After dark months struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, Europe is finally hitting its stride with vaccinations and economies picking up and countries emerging from lockdowns and reopening their borders to foreign tourists. But as Lisa Bryant reports from Paris, there is still a lot of uncertainty. …
Hungary has announced plans to open a branch of a Chinese University in Budapest. Critics fear the development — the first of its kind in Europe — will be used by Beijing to spread Chinese Communist Party propaganda and could pose a threat to national security. The so-called “Student City” will be built on the site …
Read more “Hungarian Plans for First Chinese University in Europe Prompt Security, Propaganda Fears”
The Champions League final between Manchester City and Chelsea on May 29 has been moved from Istanbul to Porto to allow English fans to travel under COVID-19 restrictions, European soccer’s governing body UEFA said on Thursday. The final was scheduled for Istanbul’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium, but Turkey was last week put on Britain’s travel ‘red …
Read more “Champions League Final Moved from Istanbul to Porto Due to COVID-19 Risks”
Spain has promised to donate 7.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Latin American and Caribbean countries this summer as its vaccine diplomacy contrasts with the more cautious approach taken by the United States. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez pledged to ship between 5% and 10% of the country’s total vaccine supply in an effort to …
Read more “Spain Promises Ambitious Vaccine Diplomacy in Latin America “
Russia is expanding its navy base at the Syrian port of Tartus and planning to construct a floating dock to boost the port’s ship repair facilities, according to Russian military officials.The move comes only weeks after the Russian military extended one of the runways at its Hmeimim airbase, adding to its military foothold in the …
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said Wednesday the nation is prepared to roll out a digital “immunity app” to show proof of vaccination for Germans by the end of June. Spahn told reporters the digital certificate is designed to allow people to more easily prove they have been vaccinated and travel to different areas …
The leaders of independent panel charged with examining the cause and response of the COVID-19 pandemic Wednesday called for a better, more cooperative and transparent global system for dealing with future worldwide health emergencies. The independent panel was formed last year by World Health Organization ((WHO)) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the request of …
Read more “Independent Panel Calls Global Health Threats Council”
Twenty-three people remain hospitalized Wednesday in the Russian city of Kazan following a school shooting that killed nine people, seven of whom were children. The attack occurred Tuesday morning when a gunman opened fire on a school there.”We have lost seven children … four boys and three girls,” Rustam Minnikhanov, the president of the Republic …
Read more “Injured Toll in Russian School Shooting Rises to 23”
A joyful Pope Francis greeted a group of about 300 faithful in a Vatican courtyard Wednesday as he resumed his in-person weekly general audience with members of the public for the first time in six months. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down the pope’s public audiences last year as the pandemic swept through Italy. He instead taped …
Read more “Pope Holds First In-Person Public Audience at Vatican in Six Months”
Paris begins reopening next week, bringing relief to residents missing its long-shuttered shops, museums, theaters and cafes that make France’s iconic capital so special. Not to mention something more basic—easily accessible toilets. Cecile Briand ducks into a small cement building, tucked inside a northern Paris square. The toilet she’s inspecting is a bit dirty, but no …
Read more “Months of Lockdown Raise a Pressing Question: Where to Pee in Paris?”
An independent panel released a report Wednesday saying the coronavirus pandemic was a “preventable disaster,” exacerbated by a slow and weak World Health Organization (WHO) and lack of global political leadership. The panel, formed to examine the cause of and response to the pandemic, said that while there had been years of warnings about the …
Read more “Independent Panel Says Coronavirus Pandemic was ‘Preventable Disaster’”
Under Kremlin orders, the U.S. Embassy has stopped employing Russians, forcing the embassy to cut its consular staff by 75% and limit many of its services. The order went into effect on Wednesday, bringing the sharply deteriorating U.S.-Russia relationship to an intensely personal level. Because of the cuts, the embassy can offer only very limited services, such …
Read more “Kremlin-imposed Cuts at US Embassy Leave Thousands Adrift”
Russia has denied involvement in the cyberattack that crippled Colonial Pipeline, a critical artery for almost half of the U.S. East Coast’s fuel supply. While the Biden administration has taken steps to address gasoline shortages, drivers are beginning to see higher prices at the pump. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report. …
Among the many stories of World War Two, Nazi Germany’s Siege of Leningrad — the Soviet city now known as Russia’s Saint Petersburg — stands among the most harrowing. It also helped shape the world we live in today, as Charles Maynes reports for VOA, from St. Petersburg.Camera: Ricardo Marquina Montañana …
As COVID-19 infection rates begin to drop in the region, European Union ministers met in Brussels Tuesday in hopes of reaching an agreement on a “green certificate” travel pass designed to make it easier for fully vaccinated tourists to travel in the continent in time for the summer vacation season. The EU’s executive arm, …
Read more “European Union Seeks to Reopen Travel with Vaccination Pass”
Former top European Union official Michel Barnier, who led the bloc’s fraught Brexit negotiations, says immigration to France should stop for three to five years and the Schengen system of free movement between member states needs reexamination. The French politician, who according to some French media outlets is considering challenging Emmanuel Macron in next year’s …
Read more “Former Top EU Official Calls for Immigration Halt “
Nearly 200 jihadists imprisoned in France are due to be released over the next two years and French security officials are pressing French lawmakers to approve fresh antiterrorist measures to impose enhanced restrictions on those freed and to give police new legal powers to fight terrorism. British officials, likewise, are fearful of a resurgent jihadist threat …
Read more “France, Britain Fearful of Resurgent Jihadist Threat After Lockdown”
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth delivered the official Opening of Parliament speech Tuesday, her first ceremonial appearance since the death of her husband, Prince Philip.The speech, traditionally a large-scale event full of pageantry in which the queen opens the new parliament, was scaled back considerably due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the queen wearing a day dress …
Read more “Britain’s Queen Elizabeth Presents Government Agenda”
Turkey’s foreign minister is visiting Saudi Arabia in a bid to repair deeply strained relations. The visit is part of broader regional efforts by Ankara to stem its growing isolation in the region. Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s two-day visit to Saudi Arabia that started Monday follows this month’s phone call between President Recep Tayyip …
Read more “Turkey Steps Up Efforts to Win Back Mideast Partners “
A rocket attack on a Turkish military supply convoy in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province has killed one soldier and wounded four others, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday. Turkish forces retaliated to the attack by firing on targets they identified in the region, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. It did not elaborate or say who …
Read more “Turkish Soldier Killed, 4 Hurt in Attack in Syria”
Seven children were shot and killed at a school in southwest Russia Tuesday, Russian officials said.At least one teacher was also killed in the incident in the city of Kazan, capital of the Tartarstan republic, located more than 800 kilometers east of Moscow. Four boys and three girls were among those killed. Initial reports from state-owned RIA news agency said …
Nearly 200 jihadists imprisoned in France are due to be released over the next two years and French security officials are pressing French lawmakers to approve fresh antiterrorist measures to impose enhanced restrictions on those freed and to give police new legal powers to fight terrorism. British officials, likewise, are fearful of a resurgent jihadist threat …
Read more “France, Britain Plan Tougher Counterterrorism Measures “
Mosques across Turkey broadcast prayers Monday in support of Palestinians injured in violent confrontations with Israeli police in Jerusalem. The unrest, which coincides with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, comes amid the possible eviction of Palestinians from east Jerusalem homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers.Also Monday, hundreds of people, many waving Palestinian flags, …
Read more “Turkey Criticizes Israel over Response to Palestinian Protests”
European and Chinese leaders are urging swift ratification of the trade deal they agreed to in December, after tensions over accusations of human rights abuses in China delayed approval of the deal by European Union lawmakers. The EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) took seven years of negotiations and was finally agreed to in principle …
Read more “EU Suspends China Trade Deal as Tensions Grow Over Xinjiang, Hong Kong”