Hundreds of Kurds who had camped along Belarus’ border for weeks were forced to return home Thursday after failing to enter the European Union. At Irbil International Airport, VOA Kurdish stringer Ahmad Zebari interviewed some of the returnees and filed this report narrated by Namo Abdulla. Producer and camera: Ahmad Zebari. …
Crowds of rioters in the port city of Rotterdam torched cars and threw rocks at police, who responded with bullets and water cannons, as protests against COVID-19 measures turned violent Friday night. “We fired warning shots and there were also direct shots fired because the situation was life-threatening,” police spokesperson Patricia Wessels told Reuters. “We …
Read more “Two Wounded During Protest of COVID-19 Restrictions in Netherlands”
British Home Secretary Priti Patel on Friday said she had banned the Palestinian militant group Hamas, a move that brought the U.K.’s stance on Gaza’s rulers in line with those of the United States and the European Union. “Hamas has significant terrorist capability, including access to extensive and sophisticated weaponry, as well as terrorist training facilities,” …
Read more “Britain Outlaws Palestinian Militant Group Hamas, Minister Says”
Poland accused Belarus on Friday of trucking hundreds of refugees to the two countries’ border and encouraging them to illegally cross into Polish territory to enter the European Union, an accusation that comes hours after Belarusian officials cleared the refugee camp where thousands had been hunkered down. Approximately 2,000 refugees, many of them Middle Eastern, …
Read more “Poland Accuses Belarus of Creating Border Crisis After Refugee Camps Cleared “
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday the situation at the border between Poland and Belarus is “deeply concerning” and the alliance stands ready to help its allies involved. Stoltenberg made the comments in Berlin, where he met with outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the issue and others facing NATO member nations. Poland and the EU accuse the government of Belarusian …
Read more “NATO Chief Calls Situation at Belarus-Poland Border ‘Deeply Concerning’ “
Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced Friday the government will begin a nationwide lockdown Monday and mandate vaccinations for all, making it the first European nation to reimpose COVID-19 measures, as cases throughout the region surge. At a news conference Friday, Schallenberg said Monday’s lockdown will be reevaluated after 10 days, but they will run a …
German health officials said Friday the current COVID-19 situation in the country is a national emergency and called for immediate measures to be taken to mitigate the situation — including lockdowns, even for people who have been vaccinated. Germany’s Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases (RKI) reported 52,970 new COVID-19 cases Friday, the third straight …
Read more “German Officials: Current COVID Surge Is ‘National Emergency’”
Ukraine said Friday that one of its soldiers had been killed by pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, as the West accuses Moscow of a troop build-up near Ukraine. Kiev’s army has been battling fighters in two breakaway regions bordering Russia since 2014, after Moscow annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. Ukraine and its Western …
Hungary’s opposition leader wants to restore his country’s frayed ties with the West — and also has a message for American fans of right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban. “Let me state very strongly for all Americans that to be a part of Putin’s fan club doesn’t make you a conservative,” said Peter Marki-Zay, a self-described …
Read more “Hungary Opposition Leader Vows to Restore Western Alliances”
Officials in Belarus have cleared a refugee camp on the Poland-Belarus border where thousands of refugees had hunkered down in the hope of entering the European Union via Poland. Approximately 2,000 refugees, many of them Middle Eastern, were moved Thursday into a large warehouse, enabling them to escape the freezing cold of the outdoor makeshift …
The European Union’s drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency, said Thursday that unvaccinated individuals account for much of the “fourth wave” of COVID-19 infections in the region and encouraged EU member nations to close the vaccination gap. During its regular COVID-19 briefing at EMA headquarters in Amsterdam, EMA biological threats chief Marco Cavaleri told reporters that in EU states, unvaccinated people, particularly those over the age of 50, are most likely to be hospitalized with severe COVID-19, be placed in intensive care or die. …
Read more “Drug Regulator Says Europe Must Close Vaccination Gap to Stop COVID Surge”
A nonbinary pronoun added to an esteemed French dictionary has ignited a fierce linguistic squabble in the country. Le Petit Robert introduced the word “iel” — an amalgamation of “il” (he) and “elle” (she) — to its online edition last month. While the term is gaining currency among young people, it is still far from …
Read more “Neutral Pronoun in French Dictionary Stirs Boisterous Debate”
Germany’s Bundestag — the lower house of parliament — Thursday approved new COVID-19 countermeasures the day after the Germany’s Robert Koch Institute for Disease Control and prevention (RKI) warned of a “terrible Christmas” if new counter measures are not put in place. The Bundestag, led by votes from what is likely Germany’s new ruling coalition, the …
Read more “German Parliament Passes COVID-19 Measures after Dire Warnings”
The leader of a Cuban dissident group who left the island for Spain said Thursday that the communist government was “behaving like an abusive husband” toward its people. Activist and playwright Yunior Garcia Aguilera arrived Wednesday in Madrid with his wife, Dayana Prieto, two days after police surrounded his house in Havana to stop him …
Read more “Cuban Dissident Vows to Keep Battling ‘Brutal Tyranny’ of Regime”
For more than a year, Russian-aligned troll factories overseeing thousands of social media accounts have been accused by Western countries and disinformation experts of spreading anti-vaccine messages in an aggressive campaign to spread conspiracy theories and cast doubt on Western coronavirus vaccines. But the year-long offensive appears to have backfired. Russian officials now worry that …
Read more “Russian Anti-Vaccine Disinformation Campaign Backfires”
The G-7 group of nations condemned what it called the Belarus government’s “orchestration of irregular migration across its borders” Thursday, as neighboring Poland reported new attempts to cross its border. “We call on the regime to cease immediately its aggressive and exploitative campaign in order to prevent further deaths and suffering,” the foreign ministers of …
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said China’s hypersonic missile test over the summer drew “concerns” about Beijing’s growing capability, but he said he did not compare it to Russia’s launching of the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, in the 1950s. “Those are terms that I wouldn’t use, I don’t personally use,” Austin replied Wednesday …
Read more “US Defense Secretary: China’s Hypersonic Missile Test Drew ‘Concerns’”
Poland is dealing with a huge migrant crisis as thousands try to enter its territory from Belarus. Polish authorities have created an exclusion zone and do not allow volunteers to help migrants who reach European Union soil. Jamie Dettmer narrates this report by correspondent Ricardo Marquina from the Polish town of Michalowo near the border …
Read more “As Poland Holds Back Migrants at Belarus Border, Thousands Suffer”
Migrants in a makeshift camp on the western border of Belarus are being taken away by bus, a Polish government official was quoted as saying Wednesday. Thousands of migrants, primarily from the Middle East, have been stuck in the camp since Nov. 8. Most are escaping conflict and instability at home for opportunities in Germany …
Read more “Migrants in Belarusian Border Camp Reportedly Being Bussed Away “
Dozens of Armenian soldiers have been captured or gone missing following the latest clashes on the border with Azerbaijan, officials in Yerevan said on November 17. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said on the morning of November 17 that seven of its soldiers were killed and 10 others wounded in renewed fighting on the shared border …
Read more “Armenia, Azerbaijan Report Casualties After Renewed Fighting on Border”
The World Health Organization says Europe is once again the epicenter of the pandemic. As Henry Ridgwell reports, the latest wave of infections is casting a shadow over recent signs that European economies were rebounding. …
Turkish authorities arrested businessman Samir Handal, a suspect “of great interest” in the July assassination of Haiti’s president, according to Haitian Foreign Minister Claude Joseph. The Monday arrest is the latest in a globe-trotting effort to round up Jovenel Moïse’s killers as Haiti contends with political instability, fuel shortages, gang violence and hunger made worse …
Read more “Turkey Arrests Businessman Suspected in Haitian President’s Assassination “
Polish forces at the border with Belarus used water cannons and tear gas Tuesday against stone-throwing migrants, as Warsaw accused Belarusian authorities of giving smoke grenades and other weapons to those trying to cross the frontier. The events marked an escalation in the crisis on the European Union’s eastern border, where the West has accused …
Read more “Poland Uses Water Cannons Against Migrants at Belarus Border”
Threats by the leader of the Serb-majority Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, to break his mini-state away from Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country shakily balanced between Croats, Bosniaks and Serbs, is adding to growing regional and international dismay at unfolding developments in the Balkans. Dodik’s threats combined with a major rearmament program by neighboring Serbia are …
Read more “Balkan Fears Grow as Western Countries Mull Sanctions”