worldwide news
For her studies in quieting wind turbines and making other forms of renewable energy more competitive, a University of California-Merced student from Germany has been awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University in the U.K. In October, Selina Brinkmann will start four years of study, all expenses paid, courtesy of the Rhodes program …
Read more “New Rhodes Scholar Hopes to Advance Renewable Energy “
France may soon join a handful of countries with laws aimed at repatriating stolen money and assets to their countries of origin. But anti-corruption watchdogs say the draft legislation needs changes to ensure the assets don’t go back to corrupt leaders. Lisa Bryant reports from Paris. Camera: Lisa Bryant, agencies …
The U.S. State Department recognized 21 women who demonstrated leadership in advocating for human rights, gender equality, and women’s empowerment, giving them an “International Women of Courage Award” during a ceremony in Washington Monday.This year seven Afghan women were given the award posthumously after they were assassinated in 2020 while serving their communities during a …
Read more “21 Extraordinary Women Honored with Courage Award”
Britain opened all its schools Monday. The openings come as the country has experienced some of its lowest coronavirus death tolls since October.Vietnam began its COVID-19 vaccination program Monday with its front-line health care workers as the first recipients of the shots.Japan’s rollout of its COVID vaccine program has been slow, hampered by vaccine and …
Read more “Britain Opens Schools; Vietnam Begins Vaccination Campaign”
Italian state police arrested an Algerian citizen in Italy’s southern city of Bari Monday who is suspected of belonging to Islamic State and providing help for the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 130 people. Police identified the 36-year-old Algerian as Athmane Touami, also known as Tomi Mahraz. According to investigators, Touami gave direct support …
Meghan, the wife of Prince Harry, accused Britain’s royal family of raising concerns about how dark their son’s skin might be and pushing her to the brink of suicide, in a tell-all television interview that could send shockwaves through the monarchy.The 39-year-old, whose mother is Black and father is white, said she had been naive …
Read more “Meghan Accuses UK Royals of Racism, Says She Was Suicidal”
The White House on Sunday urged computer network operators to take further steps to gauge whether their systems were targeted amid a hack of Microsoft Corp’s Outlook email program, saying a recent software patch still left serious vulnerabilities.”This is an active threat still developing and we urge network operators to take it very seriously,” a …
Read more “White House Cites ‘Active Threat,’ Urges Action Despite Microsoft Patch”
A report coinciding with International Women’s Day on Monday finds the number of women parliamentarians globally is increasing, but so slightly that it barely dents the global male-dominated system.The Inter-Parliamentary Union reports more than one quarter of the world’s parliamentarians are women; however, at the current rate of progress, the IPU says it will take …
Read more “IPU Report: Women Still Underrepresented in Parliaments Worldwide”
A particularly spectacular blast from Italy’s Mount Etna volcano belched out a towering cloud of ash and lava stone Sunday onto Sicilian villages, the latest in a series of explosions since mid-February.Italy’s national geophysics and volcanology institute INGV said the powerful explosion at 2 a.m. local time was the 10th such big blast since February …
Read more “Etna Keeps Up Its Spectacular Explosions, Rains Ash on Towns”
Illegal migrants and refugees in Greece will take a back seat in the nation’s coronavirus vaccination drive, the government in Athens has said, stoking concerns that more than 70,000 asylum-seekers, stuck in squalid living conditions, may become more vulnerable, according to aid workers and the United Nations.In rolling out the vaccine program last month, the …
Read more “Greece Sidelines Thousands of Asylum-Seekers in National Inoculation Drive”
Swiss citizens narrowly approved a referendum that would prohibit women from wearing full facial coverings in public, a controversial issue that has divided the country during an exceptionally heated campaign. Campaigners, politicians and the media have dubbed it the “burka ban” even though the burka is not worn in Switzerland. The burka, a full body covering …
Read more “Swiss Voters Narrowly Approve So-Called Burka Ban”
Pope Francis Sunday visited Christian communities in Iraq’s north, where the Islamic State group carried out its worst devastation, to bring encouragement and solace to those who suffered numerous atrocities and are trying to rebuild their homes and lives. Iraqis are also hoping to rebuild trust and hope for the future.Joyous celebrations welcomed Pope Francis to …
Read more “Pope Francis Encourages Iraq’s Christians to Forgive and Rebuild “
Swiss citizens vote Sunday on whether to prohibit women from wearing full facial coverings in public, a controversial issue that has divided the country during an exceptionally heated campaign. Campaigners, politicians and the media have dubbed it the “burka ban” even though the burka is not worn in Switzerland. The burka, a full body …
Inspectors will check an underwater pipeline for pollution after it caught fire on a frozen river in Russia’s Siberia, federal monitoring service Rostekhnadzor said Sunday.First reports suggest around 700 tons of liquefied petroleum gas (a mixture of propane and butane) could be on site, Rostekhnadzor spokesperson Andrei Vil said on his Telegram account.The pipeline’s owner …
Read more “Pollution Checks on Siberia River after Pipeline Fire “
The virus swept through a nursery school and an adjacent elementary school in the Milan suburb of Bollate with amazing speed. In a matter of just days, 45 children and 14 staff members had tested positive.Genetic analysis confirmed what officials suspected: The highly contagious coronavirus variant first identified in England was racing through the community, …
Read more “Europe Staggers as Infectious Variants Power Virus Surge”
Republican Senator Ted Cruz has placed a hold on President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Central Intelligence Agency to pressure the administration to put tough sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project.The Senate Intelligence Committee this week backed William Burns, a former ambassador to Russia, by a unanimous vote. Burns has been …
Read more “Cruz Puts Hold on Biden’s CIA Pick Burns Over Nord Stream 2 Pipeline”
The Vaxi Taxi was a godsend for Leslie Reid.The 48-year-old stagehand wanted to get a COVID-19 shot, but he was worried about riding public transport to the vaccination center because his immune system had been weakened by a bout with flesh-eating bacteria that almost cost him his arm.So Reid jumped at the opportunity when his …
Read more “‘Vaxi Taxi’ Targets Vaccine Anxiety as UK Minority Uptake Lags “
Pope Francis met with Iraq’s top Shiite religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, during a visit Saturday morning to the Shiite holy city of Najaf. Both men issued statements after the meeting urging peaceful coexistence among Iraq’s different religious groups. Amateur video posted on social media showed a group of children in the south …
Read more “Pope Meets With Iraqi Ayatollah; Both Call for ‘Peaceful Coexistence’”
Pope Francis has addressed an interfaith gathering of Iraq’s religious and ethnic groups in Ur, said to be the birthplace of Abraham, the common patriarch for Jews, Christians and Muslims. He drove home the need for respect and unity, and he used the opportunity to condemn violent religious extremism. Pope Francis traveled to …
Read more “In Biblical City of Ur, Pope Urges Inter-Religious Tolerance, Fraternity”
Pope Francis, leader of the world’s Roman Catholics, met Saturday in Iraq with the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, a leading Shiite Muslim figure. The historic session between 84-year-old pontiff and the reclusive al-Sistani took place in the 90-year-old Muslim leader’s modest home in the holy city of Najaf. Al-Sistani said Christians have …
Read more “Pope Francis Meets With Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Al-Sistani”
Once the seat of a powerful maritime empire, Portugal is attracting attention from today’s great powers. Analysts warn that unless the U.S. moves quickly, China will soon expand its control over a key Portuguese seaport.A month from now, the fate of a new terminal at the Port of Sines on Portugal’s southwestern coast is scheduled …
Read more “Portugal Envoy Urges US to Counter Chinese Bid at Key Seaport”
The leader of the world’s Roman Catholics is meeting Saturday in Iraq with a leading Shiite Muslim figure.The historic session between 84-year-old Pope Francis and the reclusive Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is taking place in the 90-year-old Muslim leader’s modest home in Najaf.Sistani is one of the most important figures in Shiite Islam and wields …
Relations between Britain and the European Union were thrown into a fresh crisis Friday, just weeks after the two concluded a trade deal to end the long-running saga of Brexit, the British departure from the bloc after four decades of membership.EU officials say they plan to launch legal action soon against Britain for its unilateral …
Read more “EU Threatens Retaliations, Tariffs in Northern Ireland Dispute with Britain”
Meghan Markle, Britain’s Duchess of Sussex, says she is now “ready to talk” along with husband Prince Harry, ahead of a highly anticipated weekend airing of an interview with Oprah Winfrey.Markle credits her newfound freedom for opening up about the limitations put on her by the royal family and her appreciation for making her own …
Read more “Meghan Markle, Ahead of Oprah Interview, Says She’s ‘Ready to Talk’”