A visit by a group of French senators to Taiwan earlier this month is just the latest sign that European countries are willing to engage with the East Asian democracy even at the risk of angering China, according to regional experts. The lawmakers from the Taiwan Friendship Group, led by Senator Alain Richard, arrived in …
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Presidential ill health, police raids and corruption allegations, some involving caretaker Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, have thrown the Czech Republic into a surreal political crisis. The jarring turn of events could not have come at a worse time — the unnerved country is already in the grip of an acute energy crunch, like its European …
Read more “Czech Republic Trapped in Surreal Game of Thrones”
Queen Elizabeth II spent a night in the hospital for tests after being forced to cancel a visit to Northern Ireland this week, Buckingham Palace said Thursday. “Following medical advice to rest for a few days, The Queen attended hospital on Wednesday afternoon for some preliminary investigations, returning to Windsor Castle at lunchtime today, and remains …
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Deep divisions over the European Union’s legal order and energy took an EU summit into late Thursday, with eastern member states Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic standing in defiance against Brussels. The rule of law issue was especially thorny, with the potential to shake the very foundations of the 27-nation bloc. The east-west divide …
Read more “EU Summit Leaves Legal Squabble with Poland Unresolved”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is resisting calls by some public health officials to implement new COVID-19 restrictions, despite a surge of new infections hitting the nation. The Health Ministry reported 52,000 new infections on Thursday, with a daily average the past week of more than 44,000 — a 16% increase from the previous week. The World Health Organization reported this week that Britain has among the highest number of daily new infections in the European …
Read more “Johnson: Britain Sticking to Its Plan, Despite COVID Surge”
A group of mixed-race women who were abducted as children by state officials in what was then Belgian Congo is suing the Belgian state for crimes against humanity. As Henry Ridgwell reports, the case comes as Belgium struggles to reconcile with its brutal colonial past. …
British authorities said Thursday that a British man has been charged in the fatal stabbing of lawmaker David Amess last week while he was meeting with constituents at a church. Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service said Ali Harbi Ali, a 25-year-old of Somali heritage, has been charged under the Terrorism Act. The death of the longtime lawmaker has stunned Britain and particularly its politicians, who have a tradition of being accessible to constituents. His murder has sparked high level conversations about how Britain protects its leaders and confronts …
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A week ago, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would be prepared to increase natural gas exports to help Europe with an energy crunch that has triggered soaring prices. But there are no signs he will make good on promise of relief, say energy experts. This week Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom appeared to have …
Read more “Europe’s Energy Crunch Set to Worsen as Russia Refrains From Boosting Gas Exports”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday relations between the alliance and Russia are at their lowest point since the Cold War ended. Stoltenberg made the comments as NATO defense ministers began two-day meetings in Brussels. Tensions have risen between Russia and NATO over recent weeks, as Russia announced Monday it was suspending its permanent …
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As the European Parliament wrapped up a mission to Slovenia last Friday, Dutch MP Sophia in ‘t Veld cited concerns that public debate in the country is often hostile. Her comments came after Slovenia’s Prime Minister Janez Jansa criticized the European Parliament and made what some said were anti-Semitic remarks. The European delegation were in …
Read more “Slovenian PM Rattled by Low Marks on Rights, Press Freedom”
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Brussels for a meeting of NATO defense ministers Thursday and Friday to talk about security issues in Afghanistan, tensions with Russia and technology policy. “I’m here to help advance NATO’s military adaptation, and ensure the alliance is prepared for the challenges of the future,” Austin tweeted after arriving …
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German authorities on Wednesday detained two former soldiers who are alleged to have tried to form a mercenary group that would have intervened in the military conflict in Yemen. Federal prosecutors said the men, identified only as Arend-Adolf G. and Achim A. in keeping with Germany privacy laws, were detained in southern Germany. Both are …
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Czech police are investigating allegations that a senior aide to President Milos Zeman committed a crime by concealing the 77-year-old’s worsening health. Earlier this week, the speaker of the Senate, Milos Vystrcil, received a doctors report that Zeman was unable to perform his duties and unlikely to be able to do so soon. Zeman was hospitalized Oct. 10, the day after …
Read more “Czech Police Investigate Ailing President’s Aide”
Spanish government geologists on Wednesday said the Cumbre Vieja on the Spanish island of La Palma is continuing to violently erupt with no signs of stopping or even slowing down. The geologist took video of huge pyroclastic blocks floating along a river of lava flowing from the volcano’s northern zone. Meanwhile, video filmed by the Volcanology Institute of the Canaries (INVOLCAN) showed the lava flows moving into the town of La …
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An international Russia-hosted meeting Wednesday pressed the Taliban to form a “truly inclusive” government in Afghanistan and called for the United Nations to convene a donor conference as soon as possible to help avert a humanitarian catastrophe facing the war-torn country. The huddle, known as the Moscow format consultations on Afghanistan, was held with the …
Read more “Regional Powers Back Aid for Afghanistan, Press Taliban on Inclusivity”
Soaring cases of COVID-19 and related deaths have prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to approve a Cabinet proposal for a week-long workplace shutdown. Russia reported a record high 1,028 coronavirus deaths Wednesday over the past 24 hours, the highest daily death toll since the pandemic began, boosting the country’s death toll to 226,353, by far …
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A French woman of African origin is leading a campaign to encourage more members of France’s African diaspora to register as bone marrow donors to potentially save lives. Elhame Lecoeur filed this report for VOA from Paris, narrated by Michael Lipin. Camera: Elhame Lecoeur Produced by: Marcus Harton …
In Belarus, just across the border from Ukraine, many children have been living with chronic radiation sickness since a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded in 1986. They have returned to school after being unable to escape contamination for yet another summer due to COVID-19 pandemic border restrictions. For VOA, Ricardo Marquina has …
Read more “COVID Restrictions Deny Southern Belarus Children Rare Escape From Chernobyl Radiation”
The European Parliament has awarded the European Union’s highest human rights prize to imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny for challenging President Vladimir Putin’s rule over the country. Lawmakers Wednesday announced on Twitter that Navalny is the recipient of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The award is named after Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov. …
Read more “Jailed Russian Opposition Leader Navalny Wins Top EU Human Rights Prize”
Russia has lauded the efforts of Afghanistan’s Taliban government to improve the national security and political situation but stressed the need for the Islamist group to ensure inclusivity in its governance to achieve a stable peace in the war-torn country. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the remarks Wednesday while opening a Moscow-hosted international meeting …
Read more “Moscow Hosts International Talks With Taliban to Discuss Afghan Crisis “
Britain’s Buckingham Palace announced Wednesday that Queen Elizabeth has canceled a scheduled visit to Northern Ireland and “reluctantly” accepted medical advice to rest for the next few days. In a statement, the palace said, “Her Majesty is in good spirits and is disappointed that she will no longer be able to visit Northern Ireland, …
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Ukrainian sailors who have been trained by the U.S. Coast Guard are now conducting exercises at sea. The sailors are using U.S. Coast Guard Island-class cutters that will later be passed on to the Ukrainian fleet. Ostap Yarysh has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Kostiantyn Golubchyk …
The European Union’s national heads of government are readying for a fiery summit meeting Thursday which will be dominated by a clash among them over a recent ruling by Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal that declared Poland’s constitution has primacy over the bloc’s laws. A preview of the fundamental legal and political issues that will be …
Read more “EU Leaders Readying for Fiery Summit, Different Visions of Bloc’s Future Clash “
FBI agents raided homes Thursday in Washington and New York City linked to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire with ties to the Kremlin and to Paul Manafort, the onetime chairman of Donald Trump’s 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. The agents carried boxes out of a mansion in one of Washington’s wealthiest neighborhoods, with yellow “CRIME SCENE …
Read more “FBI Raids Washington, New York Homes Linked to Russian Oligarch Oleg Deripaska”