Month: May 2021

The European Union is urging member nations to close their airspace and airports to all Belarusian airlines after Belarus forced a commercial jetliner to make an emergency landing Sunday in Minsk and arrested an opposition blogger critical of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. Conclusions on Belarus journalist Raman Pratasevich stands in an airport bus in the international …

Read more “EU Sanctions Belarus Over Plane Diversion, Blogger Arrest”

Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said Tuesday it is clear that Raman Pratasevich, the journalist arrested Sunday after the passenger jet he was traveling on was diverted and forced to land in Minsk, has been beaten in detention.     Pratasevich appeared in a video posted online Monday, apparently filmed by Belarusian security services. He …

Read more “Belarus Opposition Leader Says Journalist Beaten in Detention”

Britain’s storied BBC is preparing for its centennial next year, but the public broadcaster has been plunged into a major crisis of trust, linked to a notorious television interview with Princess Diana a quarter-century ago, and is now finding itself heading into a fight for its very survival.      Last week, an independent inquiry …

Read more “BBC Under Mounting Pressure Over Princess Diana Interview”

International pressure is growing on Turkey over its military presence in Libya. Turkey deployed hundreds of soldiers and thousands of Syrian fighters in support of the Libyan Government of National Accord in its battle against forces of Libya’s General Khalifa Hafta, who is backed by Russian and Sudanese mercenaries. Now, with a cease-fire in force and elections …

Read more “Turkey Under Fire Over Military Presence in Libya”

After losing 23 sheep in a wolf pack attack one night, Laura Serrano Isla might have been expected to want revenge. Instead, this farmer is a surprise supporter of Spain’s decision to introduce a nationwide ban on hunting wolves. “The wolves killed my sheep because we left our animals unprotected and they are predators,” she told VOA. “We have …

Read more “Spain Bans Hunting of Wolves But Division Persists Over Predator “

The European Union is urging member nations to close their airspace and airports to all Belarusian airlines after Belarus forced a commercial jetliner to make an emergency landing Sunday in Minsk and arrested an opposition blogger critical of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. Conclusions on Belarus journalist Raman Pratasevich stands in an airport bus in the international …

Read more “EU Sanctions Belarus Over Plane Diversion, Arrest of Journalist”

Turkey and Poland have signed a deal for the sale of Turkish-made combat drones, making Poland the first NATO and European Union member country to purchase Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday. The agreement was signed during Polish President Andrzej Duda’s three-day visit to Turkey. Under the deal, Poland is …

Read more “Poland to Acquire 24 Turkish-Made Combat Drones”

An investigation into the cable car crash that left 14 people dead in Italy will focus on why a cable broke and the emergency brakes did not work, a prosecutor said Monday.“The brakes of the security system didn’t work. Otherwise, the cabin would have stopped,” Olimpia Bossi, the lead prosecutor in Verbania, told reporters Monday. …

Read more “Italy Launches Probe Into Cable Car Crash That Killed 14”

The Italian glam rock band that won the Eurovision Song Contest returned home Sunday to the adulation of fans, congratulations from the government and so much speculation that the lead singer had snorted cocaine during the show that he vowed to take a drug test. “We want to shut down the rumors,” Maneskin lead singer …

Read more “Italy Eurovision Winners Return Home to Cheers, a Drug Test”

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations continued across Europe this past weekend despite a fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. The protests are one result of the Middle East violence that has divided European Union member states and left some fearful of unrest at home.   Thousands joined rallies in Paris and other French cities Saturday — demonstrations echoed …

Read more “In Europe, Middle East Conflict Creates Tensions, Divisions”

Police in London say Black Lives Matter activist Sasha Johnson is in critical condition after being shot in the head in south London in the early hours of Sunday. Metropolitan Police said officers were called to the scene in the Peckham area of south London around 3 a.m. Sunday after gunshots were reported. They found …

Read more “Britain Black Lives Matter Activist in Critical Condition After Shooting”

At least 14 people, including two children, were killed Sunday in northern Italy when a cable car popular among tourists fell 20 meters to the ground. A two-year-old child died instantly, and one nine-year-old died in the hospital after suffering two cardiac arrests. Another child, a five-year-old was seriously injured but conscious and speaking. He is being treated at the Regina …

Read more “Italy Cable Car Accident Kills 14”

European leaders are vowing to punish Belarus for illegally diverting to Minsk Sunday a Lithuanian-bound Ryanair flight carrying a fugitive critic of Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko. Their fury was fueled as more details emerged Monday of the dramatic events leading up to the diversion of the plane. The Ryanair Boeing 737 was carrying 171 passengers and …

Read more “EU Fury Mounts After Belarus Forces Landing of Plane Carrying Opposition Blogger”

At least 14 people, including two children, were killed Sunday in northern Italy when a cable car popular among tourists fell 20 meters to the ground. A two-year-old child died instantly, and one nine-year-old died in the hospital after suffering two cardiac arrests. Another child, a five-year-old was seriously injured but conscious and speaking. He is being treated at the Regina …

Read more “Italy Cable Car Accident Kills 14, Two Were Children”

The singer for Italy’s Eurovision Song Contest winning rockers Maneskin will take a voluntary drug test after denying speculation that he was snorting cocaine during the broadcast, organizers said Sunday. Red lederhosen-clad vocalist Damiano David will be tested after going back to Italy, following viral footage of him leaning over a table in the hospitality area …

Read more “Italian Eurovision Singer to Take ‘Voluntary Drug Test,’ Organizers Say”

European Union governments are demanding an immediate explanation from Belarus about the diversion of a Lithuanian-bound flight to Minsk, where authorities arrested one of its passengers, opposition activist and journalist Raman Pratasevich. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the commercial flight was directed to land “by force,” while Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the event a …

Read more “EU Demands Belarus Explain Diversion of Plane, Detention of Journalist “

Italy woke up Sunday to news that a glam rock band who got their start busking on Rome’s main shopping drag had won the Eurovision Song Contest and was bringing next year’s competition back to the place where Europe’s song contests began. From the premier’s office on down, congratulations poured in Sunday from the Italian establishment …

Read more “Rome Band Brings Eurovision Back Where Song Contests Began”

Britain will fully digitize its border, allowing accurate counting of people entering and leaving the country, the government said.  The move means those coming to Britain without a visa or immigration status will need an Electronic Travel Authorization — similar to that used in the United States — as part of plans to be implemented by …

Read more “UK Plans Fully Digital Border to Provide Accurate Immigration Numbers”

At least nine people have died and two are seriously injured after a cable car connecting Italy’s Maggiore lake with a mountain close by plunged on Sunday, the national alpine rescue service said. The Stresa-Mottarone cable car takes tourists and locals from the famous town of Stresa, on lake Maggiore, up almost 1400 meters above sea level …

Read more “At Least 9 Dead in Italian Cable Car Accident “

Martin Bashir, the BBC journalist who tricked princess Diana into giving an explosive interview, on Sunday apologized to Princes William and Harry, but said claims linking his actions to her death were “unreasonable.” A report by retired senior judge John Dyson published on Thursday found that Bashir commissioned faked bank statements that falsely suggested some of …

Read more “Shamed BBC Journalist Apologizes Over Diana Interview “

Move over sequins, disco beats and power ballads. A four-piece band of Italian rockers won the Eurovision Song Contest in the early hours of Sunday.Maneskin’s win was only the third victory for Italy in the immensely popular contest and the first since Toto Cutugno took the honor in 1990.Italy, the bookmakers’ favorite, trailed Switzerland, France …

Read more “Rock Band Maneskin Wins Eurovision Song Contest for Italy”

Tony Hall, who was director of BBC news and current affairs at the time of the public broadcaster’s explosive 1995 interview with Princess Diana, resigned Saturday as board chairman of Britain’s National Gallery.Hall, who subsequently rose to the top job at the BBC, was heavily criticized in a report this week for a botched inquiry …

Read more “Ex-BBC Head Quits Gallery Job Amid Diana Interview Fallout”

The United States formally blacklisted more than a dozen Russian ships involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, days after exempting the pipeline’s Russian operator and CEO.The widely expected move, announced late on May 21 by the U.S. Treasury Department, came amid vehement criticism from congressional Republicans about the White House’s …

Read more “US Blacklists 13 Russian Ships in Nord Stream 2”

The United Nations’ cultural agency has opened an exhibit detailing plans to restore multicultural landmarks in the Iraqi city of Mosul, underlining the role of architecture in helping heal wounds.The exhibit, “Revive the Spirit of Mosul,” will be featured on the sidelines of the 17th International Architecture Exhibition, which opened Saturday after a one-year pandemic …

Read more “UNESCO Exhibit in Venice Focuses on Rebuilding Mosul Sites”