35 billion to provide life-saving humanitarian support for 160 million people next year, as the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has pushed millions into extreme poverty worldwide. “Conflict, climate change and COVID-19 have created the greatest humanitarian challenge since the Second World War,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres …
Read more “UN Asks for $35 Billion in Life-Saving Humanitarian Aid for 2021”