Month: January 2021

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Thursday called last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump “shocking” and unacceptable, and he said those responsible must be held accountable.Stoltenberg’s comments were his first public reaction since Trump supporters stormed the Capitol January 6, seeking to stop the U.S. Congress from formally …

Read more “NATO Chief Calls Last Week’s Attack on US Capitol ‘Shocking’ and ‘Unacceptable’”

Europe’s populist leaders are outraged by the decision of U.S. social-media giants to block U.S. President Donald Trump from posting on their sites. They fear Facebook, Twitter and other major social media companies could start banning them, too.     Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki condemned the internet giants Tuesday. “The censorship of freedom of …

Read more “Europe’s Populists Fearful of Social Media Restrictions”

Police in Belgium made 116 arrests after a demonstration in Brussels over the death of a young Black man who collapsed while in police custody turned violent. Police said most of violence took place after a largely peaceful demonstration Wednesday of about 500 protesters — some holding Black Lives Matter signs — ended in downtown …

Read more “Brussels Police Arrest 116 at Protest Over Black Man’s Death”

Ireland’s prime minister apologized Wednesday after a commission of inquiry released its final report on the harm done to unmarried women and their children in church-run homes in the 20th century.Micheal Martin’s formal state apology followed the release of the final report of a probe into the deaths of 9,000 children in 18 mother-and-baby homes …

Read more “Irish PM Issues State Apology for Cruelty to Unmarried Women, Children”

Dutch authorities began a mass testing program Wednesday in a coastal town after 30 cases of the new, more easily transmissible strain of COVID-19 was discovered at a grade school. Authorities set up a testing center in a sports hall in Bergschenhoek, part of the municipality of Lansingerland, near the port city of Rotterdam. While testing …

Read more “Netherlands Begins Mass Testing to Isolate COVID-19 Variant”

The symptoms came on almost laughably textbook.   One morning in late November, my sense of smell suddenly disappeared. Soon my muscles ached and I developed a headache that resembled a spike dancing on my head.   Then there was the hacking cough, the nausea, the sweats, the chills.   It took a few days …

Read more “VOA Reporter Recounts His Fight With COVID at a Russian Hospital”

The world’s leading democracies should form a coalition to counter China’s human rights abuses at home and its support for authoritarianism overseas, according to a prominent group of British lawmakers.Several members of parliament from Britain’s ruling Conservative Party have formed the “China Research Group” to monitor Beijing’s influence. They say Britain is in desperate need …

Read more “British Lawmakers Demand ‘Coherent’ Policy Toolkit to Counter China”

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Wednesday he is hoping the nation’s current situation is the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, as infection rates and hospitalizations are at or near record levels. In televised interviews. Hancock said Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) is facing intense pressure due to the high number of COVID-19 cases, treating …

Read more “British Health Secretary Hopes Current Situation is Peak of Pandemic”

Testimony begins Wednesday in Italy in the country’s largest organized crime trial in more than three decades.   More than 350 defendants will stand in the dock in a specially-built high security courtroom in the southern town of Lamezia Terme, in Italy’s Calabrian region, home of the powerful mafia-like ‘Ndrangheta empire.  As many as 900 witnesses …

Read more “Testimony Begins Wednesday in Italy’s Largest Organized Crime Trial in Three Decades”

Turkey has been providing refuge for Uighurs fleeing Chinese persecution, but rights groups are worried that Turkey’s parliament is poised to pass an extradition treaty with China. As Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, this also has alarmed the Uighur community in Turkey.  …

Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced Tuesday the government is extending its COVID-19 restrictions by three weeks, to February 9, expressing concern about the new so-called “British variant” of the virus. At a televised news conference in The Hague, Rutte said he was certain the news was no surprise and that most people would understand there …

Read more “Netherlands PM Extends COVID-19 Lockdown to February 9”

With days to go before the inauguration of Joe Biden as America’s 46th president, America’s European allies are preparing for the new administration.   For Europe’s leaders Biden’s return to the White House, which he left four years ago as Barack Obama’s vice president, along with familiar faces in key foreign and security jobs, is …

Read more “Europe Prepares for Biden”

Russia’s telecommunications watchdog Roskomnadzor has drawn up its first eight administrative protocols — all against Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty — for violating the country’s controversial foreign agents law.Roskomnadzor said in a statement on its website on January 12 that the offenses are “for noncompliance by the media performing the functions of a foreign agent with …

Read more “Russian Watchdog Takes First Step Toward Punishing RFE/RL Under ‘Foreign Agents’ Law”

European markets are mixed Tuesday as the worsening coronavirus pandemic around the world, coupled with political turmoil in the United States, is putting a damper on trading activity.   At the midday point of the trading day, London’s FTSE index is down 0.6%, the CAC-40 index in Paris is nearly 3 points lower but unchanged percentage-wise (-0.04%) …

Read more “European Markets in Mixed Territory Tuesday”

Pope Francis changed church law Monday to formally allow for more roles for women within the Catholic Church. The decree, called “Spiritus Domini” (The Spirit of the Lord), allows women to serve as readers and altar servers, as well as to assist priests during service or in administering Holy Communion. It officially updates the Code of …

Read more “Pope Formally Expands Women’s Roles in Catholic Church”

The British government Monday launched an ambitious coronavirus vaccination plan, with the goal of having 15 million citizens inoculated by the middle of next month. In a statement, the health department said the plan is to have 2,700 vaccination sites around the country, with one located within 16 kilometers of every person in Britain by the …

Read more “Britain Launches Largest Ever Vaccination Program”

Pope Francis, in another step towards greater equality for women in the Roman Catholic Church, on Monday changed its law to formally allow them to serve as readers at liturgies, altar servers and distributors of communion.   In a decree, the pope formalized what already has been happening in many developed countries for years. But …

Read more “Pope, In New Decree, Allows More Roles for Women in Church”

Britain’s hospitals are on the brink of being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients and the country’s National Health Service is facing its “worst crisis in living memory,” a senior government official warned Sunday.  The blunt warning from England’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, came as members of the government’s main advisory panel, the Scientific Advisory Group for …

Read more “Britain’s Hospitals Facing ‘Worst Crisis in Living Memory’ “

Greece’s government has presented a bill to parliament that doubles the country’s territorial waters along its western frontiers, allowing it to exploit untapped energy reserves that can boost its ailing economy. Greece wants to also expand its frontiers along its eastern borders, in the Aegean but its neighbor, Turkey, rejects the move, saying it would …

Read more “Greece Seeks to Extend Western Frontiers to Secure Economic Exploitation”

Security has been stepped up at Germany’s Bundestag (lower house of parliament) after the storming of the Capitol in Washington by rioters last week, Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble has told lawmakers, Bild am Sonntag weekly reported.”Berlin state police have arranged for a reinforcement of their forces around the Reichstag building,” it quoted Schäuble as saying …

Read more “Newspaper: German Parliament Boosts Security after US Capitol Riots”

A shawarma shop in Moscow was forced to close a day after it opened following an outcry over its provocative Josef Stalin-themed branding, the shop’s owner told Reuters on Saturday.The Stalin Doner shop featured a portrait of the controversial communist leader above its front door. Inside, a man dressed in the Stalin-era security service uniform …

Read more “Public Outcry Shuts Stalin-themed Cafe in Moscow After a Day “

An avalanche that hit a Russian ski resort near the Arctic city of Norilsk late Friday killed three members of a family and buried four buildings under snow, authorities said. Officials said rescuers recovered the bodies of a 38-year-old woman, her 45-year-old husband and their 18-month-old child. A 14-year-old was pulled from the snow alive and was …

Read more “Avalanche Kills Three People at Russian Ski Resort in Arctic”

Spain has activated the red weather alert for the first time Saturday as heavy snowfalls have hit large parts of the country, including the capital, since Thursday. Besides Madrid, which recorded the heaviest snowfalls since 1971, the regions of Aragon, Valencia, Castilla La Mancha and Catalonia also were hard-hit by the snowstorms.The unusual blizzard blocked traffic …

Read more “Snowstorm Strikes Spain, Forcing Road Closures, Suspension of Flights, Train Services”

Germany, France and Britain each plan to boost their military presence in the Indo-Pacific region, a move analysts say is aimed at countering China and showing support for the U.S., Japan and other regional allies.Germany will send a frigate to patrol Indo-Pacific waters later this year. Britain will deploy the British carrier strike group (CSG) …

Read more “European Powers to Boost Asia Presence to Counter China”