The sinking of a boat with more than 30 people on board this week was the deadliest migration tragedy to date in the English Channel. Migrant shipwrecks of that scale, however, are not uncommon in the waters surrounding Europe’s southern borders. This year alone, U.N. officials estimate that 1,600 people have died or gone missing …
Read more “1,600 Migrants Lost at Sea in Mediterranean This Year”
Defenders of Memorial, Russia’s most prominent rights group, urged the Supreme Court on Thursday to dismiss a case to shut it down, saying the move would mark a dark day for the country. In court for alleged violations of its designation as a “foreign agent,” Memorial is facing its biggest threat since being founded by Soviet …
Read more “Defenders Urge Russian Court Not to Shutter Rights Group “
Czech President Milos Zeman was readmitted to a hospital late Thursday after he tested positive for COVID-19. He’d left the Prague military hospital only hours before, following more than a month’s treatment for an unspecified illness. The presidential office said Zeman was tested after he arrived at his official residence in Lany, west of Prague, …
European countries expanded COVID-19 booster vaccinations, began plans to get shots to young children and tightened some curbs Thursday as the continent battled a surge in coronavirus cases and concerns about its economic fallout grew. Slovakia went into a two-week lockdown, and the Czech government declared a 30-day state of emergency involving early closure of …
Read more “European Nations Add Boosters, Plan Shots for Children Amid COVID Surge”
Italy has given safe haven to Sharbat Gula, the green-eyed “Afghan Girl” whose 1985 photo in National Geographic became a symbol of her country’s wars, Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s office said Thursday. The government intervened after Gula asked for help to leave Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover of the country in August, a statement said, …
Read more “Italy Takes in National Geographic’s Green-Eyed ‘Afghan Girl’”
Pope Francis, meeting the prime minister of Lebanon Thursday, compared the country to a dying person and promised to do everything in his power to help it “rise again.” Francis and Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who took office in September after a year-long government vacuum, met privately for about 20 minutes and discussed the …
Read more “Pope Promises to Help Moribund Lebanon Rise Again “
The European Union drug regulator Thursday approved the use of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of five and 11, opening the way for them to be given a first shot as the region battles surging infections. The vaccine, which is called Comirnaty, will be given in two doses of 10 micrograms …
Read more “EU Drug Regulator Approves First COVID Shot for 5-11-Year-Olds “
The holiday tree is towering over the main square in this central German city, the chestnuts and sugared almonds are roasted, and kids are clambering aboard the merry-go-round just like they did before the pandemic. But a surge in coronavirus infections has left an uneasy feeling hanging over Frankfurt’s Christmas market. To savor a mug …
Read more “Europe’s Christmas Markets Warily Open as COVID Cases Rise”
At least 11 miners died in an accident Thursday at a coal mine in Russia’s Siberia, and an operation to rescue dozens more people underground was suspended due to the risk of an explosion, local authorities and emergency services said. Coal dust caught fire in a ventilation shaft in the Listvyazhnaya mine in the snowbound Kemerovo region early Thursday, filling the mine with smoke, the …
Read more “At Least 11 Dead, Dozens Trapped in Russian Mining Accident “
On a bad day, Maria Tikas receives four or five abusive online messages suggesting that she only got her job as a journalist because she offered sexual favors to her bosses. Some messages include graphic sexual images. Others suggest a woman cannot know anything about covering soccer for Sport, a Spanish daily sports newspaper. “You …
Read more “¡Basta! Sports Journalists in Spain Demand End to Abuse”
Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday will consider a request to shut down Memorial, the country’s most prominent rights group and a pillar of its civil society. Founded by Soviet dissidents including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov in 1989, Memorial has built up a huge archive of Soviet-era crimes and campaigned tirelessly for human rights …
Read more “Russian Court to Consider Closure of Top Rights Group Memorial”
At least 27 migrants drowned Wednesday after their inflatable dinghy capsized as they tried to cross the English Channel from France. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 34 people were aboard the boat. Two were rescued and one is missing, according to Reuters, in the worst recorded tragedy involving migrants between the two countries. Without explanation, the Interior Ministry later revised the initial death toll to 27, according to Agence France-Presse. …
Read more “At Least 27 Migrants Die Crossing English Channel “
The buildup of Russian troops along the border with Ukraine, and on the Crimean Peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, is prompting an intense debate among American and European policymakers about how to respond, say Western officials. They are split over why Russian President Vladimir Putin is amassing troops. They are also wrestling with their …
Read more “Western Policymakers Weigh Options for Ukraine, Responses to Russian Aggression “
Three European countries have broken records for new COVID-19 cases, prompting calls for urgent measures to slow the spread. Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary, all of which have vaccine rates below 60%, hit new highs for infection rates Wednesday. In the face of surging cases, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, or ECDC, shifted its booster policy and is …
Read more “Facing New COVID Surge, Europe Examines Mitigation Steps”
Poland has threatened Belarus with further economic sanctions and the closure of its border to all freight and rail traffic, as thousands of migrants continue to try to cross the frontier. The European Union accuses Belarus of creating a humanitarian crisis by ferrying migrants to the border, in retaliation for EU sanctions imposed over last …
Read more “‘Ping-Pong Pushbacks’: Winter Misery for Migrants Trapped on Poland-Belarus Border “
Poland has threatened Belarus with further economic sanctions and the closure of its border to all freight and rail traffic, as thousands of migrants continue to try to cross the frontier. The European Union accuses Belarus of creating a humanitarian crisis by ferrying migrants to the border, in retaliation for EU sanctions imposed over last …
Read more “‘Ping-Pong Pushbacks’: Winter Misery for Migrants Trapped on Poland-Belarus Border”
The three parties negotiating to form Germany’s next government will finalize and present their coalition agreement Wednesday, two of the prospective partners said. The deal paves the way for center-left leader Olaf Scholz to replace longtime Chancellor Angela Merkel in the coming weeks. The center-left Social Democrats have been negotiating with the environmentalist Green party …
Read more “German Parties Say Deal Ready for New Coalition Government”
Sweden’s parliament on Wednesday approved Magdalena Andersson as the country’s first female prime minister, tapping the finance minister who recently became the new leader of the Social Democratic party. Andersson was tapped to replace Stefan Lofven as party leader and prime minister, roles he relinquished earlier this year. The development marked a milestone for Sweden, viewed for …
Read more “Sweden’s Parliament Approves First Female Prime Minister”
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Tuesday diplomatic efforts with Turkey, middle eastern nations and others have helped ease the situation at the Polish border with Belarus, but he said there are also signs the crisis “will not come to swift end.” For weeks, Poland and the European Union have accused the government of Belarusian …
Read more “Polish Prime Minister Credits Diplomacy for Easing Border Tensions “
The top U.S. and Russian generals spoke by phone Tuesday, as tensions along the Russian-Ukrainian border appeared to reach new highs. Both Washington and Moscow quickly issued readouts of the call between U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, and chief of Russian General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov. According to …
Read more “Top US, Russian Generals Speak as Tensions Mount”
Europe’s unprecedented energy crunch will worsen during this northern hemisphere winter, increasing the likelihood of power rationing and plant stoppages, industry analysts are warning. And with natural gas prices skyrocketing, subjecting manufacturers and households to soaring bills, some fear the European Union’s integrated energy system could break down, with the bloc’s member states resorting to …
The United States and its European allies are planning for “a number of contingencies,” fearing that Moscow’s saber-rattling may be more than tough talk. Multiple U.S. officials cited serious concerns Tuesday about what they consistently described as Russia’s “unusual military activity” along its border with Ukraine, as well as Moscow’s harsh rhetoric, insisting that no …
Read more “US Preparing for Multiple Contingencies as Russia-Ukraine Tensions Rise”
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Europe regional office Tuesday said the 53-country area could see another 700,000 COVID-19 deaths in the next four months if vaccination efforts are not increased. In a statement, WHO Europe reports the region saw nearly 4,200 deaths from COVID-19 in the past week, double the number of daily deaths reported at the end of …
Read more “WHO Europe Warns Region’s COVID-19 Deaths Could Reach 2.2M by March”
North Macedonia’s chief prosecutor says that 12 children were among the some 45 people who died in a fiery bus crash in Bulgaria early Tuesday morning. Lubomir Jovevski spoke to reporters as he visited the scene of the accident on a highway in the west of the country. The cause of the crash was not …
Read more “Bus Crashes, Catches Fire in Bulgaria; at Least 45 Dead”