Month: July 2021

Ukrainian authorities found themselves buried in controversy Friday after official pictures showed women soldiers practicing for a parade in heels.Ukraine is preparing to stage a military parade next month to mark 30 years of independence following the Soviet Union’s breakup, and the defense ministry released photographs of fatigue-clad women soldiers marching in mid-heel black pumps.”Today, …

Read more “Ukrainian Women Troops Marching in Heels Spark Outrage”

One of Sweden’s biggest supermarket chains said Saturday it had to temporarily close around 800 stores nationwide after a cyberattack blocked access to its checkouts.”One of our subcontractors was hit by a digital attack, and that’s why our checkouts aren’t working any more,” Coop Sweden, which accounts for around 20 percent of the sector, said …

Read more “Major Swedish Supermarket Chain Hit by Cyberattack”

The U.S. government is aware of reports that Belarus has closed its border with neighboring Ukraine, a senior administration official said on Friday, vowing that Washington would continue to hold the government of President Alexander Lukashenko accountable for its actions.”It appears the Lukashenko regime is once again seeking to deflect attention away from its campaign …

Read more “US to Hold Belarus Accountable Amid Report of Border Closure, Says Senior Official”

The German Standing Committee on Vaccination recommended this week that people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine as their first COVID shot should be inoculated with either the Pfizer or the Moderna vaccine for their second shot in the battle against the delta variant of the coronavirus.The panel said the immune response to the mixed dose …

Read more “Germany Recommends Mixed Vaccine Inoculations”

OPEC+ will resume talks on Monday after failing to reach a deal on oil output policy for a second day running on Friday because the United Arab Emirates blocked some aspects of the pact.The standoff could delay plans to pump more oil through to the end of the year to cool oil prices that have …

Read more “OPEC+ to Resume Oil Policy Talks on Monday After UAE Roadblock”

A ransomware attack paralyzed the networks of at least 200 U.S. companies Friday, according to a cybersecurity researcher whose company was responding to the incident.  The REvil gang, a major Russian-speaking ransomware syndicate, appears to be behind the attack, said John Hammond of the security firm Huntress Labs. He said the criminals targeted a software …

Read more “Ransomware Hits Hundreds of US Companies, Security Firm Says”

The United Nations’ political chief urged Tigrayan forces in northern Ethiopia on Friday to “immediately and completely” endorse a cease-fire declared by the government so that food aid can reach a growing number of starving people in the embattled region.”The cease-fire announcement provides an opportunity that all parties to the conflict, including the TPLF, must …

Read more “UN Calls on Tigray Forces to Endorse Cease-fire”

The U.N. Security Council is set to hold its first public discussion of the situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray region on Friday, as humanitarian groups attempt to resume and expand aid deliveries to millions of people in dire need in the embattled area.The 15-nation Security Council will meet later Friday (7pm GMT) to be briefed on …

Read more “UN Security Council to Discuss Cease-fire, Hunger in Ethiopia’s Tigray”

Russia recently sent a group of 600 military instructors to the Central African Republic to train the army, police, and national gendarmerie, Russia’s foreign ministry said Friday.Moscow is in the spotlight after a United Nations report, seen by Reuters Tuesday, said Russian military instructors and local troops had targeted civilians with excessive force, indiscriminate killings, …

Read more “Russia Bolsters Presence in Central African Republic With 600 More Military Instructors”

The U.N. Security Council is set to hold its first public discussion of the situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray region on Friday, as humanitarian groups attempt to resume and expand aid deliveries to millions of people in dire need in the embattled area.The 15-nation Security Council will meet later Friday (7pm GMT) to be briefed on …

Read more “UN Security Council to Discuss Ceasefire, Hunger in Ethiopia’s Tigray”

The three women were enjoying their time together, having lunch near the beach at Capalbio on the Southern Tuscan coast just over an hour’s drive from Rome. A long winter and spring of lockdowns and restrictions in their northern alpine town of Bolzano had kept grandmother, mother and daughter apart for months on end.“Can I …

Read more “Delta Variant Risks Spoiling Europe’s Hope of a Return to Normality”

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said Thursday the Union of European Football Associations’ (UEFA) decision to hold its tournament in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic was “absolutely irresponsible.”German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer gestures at a joint news conference with the health minister on the COVID-19 situation and entry regulation for Germany’s borders, in Berlin, …

Read more “German Interior Minister Calls European Soccer Organization ‘Irresponsible’”

Britain’s Prince William and Prince Harry unveiled a statue to their late mother Princess Diana in a ceremony Thursday at London’s Kensington Palace, on what would have been her 60th birthday. It’s the first time the brothers have met each other since the funeral of their grandfather, Prince Philip, in April.Prince Harry flew to London …

Read more “Feuding British Princes William and Harry Unveil Diana Statue”

Turkey sees Israel’s formation of a new government without Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a chance for the two countries to reset relations that have long been strained. But recent fighting between Hamas and Israel threatens to complicate any effort to improve ties.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Benjamin Netanyahu routinely exchanged insults, with both …

Read more “Israel’s New Government Offers Opportunity for Reset with Turkey as Obstacles Remain”

With poll numbers for pro-Putin political parties sinking ahead of Russia’s scheduled fall parliamentary elections, the Kremlin has launched a new campaign strategy: clearing the field of would-be challengers. From Moscow, Charles Maynes reports. Camera: Ricardo Marquina Montañana, Agency   Produced by: Henry Hernandez  …

The European Union has formally launched its digital COVID-19 certificate, designed to make travel safe and easy for the fully vaccinated within its member nations —  but at least one airline says the app has run into issues on its first day of use.The EU designed the digital certificate – available as a smart phone …

Read more “EU Launches Digital COVID-19 Travel Certificate”

Several countries have imposed restrictions on travelers from Britain amid rising cases of the delta variant of the coronavirus. Scientists say the delta mutation is more infectious and now makes up around 95 percent of new cases in Britain. Henry Ridgwell reports from London. …