Month: February 2021

Buckingham Palace confirmed Friday that Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, will not be returning to royal duties, and Harry will give up his honorary military titles — a decision that makes formal, and final, the couple’s split from the royal family.When Harry and Meghan stepped away from full-time royal life in early 2020, it …

Read more “It’s Final: Harry and Meghan Won’t Return as Working Royals”

The United States officially rejoined the Paris climate agreement on Friday, reinvigorating the global fight against climate change as the Biden administration plans drastic emissions cuts over the next three decades.     Scientists and foreign diplomats have welcomed the U.S. return to the treaty, which became official 30 days after President Joe Biden ordered …

Read more “It Is Official: US Back in Paris Climate Club”

The arrival of U.S. President Joe Biden in the White House has ushered in hopes for a new approach towards one of the thorniest foreign policy questions – how to restore democracy in Venezuela. As the U.S seeks to rebuild ties with European allies that became distanced during the presidency of Donald Trump, analysts say Venezuela …

Read more “Spain Hopes to Capitalize on Fresh US Approach to Venezuela”

Two years ago, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a fact-finding commission of historians to shed full light on a less glorious past: notably France’s role in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.     Now, with the Duclert Commission expected to present its conclusions in a matter of weeks, new findings suggest the country did more than commit …

Read more “New Allegations on France’s Role in Rwanda Genocide Put Pressure on Fact-Finding Commission”

A court in Belarus sentenced two journalists to two years in prison Thursday on charges of orchestrating demonstrations against President Alexander Lukashenko.   Katsiaryna Andreyeva and Daria Chultsova of Poland’s Belsat TV were arrested in November in a Minsk apartment.  They were livestreaming ongoing protests taking place in support of a demonstrator who was killed …

Read more “Belarus Court Jails Journalists for Covering Protest”

Artworks owned by the late artist Christo and his wife, Jean-Claude, a duo famed for wrapping landmarks in fabric, sold for $9.6 million at auction on Wednesday.The 28 lots under the hammer at Sotheby’s in Paris included drawings for the couple’s “The Umbrellas (Joint project for Japan and USA),” two spectacular installations by the couple …

Read more “Christo’s Personal Collection Sells for Nearly $10 Million”

The United States plans to “repair” and “revitalize” cooperation with its European allies as Washington and Beijing are seen as competing for influence in supporting vaccine distribution and post-pandemic recovery in Europe.  U.S. President Joe Biden is set to speak virtually at the Munich Security Conference on Friday. On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will …

Read more “US, China Compete Over Vaccine, Post-pandemic Recovery in Europe”

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is calling on Russia to release top Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny. ECHR said in a press release Wednesday that it “grants an interim measure in favor of” Navalny and “asks the Government of Russia to release him.”  The court’s ruling demanded that Navalny be released immediately, warning that failure …

Read more “European Court of Human Rights Calls on Russia to Free Navalny”

A top Russian diplomat says the Taliban insurgency is “flawlessly” adhering to the terms of a 2020 peace deal with the United States to help end the war in Afghanistan and is urging Washington not to renege on its commitments.Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s presidential envoy to Afghanistan, spoke ahead of Wednesday’s NATO conference aimed at determining whether to meet …

Read more “Russia Alleges US, Not Taliban, Breaching Afghan Peace Deal”

The U.S.- German pharmaceutical partners Pfizer-BioNTech announced Wednesday they have struck a deal with the European Commission — the European Union’s executive branch – for another 200 million doses of coronavirus vaccine, with an option to purchase an additional 100 million doses. In a statement Wednesday, the companies said the agreement is in addition to one …

Read more “EU To Get Millions More Pfizer-BioNTech Coronavirus Doses”

Britain wants to see proof that Sheikha Latifa, one of the ruler of Dubai’s daughters, is still alive after the BBC showed a video in which she said she was being held against her will in a barricaded villa, the foreign minister said on Wednesday.   “It’s deeply troubling and you can see a young …

Read more “Britain Says UAE Should Show That Dubai’s Sheikha Latifa Is Alive”

Britain’s foreign secretary will call for a U.N. Security Council resolution Wednesday on local cease-fires in order to get COVID-19 vaccines to millions of people in conflict areas.  “We have a moral duty to act, and a strategic necessity to come together to defeat this virus,” Dominic Raab will tell a high-level session of the U.N. Security …

Read more “Britain to Push for COVID-19 Cease-fires to Get Vaccine to Conflict Zones”

The new head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) says in these challenging times, it’s no time for “business as usual,” noting that “deep and wide-ranging reforms are needed” within the world trade body. More with VOA’s Mariama Diallo.   …

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will be using his first ministerial meeting with NATO allies Wednesday to try to repair the frayed relationship, acknowledging that long-standing ties were, at times, strained under former U.S. President Donald Trump.The change in tone and approach, as senior U.S. defense officials described it Tuesday, comes as the United States …

Read more “ US Aims to ‘Revitalize’ Ties with NATO as Major Decisions Loom”

Spanish rapper Pablo Hasél was arrested Tuesday after a 24-hour standoff between him and his free speech supporters on one side and Catalan anti-riot police on the other. Along with more than 50 supporters, Hásel barricaded himself in rectorate building of Lleida University, located some 160 kilometers west of Barcelona, to resist reporting to serve a …

Read more “Convicted Spanish Rapper Arrested in Free Speech Case”

The Dutch government’s COVID-19 policy suffered a major blow Tuesday when a judge ordered the curfew it imposed lifted immediately, saying the government misused its emergency powers. The government immediately appealed the ruling. Prime Minister Mark Rutte imposed the curfew in January in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. The curfew — which allows …

Read more “Court Orders Dutch Government to Lift COVID-19 Curfew “

The prospect of vaccine passports is getting closer in Europe — with more governments considering introducing them not only for travelers, but also to help reopen bars, restaurants and concert halls.Asked whether the introduction of vaccine passports is likely, Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, told reporters Monday some international travel likely would require proof of …

Read more “Vaccine Passports Inch Closer in Europe, But Backlash Mounting”

A former soccer federation chief and a member of parliament pleaded not guilty Tuesday to crimes-against-humanity charges stemming from the Central African Republic’s civil war, which erupted almost a decade ago. Taking place at the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands, this first global trial on these events comes as fresh violence tears through the …

Read more “Alleged CAR Militia Members Go on Trial at ICC Amid Renewed Violence at Home”