Category: World

Some scientists now say “superspreader” events may be responsible for at least 80 percent of coronavirus infections.A report on the website of The Telegraph, a British newspaper, details some findings that “closely packed markets, vigorous dance classes, loud bars and choirs” may be the primary culprits in the spreading of the virus.The public is already …

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Greece has lodged a protest over Turkish troops’ occupation of a small patch of swampland along the land border between the two NATO member nations.  Nevertheless, dozens of Turkish soldiers and police remain planted there, defying demands that they retreat. The confrontation is the latest in escalating tension between the two age-old rivals.   For …

Read more “Greece Accuses Turkey of Occupying Small Piece of Greek Land”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is planning to reduce Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd’s involvement in Britain’s 5G network in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported.Johnson has asked officials to make plans to reduce China’s involvement in British infrastructure to zero by 2023, the newspaper reported late on …

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Greece has complained to Turkey in a border dispute linked to a riverbed change, a foreign ministry source said Friday.The ministry official confirmed an earlier report by state agency ANA, saying Athens had made a protest to Ankara.Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on Wednesday said there was a “dispute” over the “exact boundary” of the Evros, …

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As much of Europe remains under a strict lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic, one country has stood out in taking a very different approach. Sweden has refused to impose such strict new laws, and its people have been allowed to work and travel. In the early days it seemed as though Sweden may have got …

Read more “As Deaths Soar, Doubts Grow Over Sweden’s Exceptional COVID-19 Response”

The Spanish government Friday announced it will allow the cities of Madrid and Barcelona to ease their COVID-19-related lockdown measures beginning Monday.Most of Spain has begun to slowly reopen since May 11, but those two cities together account for close to half country’s roughly 233,000 officially recorded coronavirus cases.The loosening of limits is staggered over …

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The coronavirus crisis has slammed one of the world’s top tourist destinations — Europe — upending the region’s cherished summer holidays and leaving its multibillion-dollar tourism industry struggling to survive. The European Union hopes to at least boost tourism within the bloc, as another mark of EU unity. But as Lisa Bryant reports for VOA …

Read more “As Lockdowns Ease, Europe Looks to Boost Summer Tourism”

President Donald Trump said Thursday he is pulling the United States out of the 18-year-old international Open Skies treaty allowing surveillance flights over other countries because Russia has been violating it. The U.S. began notifying the other 33 signatories to the accord that it was giving the required six months’ notice to leave. President Donald Trump listens during a meeting in the State …

Read more “US to Exit International Military Surveillance Treaty “

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Thursday that a small-scale antibody surveillance study has shown that about 17% of people in London and 5% in the rest of the country have had COVID-19.Speaking at his usual remote COVID-19 news briefing in London, Hancock said the study came out of Britain’s government-funded effort to develop antibody …

Read more “British Health Ministry Says 17% of Londoners Had Virus”

In Russia, a colossal new Orthodox Church cathedral has gone up on the outskirts of Moscow. It is called the Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed forces – a place of worship not only dedicated to the Christian faith, but a museum and also, for many, a symbol of the former Red Army’s conversion to …

Read more “Controversy Surrounds New Moscow Military Cathedral”

European markets are all down in midday trading Thursday as bad economic news from Japan, and China’s worsening trade and diplomatic relations with Australia and the United States, are having a ripple effect with investors across the globe.   The FTSE index in London is 0.9% lower, the CAC-50 in Paris has lost 1% and the …

Read more “European Markets on Downward Path  “

Russia continues to pose “serious” and “growing” threats to U.S. interests in space, according to the top military officer for space defense. “They’re real, they’re serious and they’re concerning,” Gen. John Raymond, chief of the newly established U.S. Space Force and head of U.S. Space Command, told reporters Wednesday. “Our advantage has been diminished, and that’s why the establishment of the Space Force …

Read more “Russia Poses ‘Serious’ and ‘Growing’ Threats to US in Space”

The sky-high ratings and talk of a start-up nation are long gone. So is the reformist agenda, pushed through over strikes and demonstrations.  Two years before the next presidential elections, France’s 42-year-old leader, Emmanuel Macron, is struggling to find a second wind, as the coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath shreds the country’s economy and his progressive programs.  Macron’s approval ratings are …

Read more “More Than Just Health, COVID-19 Presents a Political Crisis for French Leader”

For most of the coronavirus pandemic, the daily Downing Street briefing by ministers of the ruling Conservative party has been accompanied by a chart showing Britain’s death toll trailing comfortably behind tallies in other Western countries, notably Italy and Spain. But earlier this month, when Britain’s toll surged past continental neighbors, the chart unceremoniously disappeared.Britain …

Read more “Critics Knock Britain’s Handling of COVID Pandemic”

Britain’s prime minister told parliament on Wednesday that a COVID-19 test, track and tracing system would be in place by June 1.  Responding to a question from opposition Labor Party Leader Keir Starmer, Boris Johnson said the government has already recruited 24,000 trackers and will have another thousand in place by that date. He said …

Read more “British PM Johnson Pledges Track & Trace by June 1 “

British War veteran Colonel Tom Moore, who became a national celebrity this week when he raised about $50 million  for the National Health Service, was awarded a knighthood Wednesday by Queen Elizabeth.  The 100-year-old Moore, who was a captain in the British Army in World War II, wanted to thank the health service for treatment …

Read more “100-Year-Old Fundraising Champion Tom Moore Knighted”

Croatia’s President Zoran Milanovic on Wednesday scheduled a parliamentary election in the European Union nation for July 5.  Milanovic formally set the date for the ballot after Croatia’s lawmakers voted earlier this week to dissolve parliament.The Balkan country of around 4.2 million people has been easing lockdown measures against the new coronavirus after a drop …

Read more “Croatian President Sets Parliamentary Vote for July 5”

Spain’s prime minister appears before parliament on Wednesday to ask for its endorsement to extend the state of emergency that his government has used to rein in the country’s coronavirus outbreak that has killed at least 27,000 people.   It would be the fifth two-week extension to the state of emergency, which is currently set …

Read more “Spain’s Leader Asks Parliament for 2 More Weeks of Lockdown”

Here’s a look at how Muslims worldwide are marking Ramadan, a month of fasting, prayer and reflection, during the Pandemic. …

The United Nations has hailed the arrest of a wanted Rwandan genocide suspect, Felicien Kabuga, who appeared before a Paris court under heavy police protection on Tuesday.Kabuga’s court appearance came three days after French police arrested the 84-year-old at his apartment in the Paris suburb of Asnieres-sur-Seine, where officials say he had been living under a false identity.  The date …

Read more “Rwandan Genocide Suspect Appears Before Paris Court “

Human rights activists are urging the government of Greece to release 276 unaccompanied migrant children from police detention cells. Human Rights Watch is leading the appeal, saying the children’s continued detention is a breach of both local and international laws. Back in November, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis launched an ambitious campaign, promising to leave …

Read more “Activists Urge Greece to Release Migrant Children  “

The United States said on Tuesday it would this week start delivering 200 medical ventilators to Russia, which has the world’s second highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases.   Russia reported 9,263 new infections on Tuesday, pushing its nationwide total to 299,941, and 115 more deaths, taking the total death toll to 2,837. Only the …

Read more “US to Send Russia 200 Ventilators as Russian Coronavirus Cases Near 300,000”

Human rights and survivor groups are cheering Saturday’s arrest in France of a top Rwandan genocide suspect, Felicien Kabuga. But questions are mounting about how he managed to evade justice for so long — and the fate of other suspects and accomplices in the 1994 killings.Neighbors in the Paris suburb where Kabuga lived say they …

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French actor Michel Piccoli, a prolific screen star who appeared in landmark films by directors such as Luis Bunuel – including in his Academy Award winning “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” —and Jean-Luc Godard, has died. He was 94.His family confirmed to French media Monday that he died last week, but they did not …

Read more “Prominent French Actor Michel Piccoli, Arthouse Star, is Dead at 94”