worldwide news
More than 130 people have contracted the coronavirus in Italy, the majority in the north of the country. Italy, which has confirmed at least two coronavirus deaths, has the highest number of cases in Europe. With an emergency decree, the Italian government has adopted special powers to deal with the situation. Strict measures have been …
Read more “Venice Cancels Carnival Events Due to Coronavirus”
Pope Francis has cautioned against “unfair” solutions aimed at ending the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.In a speech Sunday during a visit to the Italian southern port city of Bari to reflect on peace in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, Francis lamented the many areas of war and conflict, including in the Middle East and …
Read more “Pope Cautions against ‘Unfair’ Middle East Peace Plans”
Serbia has received a sophisticated anti-aircraft system from Russia, despite possible U.S. sanctions against the Balkan state, which is formally seeking European Union membership.Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told the pro-government TV Prva on Sunday that the Pantsir S1 air-defense system was purchased after suggestions from Russian President Vladimir Putin.”Buy Pantsir, it showed its best efficiency …
Read more “More Russian Weapons for Serbia Despite US Sanction Threats”
Bus drivers in Moscow kept their WhatsApp group chat buzzing with questions this week about what to do if they spotted passengers who might be from China riding with them in the Russian capital.”Some Asian-looking [people] have just got on. Probably Chinese. Should I call [the police]?” one driver messaged his peers. “How do I …
Read more “Moscow Targets Chinese with Raids Amid Virus Fears”
Eight people were killed in Turkey in a magnitude 5.7 earthquake that struck western Iran early Sunday morning, Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu said.The quake centered on the Iranian city of Khoy and affected villages in the Turkish province of Van.Soylu told a news conference in Ankara that three children and four adults were killed …
Read more “Eight Dead in Turkey as 5.7 Earthquake Strikes Western Iran”
A few years ago, the newly elected Kosovo prime minister overturned Serbian trucks. But Albin Kurti now says he is ready to revoke tariffs introduced by his predecessor on Serbian goods.Kurti, who took office in early February, is backed by most of 1.8 million inhabitants of the former Serbian province for such a move but …
Read more “New Kosovo Leader Ready to Revoke Tariffs for Serbian Goods”
A respected Catholic figure who worked to improve conditions for the developmentally disabled for more than half a century sexually abused at least six women during most of that period, according to a report released Saturday by the France-based charity he founded.The report produced for L’Arche International said the women’s descriptions provided enough evidence to …
Read more “Report: Catholic Charity Founder Sexually Abused Women”
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday promised to safeguard European farm subsidies, secure compensation for wine producers hit by U.S. tariffs and defend fishermen in talks with Britain, as France’s farming world faces an uncertain year. Opening the annual Paris farm show, Macron said France would continue to oppose cuts to agricultural subsidies, a day after …
Read more “Macron Vows to Defend French Farmers, Fishermen in Uncertain Year”
The U.S. government warned Spain this week about the security risk inherent in opening its fifth-generation communications networks to Chinese mobile technology providers. In meetings Thursday and Friday, U.S. officials warned Spanish officials and telecommunications executives that the U.S. could stop sharing sensitive information with Spain if the Chinese firms reportedly involved in 5G technology were not excluded from local markets. Robert Strayer, U.S. deputy …
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said he would hold a summit with the leaders of Russia, France and Germany on March 5 to discuss the situation in Syria’s last rebel enclave of Idlib.”We will come together on March 5 and discuss these issues,” Erdogan said in a televised speech, following a phone call …
Read more “Erdogan to Hold Syria Summit With Russia, France and Germany”
European Union leaders are still seeking a compromise on their next seven-year, trillion-plus-dollar budget. But they ended two days of talks so divided they couldn’t set a date for their next meeting.European unity over Brexit was nowhere to be seen during this first meeting since Britain’s departure from the EU. Leaders of the 27 remaining …
Read more “EU Searches for Way Forward After Budget Deadlock”
Greece says it will deport “migrant troublemakers” to their homelands in a bid to combat rising crime and surging migration inflows that have reached a breaking point for the refugee-swollen country.The announcement by Public Order Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis follows the recent deadly shooting of a 23-year-old Afghan man in a heated standoff with a rival …
Read more “Greece Scraps Asylum Requests for Migrant ‘Troublemakers’”
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is condemning any Russian efforts to interfere in the 2020 U.S. election. The Vermont senator issued a statement immediately after The Washington Post reported U.S. officials told Sanders that Russia was trying to help his campaign. The statement did not confirm the report. Sanders wrote: “I don’t care, frankly, who Putin wants to be …
Read more “Sanders Condemns Any Russian Influence in Election “
Italian officials ordered schools, public buildings, restaurants and coffee shops closed in a tiny town in northern Italy Friday after six people tested positive for the new virus, including some who had not been to China or the source of the global health emergency. The new cases represented the first infections in Italy …
Read more “Italy Town Shuts Schools, Cafes as 6 Test Positive for Virus”
Six police officers and 27 other people are under investigation in a major passport fraud case that included issuing Greek state identity documents under false pretenses to criminal fugitives from abroad, Greek authorities said Friday. The police’s internal affairs division said 38 state identity cards and 31 passports issued between 2016 and 2018 …
Read more “Greece: Police Officers Implicated in Major Passport Scam”
The Kremlin was scrambling Friday to reach a stopgap agreement with Ankara to halt fighting in northwest Syria amid growing fears that Russia and Turkey are on the brink of open warfare. Clashes between the Turks and their Syrian rebel allies with troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Idlib province have already killed two …
Read more “Kremlin Scrambles to Avoid Open Conflict With Turkey”
Scholars in Asia say Vietnam’s move this month to bolster defense ties with Russia will advance the Southeast Asian country’s pursuit of a multi-country foreign policy allowing it to depend on no single outside power.The country that has been challenged by France, the United States and China within the past decade welcomes Russian assistance, Vietnamese …
Read more “Vietnam Advancing Ties With Russia to Hedge Against China, US”
European leaders argued into the early hours of Friday about how to spend and share some 1 trillion euros ($1.1 trillion) over the next seven years. Their first summit since Britain quit the EU last month has been bruising, long — and so far inconclusive.Gaps and resentments between wealthy and poorer members quickly surfaced as …
Read more “1 Trillion Euros: EU Leaders Get Into Big Fight Over Budget”
Tensions between Turkey and Russia escalated Thursday with the killing of the two Turkish soldiers in a Syrian airstrike. Moscow, which backs the Damascus government, accused Ankara of supporting terrorists in Syria. In a statement, the Turkish Defense Ministry said the airstrike in Syria’s Idlib province also injured five people. The report didn’t identify who was responsible for the attack, but it said …
Read more “Turkish Soldiers’ Deaths Ramp Up Tensions With Moscow “
Britain and the United States joined Georgia on Thursday in blaming Russia for a large-scale cyber attack last year that knocked thousands of Georgian websites offline and disrupted national television broadcasts. State, private and media websites were taken out by the attack on Oct. 28, including those belonging to the Georgian president’s office and two …
Read more “Georgia, Backed by US and Britain, Blames Russia for ‘Paralyzing’ Cyberattack”
More than 150 historians and researchers have signed up to access the soon-to-open Vatican archives of Pope Pius XII, evidence of the intense scholarly interest into the World War II-era pope and his record during the Holocaust.Cardinal Jose Tolentino Calaca de Mendonca, the Vatican’s chief librarian, said Thursday that all researchers — regardless of nationality, faith …
Read more “Vatican Sees Intense Interest in Opening of Pius XII Archive”
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has called on Russian authorities to reopen a criminal investigation into the murder of Boris Nemtsov, the former Russian opposition politician who was killed almost five years ago near the Kremlin.The OSCE said shortcomings in Russia’s original investigation left many questions unanswered.“His death was a tragedy …
Read more “OSCE Calls for Russia to Reopen Probe Into Nemtsov Murder”
Google is attempting to make sure people know exactly what they’re signing up for when they use its online services — though that will still mean reading a lengthy document.The company updated its terms of service on Thursday — its largest update to the general use contract since 2012 — in response to a pair …
Read more “Google Updates Terms in Plain Language After EU Scrutiny”
Federal prosecutors said Thursday they are taking charge of the investigating into a shooting in the German city of Hanau that left 11 people dead, including the suspect, amid reports that he may have had a far-right motive.The Federal Prosecutors Office in Karlsruhe, which handles serious crimes, said it planned to hold a news conference …
Read more “Far-right Motive Suspected in Deadly German Shooting Attack”