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Political and military leaders from across the world head to Germany for the three-day Munich Security Conference that opens Friday. As Henry Ridgwell reports from Munich, from Iran to Hong Kong, Ukraine to Libya, there is no shortage of security flashpoints — and the conflicts are taking place against the backdrop of the coronavirus outbreak and …
Read more “Tensions Soar as Leaders Prepare for Key Global Security Summit”
France marks the 60th anniversary of nuclear weapons tests that turned it into one of the world’s first nuclear powers. That was at the height of the Cold War. But critics claim more than three decades of testing — first in Algeria and later French Polynesia — left many scars, including victims who remain uncompensated. On February 13, 1960, …
Read more “Questions, Scars Remain as France Marks 60 Years Since Nuclear Tests”
NATO has agreed “in principle” to take over some of the training activities carried out by the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State terror group in Iraq, according to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. “Today allied ministers reaffirmed our support to Iraq and agreed in principle to enhance NATO’s training mission,” Stoltenberg said at a news conference Wednesday after a meeting of …
Read more “NATO Agrees to Expand Anti-IS Training Mission in Iraq”
Ukraine’s Prosecutor-General’s Office in Lviv suspects an underworld criminal and a police major of collusion in the arson of a vehicle belonging to RFE/RL correspondent Halyna Tereshchuk.Iryna Didenko, the lead prosecutor of the Lviv region, signed the charge sheets for the two suspects on Feb. 11.Accused of ordering the torching of the journalist’s car is …
Read more “Ukrainian Police Major, Ex-Convict Wanted in Arson of RFE/RL’s Reporter’s Car”
Social media giant Facebook on Wednesday removed two unconnected networks of accounts, pages, and groups “engaging in foreign or government interference,” one originating in Russia and the other one in Iran, both of which have alleged ties to intelligence services.Calling the behavior “coordinated” and “inauthentic,” Facebook’s head of security policy, Nathaniel Gleicher, said both operations …
Read more “Facebook Removes Accounts in Russia, Iran With Alleged Intelligence Links”
Facebook on Wednesday said it had suspended a network of accounts used by Russian military intelligence to seed false narratives online targeting Ukraine and other countries in Eastern Europe.”Although the people behind this network attempted to conceal their identities and coordination, our investigation found links to Russian military intelligence services,” Facebook said in a statement.Facebook, …
Read more “Facebook Says It Dismantles Russian Intelligence Operation Targeting Ukraine”
One patient jumped out of a hospital window to escape her quarantine and another managed to break out by disabling an electronic lock.Two Russian women who were kept in isolation for possible inflection by a new virus say they fled from their hospitals this month because of uncooperative doctors, poor conditions and fear they would …
Read more “2 Russians Flee Virus Quarantine, in Dismay at Hospitals”
A Russia blogger has gone viral with a video prank that inadvertently goes to the heart of a debate over how much public support for Russian President Vladimir Putin enjoys after 20 years in power and counting. The discussion was launched after blogger Bashir Dokhov posted a video to Youtube in which he glues a …
Read more “Russian Video Prank of Putin in Elevator Goes Viral”
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is threatening to escalate fighting against Syrian government forces following Monday’s killing of Turkish soldiers. The warning comes in the face of calls for restraint from Moscow, but Erdogan is facing growing domestic pressure for an uncompromising stance.”We have given the necessary response and retaliated in kind, but this is …
It could have been a scene taken from “The Thick of It,” the internationally acclaimed British comedy series satirizing the inner workings of the British government.The country’s top political reporters, collectively known as the Lobby, were summoned last week to No. 10 Downing Street for a special post-Brexit briefing, but once they had arrived, those …
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will host the administration’s third state dinner in April, for King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, the White House announced Tuesday.The fancy, black-tie dinner — a diplomatic tool often reserved for America’s staunchest allies — is part of a state visit scheduled for April 21 …
Read more “Trump, First Lady to Host State Dinner in April for Spain”
Ukraine’s first and currently only television channel in the Crimean Tatar language says it is on the brink of shutting down operations due to lack of government funding.ATR hasn’t received $2 million that the government allocated for the channel in this year’s state budget, a statement by the channel said on Feb. 10.The channel said …
Read more “Ukraine-Based Crimean Tatar TV Channel Blames Lack of State Funding for Imminent Closure”
Ireland’s main opposition party Fianna Fail won the most seats in the country’s 160-seat parliament, one more than the outsider, left-wing Sinn Fein, which scored an unprecedented result in Saturday’s general election. Sinn Fein, notorious for its links with the outlawed Irish Republican Army, won nearly 25% of the vote in a tight race with …
Read more “Sinn Féin Achieves Unprecedented Results in Ireland’s General Election”
Germany’s closely watched impending decision on whether and to what extent to allow Huawei, the Chinese tech giant, to enter its next generation telecommunications infrastructure may yield a result as early as Tuesday, sources tell VOA.The decision “is imminent,” says Emily Haber, German ambassador to the United States, in answer to a question raised by …
Read more “German Decision on Huawei 5G ‘Imminent,’ Says Ambassador”
A Belfast couple were on Tuesday set to become the first same-sex couple to get married in Northern Ireland after a change in the law.Robyn Peoples, 26, and Sharni Edwards, 27, were due to wed at 2:00 pm (1400 GMT) in Carrickfergus, near Belfast, after the new legislation came into effect on Monday.It followed campaigning …
A storm battered Europe with hurricane-force winds and heavy rains, killing at least seven people and causing severe travel disruptions as it moved eastward across the continent Monday and bore down on Germany.After striking Britain and Ireland on Sunday, the storm moved on, leaving a trail of damage including power cuts for tens of thousands …
Read more “Fierce Storm Causes Deaths, Damage and Delays Across Europe”
Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Monday he saw no preparations taking place for a promised summit over the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, adding that he had little hope it would make any progress even if it goes ahead.The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany met in Paris in December to discuss the long-running …
Read more “Ukraine Minister Sees No Preparations for New Russia Talks, Has Low Expectations”
The British government said Monday it is seriously studying the feasibility of a bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland, an audacious idea that has been floated by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.Johnson’s spokesman, James Slack, said the proposal was being taken seriously and “a range of officials” were studying it.”There is a proper piece of work …
Read more “A Bridge Too Far? UK Looks at Linking Scotland, Northern Ireland”
A Russian military court convicted seven members of a left-wing youth group of terrorism charges Monday and sentenced them to prison terms of up to 18 years in a case that human rights groups called fabricated.A three-judge panel of the court in Penza in western Russia found the members of the group Set (Network) guilty …
Read more “Russian Youth Group Members Found Guilty of Plotting Attacks”
The Spanish government plans to make it illegal to glorify the regime of former dictator General Francisco Franco as part of a reform of the country’s criminal code, the Socialist Party said on Monday.Franco, who ruled Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975, ordered the execution or imprisonment of tens of thousands of his …
Read more “Spanish Government to Ban Glorification of Franco Dictatorship”
Trains, flights and ferries have been cancelled and weather warnings issued across the United Kingdom as a storm with hurricane-force winds up to 80 mph (129 kph) batters the region. At least 10 rail companies in Britain have sent out “do not travel” warnings, and nearly 20 others have told passengers to expect delays as …
Read more “Trains, Flights, Ferries Cancelled as Storm Ciara Batters UK”
Switzerland on Sunday voted strongly in favor of a new law against homophobia in a referendum despite opposition from the populist right wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), according to a projection.The projection published by GFS Bern polling and research group found that 62 percent had voted in favor of the reform, with a margin of …
Read more “Projection: Swiss Back New Law against Homophobia”
Ukraine’s president has asked Pope Francis for help in securing the release of prisoners of war held by Russia and by Russia-backed separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskiy made the request after a meeting Saturday with the pontiff at the Vatican. “[The pope] does everything possible to achieve peace and harmony throughout the world,” Zelenskiy said in a tweet after their meeting. “I …
Read more “Zelenskiy Asks Pope for Help in Releasing POWs in Eastern Ukraine “
Five British nationals including a child have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus at a French mountain village, and health officials said they were checking who else might have been exposed, including at local schools. In total, 11 people, including the five who tested positive, have been hospitalized in southeastern France and were being examined, the French health ministry said Saturday, adding that none was in …
Read more “Five Britons Diagnosed With Coronavirus in French Ski Resort”