Worldwide news. The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique while others talk of a “plurality of worlds”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov decried what he terms the “double standards” employed at the U.N. Human Rights Council in favor of Western democratic values, at the expense of what he calls the legitimate sovereign rights of nations that do not fall within the Western orbit.Lavrov did not hide his disdain Tuesday at the so-called …
Read more “Russia Accuses UN Human Rights Council of Pro-Western Bias”
Italian officials are scrambling to contain an outbreak of coronavirus, or COVID-19, after separate cases were confirmed Tuesday in Tuscany and Sicily, which is hundreds of kilometers away from the north of the country, where nearly a dozen towns are on lockdown following 10 virus-related deaths.The lack of a clear source of the outbreak in …
Read more “As Italy Battles Coronavirus, Neighbors Mull Border Controls”
Every year, around 12 million tons of plastic waste are dumped into the world’s oceans – polluting the water, killing wildlife, and creating microplastics that enter the food chain. Now a group of fishermen in Barcelona, Spain has begun an innovative new project in which they are given financial support to catch plastic. Henry Ridgwell …
Read more “Catching Plastic: Fishermen on Frontline of Ocean Clean-up”
A tourist hotel in the Canary Islands was placed in quarantine Tuesday after an Italian doctor staying there tested positive for the new coronavirus, evidence that the epicenter of the outbreak in Europe is spreading with vacationing Italians. The doctor hailed from Italy’s north, which has registered most of Italy’s 283 cases. He was placed …
Read more “Canary Islands Hotel Quarantined After Virus Confirmed”
Turkish forces have suffered more casualties in the latest round of fighting in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province. But despite Russia backing Syrian government forces in the ongoing attacks on Turkish forces, Ankara has refrained from confronting Moscow — a sign, analysts suggest, of the considerable economic leverage Russia retains over Turkey.Officials say a Turkish convoy in Idlib …
Read more “Turkish Casualties Rise in Syria, but Ankara Wary of Confronting Russia”
Germany’s center-right CDU said Monday it would choose a new leader at a special congress on April 25, as the crisis-racked party hopes to halt a slide in the polls and end speculation about who could succeed veteran Chancellor Angela Merkel.Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union has been in turmoil after her heir apparent, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, resigned …
Read more “Merkel’s Crisis-Hit CDU Launches Leadership Race”
The death toll in Italy from the coronavirus outbreak stands at seven with more than 200 cases confirmed. At least 10 towns in the north are in lockdown mode and the army is ensuring no one enters of leaves them during a quarantine period.Italian authorities are working around the clock putting in place unprecedented measures …
Read more “Confirmed Coronavirus Cases Surpasse 200 in Italy”
The U.S. government began outlining its extradition case against Julian Assange in a London court on Monday, arguing that the WikiLeaks founder is not a free-speech champion but an “ordinary” criminal who put many lives at risk with his secret-spilling. U.S. authorities want to try Assange on espionage charges that carry a maximum sentence of …
Read more “US: Free Speech no Excuse for Crimes of WikiLeaks’ Assange”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warns human rights are under assault from a multitude of threats including the climate crisis, the misuse of digital technology and power-hungry leaders. Guterres launched a Call to Action to advance and protect the human rights of all peoples at the opening of the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights …
Read more “UN Issues Worldwide Call to Action on Human Rights”
A hearing on the United States request for the extradition of the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange opened in London Monday.A judge at Woolwich Crown Court is hearing arguments from lawyers representing U.S. that has leveled 17 charges on espionage and one of computer hacking.If found guilty, the 48-year-old detained Australian would face a maximum sentence …
Read more “Extradition Hearing for WikiLeaks Founder Opens in London”
China’s leader said Sunday the new coronavirus epidemic is the communist country’s largest-ever public health emergency, but other nations were also increasingly under pressure from the deadly outbreak’s relentless global march.Italy and Iran began introducing the sort of containment measures previously seen only in China, which has put tens of millions of people under lockdown …
Read more “Xi Says China Facing ‘Big Test’ With Virus, Global Impact Spreads”
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 “