worldwide news
French Prime Minister Jean Castex said Friday the government was not planning a new, nationwide lockdown in response to a dramatic spike in COVID-19 cases this week. In a televised statement in Paris, following a meeting with the Defense Council, Castex acknowledged the COVID-19 situation has gotten worse, and he urged citizens to practice social distancing …
Read more “French PM: No New Lockdown Despite COVID-19 Surge”
For Rabbi Jonathan Rietti, this year would have marked his 37th consecutive visit to Uman, Ukraine, for Rosh Hashana — the Jewish new year which falls this year on September 18-20. The town, located 200 km south of Kyiv, is the burial place of the 18th-century tzaddik, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, who founded the …
Read more “Pandemic Upends Annual Ukraine Pilgrimage for Hasidic Sect”
Austria’s chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, Friday announced he is reinstating mandatory mask regulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 after cases spiked in the country this week, especially in Vienna.At a news conference Friday, Kurz announced, beginning Monday, masks will be mandatory again in all public areas, like supermarkets and other retail shops, government buildings and …
Read more “Austria Reinstates Restrictions as New COVID-19 Cases Surge”
The same Russian military intelligence outfit that hacked the Democrats in 2016 has renewed vigorous U.S. election-related targeting, trying to breach computers at more than 200 organizations including political campaigns and their consultants, Microsoft said Thursday.The intrusion attempts reflect a stepped-up effort to infiltrate the U.S. political establishment, the company said.”What we’ve seen is consistent …
Read more “Russian Hackers Targeting US Campaigns, Microsoft Says”
Leaders of seven southern European countries on Thursday urged Turkey to end “unilateral and illegal activities” in the eastern Mediterranean and resume dialogue to ease tensions in the region.Heads of state and government of France, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Italy, Spain and Portugal gathered in Corsica amid fears of open conflict, as Turkey seeks to expand …
Read more “Southern EU Leaders Urge Turkey to End ‘Unilateral’ Actions”
The United States on Thursday sanctioned four Russian-linked operatives, accusing them of trying to meddle in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.The sanctioned individuals are Andrii Derkach, a Ukrainian member of Parliament tied to Russian intelligence, and three other Russian-based operatives connected to the Internet Research Agency troll farm based in St. Petersburg.FILE – U.S. President …
Read more “US Sanctions 4 for Russia-linked Interference in November Presidential Election”
For asylum-seekers trapped in the overcrowded facility on Greece’s island of Lesbos, Moria was hell most days. But a coronavirus quarantine was the final straw.It was just before midnight Tuesday when eight migrants who tested positive for COVID-19 were told by authorities they would be isolated to an area just beyond the gated compound, according …
Read more “For Greek Camp Migrants, COVID-19 Quarantine Was Spark”
Diana Rigg, a British actress who became a 1960s style icon as secret agent Emma Peel in TV series “The Avengers,” has died. She was 82. Rigg’s agent Simon Beresford said she died Thursday morning at home with her family. Daughter Rachael Stirling said she died of cancer that was diagnosed in March. Rigg “spent …
Read more “James Bond, ‘Avengers’ Star Diana Rigg Dies at 82”
The World Surf League (WSL) announced Thursday that Brazilian big wave rider Maya Gabeira beat her own world record this year when she rode a 22.4-meter wave at Portugal’s Nazare, the same place she set the record in 2018.Gabeira broke her previous mark by nearly 2 meters during a big wave competition at Nazarre on …
Read more “Brazilian Surfer Breaks Own Record for Big Wave Ride”
The London hearing on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition from Britain to the United States was suspended Thursday because one of the lawyers may have been exposed to the coronavirus. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser ordered the proceedings adjourned until Monday while a lawyer representing the U.S. government is tested for the virus. Assange’s attorney, Edward …
Read more “Assange Extradition Hearing Paused Over COVID-19 Risk”
Brexit negotiations hit a new low this week as the European Union’s top leaders in Brussels reacted angrily to British prime minister Boris Johnson’s plans to override a key part of Britain’s withdrawal agreement from the EU, which was struck only last year.They say any repudiation of the divorce deal will ruin the chances of …
Read more “Europe Furious Over Johnson’s Plan to Override Brexit Agreement”
European Council President Charles Michel has called for faster consideration of sanctions against officials in Belarus after the detention of multiple opposition leaders.“Political persecution in Belarus including detentions on political grounds and forced exile must stop,” Michel tweeted Wednesday. “Belarusian authorities must free political prisoners and let citizens exercise their right to freedom of speech …
Read more “EU Council President Urges Action on Belarus Sanctions”
Unidentified Belarusian authorities have detained one of the two remaining free leaders of an opposition council amid continuing protests against longtime President Alexander Lukashenko following a disputed election.Attorney Maxim Znak was taken out of the Coordination Council’s office on Wednesday by unknown people wearing ski masks, according to his associate, Gleb German. Znak’s detention came as …
Read more “Masked Men in Belarus Detain Another Lukashenko Foe”
An Istanbul court on Wednesday handed multiple prison sentences to five reporters convicted of violating the law on coverage of Turkey’s spy agency but ordered their release pending appeals.Six journalists faced up to 20 years in prison on charges of exposing state secrets and violating the Turkish Intelligence Agency (MIT) law.The closely watched trial concerned …
Read more “Turkish Reporters Convicted in State Secrets Trial Are Released Pending Appeals”
Unidentified Belarusian authorities have detained one of the two remaining free leaders of an opposition council amid continuing protests against longtime President Alexander Lukashenko following a disputed election.Attorney Maxim Znak was taken out of the Coordination Council’s office on Wednesday by unknown people wearing ski masks, according to his associate, Gleb German. Znak’s detention came as …
Read more “Masked Belarusian Authorities Detain Another Lukashenko Opponent”
Fire destroyed much of Greece’s largest refugee camp early Wednesday, displacing thousands of refugees and asylum-seekers amid a camp-wide outbreak of COVID-19. The Moria Reception and Identification Center on the island of Lesbos was 80% destroyed in the blaze, Refugees and migrants gather water next to destroyed shelters following a fire at the Moria camp on …
Read more “Thousands of Refugees in Greece Displaced by Fire”
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday the United States is deeply concerned about attempts by the government of Belarus to forcibly expel opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova. The top U.S. diplomat said the United States and other countries are considering bringing sanctions in response to recent events in Belarus. “We commend the courage of Ms. Kalesnikava and of the Belarusian people in …
British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was summoned by an Iranian Revolutionary Court on Tuesday and informed about a new charge, state television reported. “Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court summoned Nazanin Zaghari and her designated lawyer this morning and informed her of a new indictment,” state television cited an unnamed official as saying on its …
Read more “Iran State TV: British-Iranian Aid Worker Zaghari-Ratcliffe Faces New Charge”
Five years ago, a Belarusian teenager studying film in Poland set up a YouTube channel to show videos that he made and poke fun at his country’s longtime leader, Alexander Lukashenko. After tangling with YouTube copyright laws, the student, Stsyapan Putsila, shifted his Nexta channel and his tactics in 2018 to Telegram, the messaging app. Its encryption technologies have made it …
Read more “Polish-Based Blogger Becomes Driving Force in Belarusian Protests”
A group of migrants being held at a dockside camp on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria chanted “freedom” on Tuesday as they tried to force open a police fence and the coast guard brought in more people rescued from boats on the Atlantic sea.Although sea-borne migration to Spain is down nearly 19% this year, …
Read more “Hundreds of Migrants Call for Freedom at Camp on Gran Canaria”
Deirdre Carney suspected she might have COVID-19 when her temperature began to fluctuate above the normal 37 degrees Celsius. “It was a bit of a shock when I was diagnosed. I could not believe that I had got it. I had not mixed with that many people,” Carney, an English teacher from California living in …
Read more “Despite Strict Lockdown, Spain Sees Sharp COVID-19 Spike”
Exiled Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has called the situation in her country “absolutely unacceptable” and pleaded for international pressure to dislodge embattled President Alexander Lukashenko who she said no longer represents Belarus.In a virtual appearance before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on September 8, Tsikhanouskaya urged international pressure including sanctions …
Read more “Exiled Belarus Opposition Leader Pleads for ‘Help Now’”
Prince Harry has repaid 2.4 million pounds ($3.2 million) in British taxpayers’ money that was used to renovate the home in Windsor intended for him and his wife Meghan before they gave up royal duties and moved to California.A spokesman for the couple said Monday that Harry had made a contribution to the Sovereign Grant, …
Read more “Prince Harry Repays Taxpayer Money for UK Home Renovation”
Negotiators on both sides of the English Channel say this week is the “moment of reckoning” for a post-Brexit trade deal between the European Union and Britain. But after six months of toxic wrangling the odds are mounting an agreement will not be struck, both British and European officials concede.That result that could poison relations …