Millions of Hong Kong residents who seek to leave the territory amid a new national security law imposed by China are now able to apply to live and work in Britain. Britain began taking applications Sunday from Hong Kong residents who wish to relocate and travel under what is known as a British …
Read more “Britain Allowing Hong Kongers to Seek Residency Under New Policy”
Tom Moore, the 100-year-old World War II veteran who captivated the British public in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic with his fundraising efforts, has been hospitalized with COVID-19, his daughter said Sunday.Hannah Ingram-Moore revealed in a statement posted on Twitter that her father, widely known as Captain Tom, has been admitted to Bedford …
Read more “100-Year-Old British Veteran Hospitalized With Virus He Raised Money to Fight”
Thousands of Hong Kongers have already made the sometimes painful decision to leave behind their hometown and move to Britain since Beijing imposed a strict national security law on the Chinese territory last summer. Their numbers are expected to swell to the hundreds of thousands. Some are leaving because they fear punishment for supporting the pro-democracy protests that …
Read more “Thousands Flee Hong Kong for UK, Fearing China Crackdown “
Britain will next week formally apply to join a trans-Pacific trading bloc of 11 countries, with negotiations set to start later this year, the government has said.Since leaving the European Union, Britain has made clear its desire to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which removes most tariffs between Australia, Brunei, …
Read more “UK Set to Formally Apply for Trans-Pacific Trade Bloc Membership “
The abstract figures of naked women gyrating to the rhythms of a five-piece band had shocked many people almost 60 years ago as they eyed the artwork for the first time on the walls of a popular restaurant-nightclub in Cyprus. The valuable and very rare concrete relief by Christoforos Savva, Cyprus’ most avant-garde artist of the …
Read more “Wrangle Over Valuable Art Uncovered in Cypriot Ghost Town “
Russian police detained at least 500 protesters Sunday, as supporters of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny started to take to the streets for a second weekend.Defying arrests and criminal probes, the first protests took place in Siberia and Russia’s Far East, including the port city of Vladivostok.Navalny associates called again for nationwide demonstrations ahead of …
Read more “More than 500 Detained in Russian Protests Supporting Opposition Leader”
Britain’s focus is on “collaboration” with the European Union on vaccines, the country’s vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi told The Sunday Telegraph, after a showdown between the two sides over vaccine exports.Zahawi told the newspaper in an interview that Britain’s focus was on collaborating with the bloc and that the country had tried to help Brussels …
Read more “Britain Focused on Collaboration with EU after Vaccine Row, Minister Says”
Scientists with the World Health Organization’s team investigating the source of the coronavirus that has infected more than 102 million people worldwide and killed more than 2.2 million have visited one of the hospitals in Wuhan, China, that treated some of the first patients.Dutch virologist Marion Koopmans said on Twitter that the stories she’d heard …
Read more “WHO Team Visits Wuhan Hospital That Treated Early Cases”
Activists gathered Saturday in Paris to support people exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, after a French court examined the case of a French-Vietnamese woman who sued 14 companies that produced and sold the powerful defoliant dioxin used by U.S. troops.Former journalist Tran To Nga, 78, described in a book how she was …
Read more “Activists Rally Behind French-Vietnamese Woman’s Agent Orange Lawsuit”
Russian police have issued a strong warning against participating in protests planned for Sunday to call for the release of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin’s most prominent foe.The warning came amid detentions of Navalny associates and opposition journalists and a police plan to restrict movement Sunday in the center of Moscow.Navalny was arrested …
Read more “Russia Warns Navalny Supporters Not to Attend Sunday Protests “
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has nominated Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya for the Nobel Peace Prize, two sources with knowledge of the matter said Saturday.Nauseda nominated the activist, who has been living in Lithuania since fleeing her homeland in the wake of a disputed August 9 presidential election, to show his support for the Belarusian …
Read more “Sources: Lithuanian President Nominates Belarus Opposition Leader for Nobel Prize”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a mask-wearing mandate late Friday to apply on all forms of public transportation, part of the U.S. effort to combat the spread of the coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease. The order, which goes into effect Monday (at 11:59 p.m. EST, 4:59 GMT Tuesday), requires people to …
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a bill extending the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between Russia and the United States a week before the pact was set to expire.Both houses of the Russian parliament voted unanimously Wednesday to extend the New START treaty for five years. Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden …
Read more “Putin Signs Extension of Last Russia-US Nuclear Arms Treaty”
Russia’s state-controlled media has been turning to a disinformation playbook it has used before in a bid to discredit protesters agitating for the release from prison of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, say analysts.Navalny was detained on his return to Moscow for parole violations after recovering in Germany from a near-fatal poisoning. His arrest has triggered the …
Read more “Why is Kremlin Tagging Protesters ‘Political Pedophiles’?”
European Union regulators on Friday approved the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, the third vaccine approved for use on the European continent. Amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population, the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) expert committee unanimously recommended the vaccine for adults, despite concerns of inadequate data proving its effectiveness for …
Read more “EU Drug Regulator Approves AstraZeneca Vaccine for Emergency Use”
Germany’s health minister said Friday he expects the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to be approved for emergency use later in the day but possibly only for restricted use. Speaking at a Berlin news briefing, German Health Minster Jens Spahn said Europe’s drug regulator, the Europe Medicines Agency (EMA) could approve the new vaccine with restrictions because …
Read more “German Health Minister Expects Approval of AstraZenaca COVID-19 Vaccine”
The fate of tens of thousands of Uighur refugees in Turkey faced with possible deportation to China is threatening to become an embarrassing political debacle for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has long positioned himself as an avowed defender of Muslim rights globally.FILE – Leader of the Good Party Meral Aksener gestures as she …
Read more “Turkish Opposition Challenge Erdogan Over Uighur Silence”
Britain’s government vowed Friday to stand by the people of its former colony, Hong Kong, against a Chinese crackdown as it prepared to launch a new visa scheme potentially benefiting millions. Starting Sunday, holders of British National (Overseas) status — a legacy of British rule over Hong Kong up to 1997 — will be able to …
Read more “Britain Upholding ‘Freedom and Autonomy’ With New HK Visas”
Thousands of students and teachers held peaceful demonstrations in Greece’s two biggest cities Thursday against proposed education reforms, defying a weeklong ban on protests imposed as part of measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. About 4,000 people, wearing masks against the virus, marched through the streets of Athens, while another roughly 1,500 demonstrated in the northern …
Read more “Greek Students, Teachers Defy Weeklong Ban on Protests”
Protesters took to the streets of the Polish capital, Warsaw, late Wednesday and more demonstrations were scheduled for Thursday after the government implemented a court ruling that placed a near-total ban on abortions.The ruling, which was made October 22 but came into force Wednesday, permits abortions only in cases of rape and incest, and when the mother’s …
Read more “Poles Take to Streets in Protest as Near-total Abortion Ban Takes Effect”
The Belarusian government is escalating its clampdown on the media that began after Alexander Lukashenko won a disputed presidential election in August, according to two news freedom rights groups.The Belarus Journalist Association (BAJ) and Reporters Without Borders said Thursday they referred to the United Nations 15 cases of journalists who were arbitrarily arrested after Lukashenko’s …
Read more “Belarus Media Crackdown Intensifies, Rights Groups Say”
The World Health Organization’s Europe director Hans Kluge said Thursday the continent is in the midst of what he calls the COVID-19 “pandemic paradox,” in which vaccine programs offer remarkable hope, while emerging variants present greater uncertainty and risk. Speaking at a news briefing from his headquarters in Copenhagen, Kluge said a total of 35 countries …
Read more “WHO Europe Chief Says Region in Midst of COVID-19 ‘Pandemic Paradox’”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the humanitarian crisis in Yemen — as well as U.S. relations with Russia and China — are among his immediate priorities. VOA Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington. …
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III said Wednesday he values Germany as a station for U.S. troops, leading to speculation he may reverse a decision by the Trump administration to pull troops out of the country. Austin made the comments in an introductory call to German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. A summary of …
Read more “New US Defense Secretary Says Germany ‘Highly Valued’ as Host for US Troops”