worldwide news
German customs authorities Wednesday announced the largest seizure of cocaine in European history, more than 23 tons discovered in two raids this month at ports in Hamburg, Germany and Antwerp, Belgium.German customs official Rene Matchke told reporters the 28-year-old owner of a Dutch import company was arrested Wednesday in the Netherlands, where police say both …
Read more “Police in Germany, Belgium Seize Record 23 Tons of Cocaine”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law bills that impose fines for violating a controversial law on “foreign agents” as well as other legislation relating to protests, such as the financing of rallies and disobedience of law enforcement. According to the laws, signed by Putin Feb. 24, releasing information about so-called “foreign agents” …
The French government Wednesday said the COVID-19 situation is deteriorating in about 10 French regions, including the Paris-Ile-de-France area around the capital, and said it is considering additional restrictions to address the situation. At a news conference in Paris, government spokesman Gabriel Attal told reporters infection numbers and infection rates have started to climb over the …
Read more “France Weighs More COVID-19 Restrictions as Infections, Hospitalizations Rise”
Police stormed the party offices of Georgian opposition leader Nika Melia and detained him Tuesday, deepening a political crisis that prompted the prime minister to resign last week. Melia’s supporters had barricaded themselves in the offices, using furniture to block the doors. Scores of police surged into the building during the early morning raid, …
Read more “Georgian Police Detain Opposition Leader as Political Crisis Deepens”
A German court has convicted a former member of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s secret police of accessory to crimes against humanity for facilitating the torture of prisoners. The court in Koblenz sentenced Eyad Al-Gharib to 4 1/2 years in prison. Prosecutors accused him of being part of a unit that arrested protesters and …
The European Union has imposed sanctions on four Russian officials following the jailing of opposition leader Alexey Navalny. As Henry Ridgwell reports, supporters of Navalny want the EU to go much further — and sanction close allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin.Camera: Henry Ridgwell …
Three men suspected of having supplied the bomb which killed Maltese anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 were arrested on Tuesday, police said. Their arrest came as a man accused of carrying out the killing agreed to a plea deal, accepting his responsibility for the assassination in return for a reduced, 15-year jail term instead …
Read more “Three Held on Suspicion of Supplying Bomb that Killed Malta Journalist”
The European Union has imposed sanctions on four Russian officials following the jailing of opposition leader Alexey Navalny. As Henry Ridgwell reports, supporters of Navalny want the EU to go much further — and sanction close allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin.Camera: Henry Ridgwell …
A European Union foreign ministers’ decision to impose fresh sanctions on Russia for jailing Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny has frustrated Russian political activists, who say the proposed punitive action is feeble and warn it will have little impact on Moscow.The EU agreed Monday to impose what it described as “landmark sanctions” against several senior Russian security …
Read more “Navalny Supporters: EU Sanctions on Russia Are Too Weak”
Less than a week after a key summit gathering of France and its five regional military partners in the Sahel conflict, fresh casualties in Niger offered a reality check to the high-level discourse on achievements. Killed in a landmine explosion Sunday were seven election officials — as Nigeriens voted for their next president — adding …
Read more “For France and Sahel Partners, Many Ideas Emerging But No Clear Strategy”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday he is very optimistic that all COVID-19 restrictions in England could end June 21. Johnson made the comment as he toured a south London school to talk about his hope to open all schools by March 8, part of the “road map” to lifting restrictions and ending …
Read more “British Leader Optimistic England’s COVID-19 Restrictions Could End June 21”
Georgian police raided the main opposition party’s headquarters Tuesday and arrested opposition leader Nika Melia. Authorities accuse Melia, head of the United National Movement party, of organizing “mass violence” during anti-government protests in 2019. Melia says the charges are politically motivated. The U.S. Embassy in Georgia expressed concern about Melia’s detention, saying in a statement Tuesday that Georgia …
Read more “Georgian Authorities Arrest Opposition Leader Melia”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans Monday to begin easing coronavirus lockdown measures, crediting the country’s rapid vaccination program for allowing Britain to begin reopening March 8. “Two weeks from today, students and pupils from all schools and further education settings can safely return to face-to-face teaching. From the 8th of March, people will also …
Read more “Britain Outlines Lockdown Exit as Vaccines Show ‘Spectacular’ Results”
British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says Boeing 777 aircraft with engines like the one that caught fire on a U.S. jet over the weekend will be temporarily banned from Britain.After issues this weekend, Boeing B777s with Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 series engines will be temporarily banned from entering the UK airspace. I will continue to …
Read more “Britain Bans Boeing Aircraft Model that Caught Fire in US”
Can Europe’s former central banker Mario Draghi, and now Italy’s new prime minister, do whatever it takes to save the country? Last week, the former European Central Bank governor Draghi was sworn in as Italy’s new prime minister as head of a unity government following the collapse of the previous governing coalition last month.Draghi, who has …
Read more “Italians Look to ‘Super Mario’ as Pandemic Patience Wears Thin”
European markets were in a slump Monday as impatience appeared to be growing among investors with the slow introduction of new COVID-19 vaccines and the slow pace of economic stimulus legislation in the United States.Britain’s benchmark FTSE index was down 0.7% at midday. The CAC 40 in France was 0.4% lower, and Germany’s DAX index …
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has denounced the military coup in Myanmar and demanded an immediate return to democratic rule. Guterres condemned Myanmar’s repressive actions in his opening address to the 46th session of the UN Human rights Council. Guterres departed from his lengthy speech on COVID-19 related violations to blast Myanmar’s military for its takeover of …
Read more “UN Chief Demands Immediate Return to Democratic Rule in Myanmar”
Leaders as far away as Canada and Western Europe are sending navy ships to the contested South China Sea this year as pushback against Beijing, which they feel has gone too far and begun alarming their citizens, analysts in the region say. French Defense Minister Florence Parly said in early February that France had dispatched an attack …
Read more “Why Countries as Far Away as France and UK Send Ships to the South China Sea”
Conservationists in Cyprus are urging authorities to expand a hunting ban throughout a coastal salt lake network amid concerns that migrating flamingos could potentially swallow lethal quantities of lead shotgun pellets.Martin Hellicar, director of Birdlife Cyprus, said flamingos are at risk of ingesting the tiny pellets lying on the lakebed as they feed. Like other …
Read more “Cyprus Activists: Hunters’ Lead Pellets Threaten Flamingos”
Britain’s departure from the European Union, following months of negotiations, has affected trade in many industries; but fishing has been hit particularly hard by the break known as “Brexit.” VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports that some in the business fear for their futures due to an EU ban on the export of live shellfish from Britain. …
Britain’s royal family is bracing for a March 7 airing of an American television interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, widely referred to as Harry and Meghan, amid reports that the content is explosive and will make for uncomfortable viewing for the British monarch and senior royals. The interview with talk show host …
Read more “Britain’s Royal Family Braces for ‘Harry and Meghan’ Interview “
COVID-19’s impact on efforts to combat gross human rights violations will be a major focus of the 46th regular session of the U.N. Human Rights Council. The four-week session, which starts Monday in Geneva, will be held virtually because of the pandemic. It will kick off with a three-day high-level segment when nine heads of state and …
Read more “COVID-19-Related Violations to Dominate UN Rights Council Agenda “
A 95-year-old former Nazi concentration camp guard was deported from the United States and arrived Saturday in his native Germany, where he was being held by police for questioning, authorities said.The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said in a statement that Friedrich Karl Berger, a German citizen, was sent back to Germany for serving …
Read more “US Deports Former Nazi Concentration Camp Guard to Germany”
Protesters threw bottles at police, set fire to containers and smashed up shops in Barcelona on Saturday in the fifth night of clashes after a rapper was jailed for glorifying terrorism and insulting royalty in his songs.The nine-month sentence of Pablo Hasel, known for his virulently anti-establishment raps, has sparked a debate over freedom of …
Read more “Protests Over Jailing of Spanish Rapper Extend Into Fifth Night”