Category: World

Britain’s education minister said the county should be “incredibly proud” of its history and that should be reflected in the program of study at schools.Speaking to reporters on Friday during the government’s daily briefing on COVID-19, Gavin Williamson said students need to learn about both the positive and negative aspects of the British Empire.“We mustn’t …

Read more “Education Minister: Britain Should be ‘Incredibly Proud’ of its History”

European Union leaders on Friday agreed to meet again in mid-July to discuss the European Commission’s coronavirus recovery measures, primarily powered by the proposed “Next Generation EU” plan.Friday’s meeting was a videoconference of the leaders of the 27-nation bloc to discuss the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a media conference after …

Read more “EU Leaders Discuss $840B ‘Next Generation EU’ Initiative for COVID Recovery”

The Bank of England has apologized for the links some of its past governors had with slavery, as a global anti-racism movement sparked by the death of George Floyd forces many British institutions to confront uncomfortable truths about their pasts. The central bank called the trade in human beings “an unacceptable part of English history,” …

Read more “Bank of England Says Sorry for Slave Links as UK Faces Past”

Rajaai Bourhan is trying to make a life for himself in Spain.Two years ago, he and several other journalists were trapped in southern Syria, as forces loyal to President Bashar Assad moved to take the region. They had a choice: Stay and risk arrest or death or leave in search of safety. Thanks to the help …

Read more “‘Journalism is Still my World’ Says Syrian Who Found Refuge in Spain”

European governments are working with the United States on plans to overhaul the World Health Organization, a top health official for a European country said, signaling that Europe shares some of the concerns that led Washington to say it would quit.The European health official, who spoke on condition of anonymity while discussing initiatives that are …

Read more “Europeans Working with US to Restructure WHO, Top Official Says”

Dame Vera Lynn, the woman whose voice boosted British spirits during the darkest days of World War Two, has died at 103.Her family did not give a cause of death when it announced her passing Thursday in East Sussex.Along with Winston Churchill’s, Lynn’s was the most recognized and renowned British voice of World War Two.She …

Read more “Dame Vera Lynn, Britain’s World War Two ‘Forces’ Sweetheart,’ Dies at 103”

The Russian government has lifted a ban on Telegram two years after it announced attempts to restrict access to the encrypted instant-messaging app, the country’s communications regulator said Thursday.“As agreed with the Prosecutor General’s office, Roskomnadzor withdraws the demand to restrict access to the Telegram messenger,” the federal communications watchdog said in a statement.Roskomnadzor began …

Read more “Russia Lifts Ban on Telegram Messaging App”

In Istanbul, a 36-year-old woman is a one-person traveling medical unit treating some of Turkey’s most vulnerable refugees at a time when, for many people, hospitals are not an option. Some refugees do not have their papers in order. Others cannot afford care or fear getting the coronavirus at a hospital. In Istanbul, VOA’s Heather …

Read more “A Nurse With a Mission”

Thousands of U.S. troops are taking part in NATO military exercises in eastern Europe. Part of the training is taking place in Poland, just 350 kilometers from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, while maritime exercises are also taking place in the Baltic Sea. But the show of force has been overshadowed by Washington’s announcement that …

Read more “US Troop Withdrawal Plan Overshadows NATO War Games”

Inside the Zarzuela Palace, the spacious residence of King Felipe VI of Spain, there is a corridor dedicated to cartoons about the royal family.Most of the light-hearted jokes are by Spanish media but there is also one from France’s Le Monde.Conspicuous by its absence is the Spanish satirical magazine El Jueves (Thursday). This is no …

Read more “Fresh Scandal Tests Spain’s Monarchy”

A new coronavirus outbreak in Beijing saw a decline in daily cases Thursday while the United States increased pressure on China’s leaders to reveal what they know about the pandemic. The outbreak first detected at a wholesale market in the capital last week has infected at least 158 people in China’s biggest resurgence since the …

Read more “China’s New Outbreak Wanes as US Calls For Answers On Virus”

A Serbian opposition leader whose group is boycotting the country’s parliamentary election says taking part in the vote amid the coronaviorus pandemic and without free media in the Balkan country would only legitimize what he called a “hoax vote.” Dragan Djilas, the leader of the pro-boycott Union for Serbia coalition, told The Associated Press that …

Read more “Serbia’s Opposition to Boycott Vote Held During Pandemic”

Four countries were elected to two-year terms on the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday in the first major vote held at the world body amid the coronavirus pandemic.India, Ireland, Mexico and Norway will join the council on January 1 for the rotating term. But a decision on who will occupy a seat representing Africa will …

Read more “4 Countries Win Seats on UN Security Council; 5th Goes to Runoff”

When European Union leaders meet virtually for a summit Friday, a familiar duo will again grab the spotlight.COVID-19, which has battered European economies, is also giving a new boost to Europe’s traditional economic engines, France and Germany, and possibly the so-far underwhelming relationship between their leaders.German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have …

Read more “Europe’s Longtime Powers Unite Behind EU’s COVID-19 Rescue Package”

Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said Wednesday that he would welcome any efforts by Washington to use its influence on Turkey to help fashion a truce in Libya, where Ankara and Moscow are backing opposing sides and appear to be at increasing odds.Turkey dismissed last week an Egyptian-backed cease-fire offered on behalf of General …

Read more “Russia Looks to Washington for Help in Libya”

They are nurses and doctors, artists, students, construction workers, government employees; black, brown and white; young and old.  Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets in big cities and tiny towns in every U.S. state – and even around the world – to protest the killing of George Floyd, who died after …

Read more “Voices of Protest, Crying for Change, Ring Across US, Beyond”

As a downward trend for both coronavirus fatalities and new confirmed cases continues, Italy has entered Phase Three with the reopening of nearly all businesses and activities. With the country having suffered more than 34,000 deaths from COVID-19 and no vaccine yet available, cautionary measures and rules on how to behave mainly in closed spaces …

Read more “In Italy, ‘A Fantastic Feeling’ as Normalcy Returns”

A huge banner emblazoned with the face of the Spanish prime minister covered the entire side of a block of flats in Madrid. Bearing more than a passing resemblance to George Orwell’s Big Brother, the image of Pedro Sánchez ordered citizens: Obey! FILE – A demonstrator holds a sign depicting Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez and Deputy PM …

Read more “Spain’s Right Wing Party Supporters Rebel Against Socialist Government’s COVID Restrictions”

Workers are preparing the Eiffel Tower for reopening next week, after the coronavirus pandemic led to the iconic Paris landmark’s longest closure since World War Two. France’s tourism industry is opening back up, but the 324-meter tall wrought-iron tower won’t immediately welcome visitors the way it did before the country went into lockdown in March. Only limited …

Read more “Eiffel Tower to Reopen After Longest Closure Since World War Two”

Paris police blamed violent fringe groups for hijacking a peaceful protest by health workers in central Paris on Tuesday, where at least one car was overturned and projectiles were hurled at police lines.    The unrest broke out as thousands of doctors, paramedics and nursing home carers, many dressed in their scrubs and white blouses, had been …

Read more “Clashes at Health Worker Protest in Paris; Police Blame Anarchists”

British scientists announced Tuesday a major coronavirus breakthrough, saying a cheap, readily-available steroid can prevent deaths from COVID-19. Scientists from Britain’s University of Oxford say in a trial the drug dexamethasone reduced death rates by 35% for patients on ventilators, and by 20% for less immediately critical patients needing oxygen.        Peter Horby, the academic leading the trial, told a Downing …

Read more “British Announce ‘Major Breakthrough’ in COVID-19 Treatment”

Throughout France, long-dead slave traders live on in French port cities like Nantes, Bordeaux and La Rochelle, where streets bear their names. Statues and schools still bear the monikers of Joseph Gallieni, a military commander who quelled rebellions in former colonies, and Jules Ferry, who is lauded for founding the secular school system, but who …

Read more “In France, Street Names Carry a Colonial Burden”

Central European governments were among the first to impose lockdowns and have been in the forefront of nations easing coronavirus restrictions, but even though they appear to have escaped high death tolls from the pandemic, they’re likely to be hit harder than many of their neighbors by the economic repercussions, warn economists.    Relieved by …

Read more “Central Europe Bracing for Economic Turbulence “

During Europe’s migrant crisis of 2015, European Union member states promised to accept 160,000 asylum seekers in two years, of which the Spanish government pledged to receive nearly 18,000.  Five years later, Spain has given asylum to only two thousand people — held back in part by opposition from some Spaniards who say the kingdom already …

Read more “Spain Grants Few Asylum Requests, Yet Many Arrive Illegally Anyway”