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”
Ukraine’s parliament has voted to lift the ban on the sale of farmland in a move that would allow the country to get $8 billion worth of aid from the International Monetary Fund. The bill, long pushed by economists to stimulate investment in agriculture, was approved by 259 votes out of 450 late Monday. It …
Germany, Britain and France have facilitated exports of medical goods to Iran in the first use of a mechanism designed to get around U.S. sanctions, Germany said Tuesday.A German Foreign Ministry statement Tuesday did not specify what type of medical supplies were involved, nor any companies that were part of the action.It said now that …
Read more “Iran Gets Medical Aid Through US Sanctions Workaround”
Russia tightened controls aimed at combating the spread of the coronavirus on Monday, with Moscow introducing temporary quarantine measures, and the Kremlin moving to extend the lockdown nationwide. The new restrictions came as President Vladimir Putin discussed the coronavirus, among other issues, with President Donald Trump in a phone call that the Kremlin insisted was at …
Read more “Russia Embraces Quarantine Tactics Amid Coronavirus Surge”
Spain will delay a planned auction of 5G spectrum due to the coronavirus outbreak, the government said on Monday. As part of a Europe-wide drive to speed up the roll out of fast Internet and broaden coverage, Spain had been due to free up space in the 700 MHz band of its network by …
Read more “Spain Postpones 5G Spectrum Auction Due To Coronavirus”
Prince Harry and his American wife Meghan posted their last message as working members of Britain’s royal family on Monday before officially embarking on new careers without their “Royal Highness” styles. Harry and Meghan shocked Queen Elizabeth and the royal family in January by hastily announcing plans to take a step back from their royal roles. …
Read more “UK’s Prince Harry, Wife Meghan Bid Farewell to Royal Roles “
British heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, who had tested positive for coronavirus, is out of self-isolation after seven days and is in good health, his spokesman said on Monday. Last week, his Clarence House office revealed that Charles, 71, had been tested after displaying mild symptoms of the virus and had been in self-isolation at his Birkhall home in Scotland where …
Read more “UK’s Prince Charles, 71, Out of Self-Isolation, in Good Health “
Britain on Monday named career spy Ken McCallum as the new head of its MI5 domestic intelligence agency.McCallum, whose appointment was announced by interior minister Priti Patel, has worked for MI5 for almost 25 years and oversaw counter terrorism investigations in the run up to the 2012 London Olympics.He succeeds Andrew Parker who retires in …
Read more “Britain Names Ken McCallum as new Head of MI5 Spy Service”
Football leagues around the world have canceled soccer games for the foreseeable future as one of the measures to slow a rapid COVID-19 spread. But soccer, or football, as it is called in much of the world, continues to be played in Belarus where the number of confirmed infections is still relatively low.The country’s autocratic …
Britain is on an emergency footing for the first time since World War II. The move means the British government is setting up what it calls strategic coordination centers across the U.K. to distribute supplies to citizens to help combat the coronavirus outbreak. There are more than 22,000 British confirmed cases of coronavirus – Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prince Charles are among them. More than …
Read more “Britain on Emergency Footing for First Time Since WWII”
Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have no plans to ask the U.S. government for help with security costs, the couple said in a statement on Sunday in response to a tweet from President Donald Trump that the United States would not pay for their protection.In January, the couple said they would step away …
Read more “UK’s Prince Harry, Wife Meghan, do not Need US Help for Security Costs, Spokeswoman Says”
The husband of the jailed British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe says his wife has had her temporary release extended for another two weeks by the Iranian government.“Nazanin’s father got told today that it has been extended until Saturday, April 18, an extra two weeks,” husband Richard Ratcliffe told AFP in an e-mail on March 28.He …
Read more “Husband of Jailed UK-Iranian Woman Says Temporary Release Extended in Tehran”
In her first address to the nation on the coronavirus pandemic, German Chancellor Angela Merkel calmly appealed to citizens’ reason and discipline to slow the spread of the virus, acknowledging as a woman who grew up in communist East Germany how difficult it is to give up freedoms, yet as a trained scientist emphasizing that …
Read more “Germany’s Merkel Shines in Virus Crisis Even as Power Wanes “
Italy, the European country hardest hit by the coronavirus, confirmed 10,023 people dead and 92,472 infected as of Saturday.Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte made the announcement Saturday evening in a joint appearance with Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri.On a somewhat positive note, Conte said that on Saturday Italy also had more than 1,400 people who recovered, …
Read more “Italy, Spain Hardest Hit by Coronavirus in Europe”
Russia’s Rosneft oil company said Saturday that it’s halting operations in Venezuela and selling its assets there to a company fully owned by the Russian government, a move apparently intended to protect Russia’s largest oil producer from U.S. sanctions while Moscow continues supporting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.The sale follows the U.S. imposition of sanctions on …
Read more “Rosneft Hands Venezuelan Oil Business to Russian State Firm”
A prominent member of the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday issued a highly critical statement on U.S. policy toward Kosovo.Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. Since than the country has been recognized by more than 110 countries, including the United States, but not by Serbia and its ally Russia.House Foreign Affairs Committee …
Read more “Congressman Raises Concerns Over Trump Administration Tactics on Kosovo”
A Chinese company offered Friday to replace thousands of faulty coronavirus test kits after Spanish health authorities – desperate for materials to cope with the world’s second highest COVID-19 death toll – complained they did not work as promised.China has sold face masks and other medical equipment through a series of personal contacts with Spanish …
Read more “Chinese Firm Offers to Replace Faulty Test Kits Sold to Spain”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday he had tested positive for coronavirus and was in self-isolation at his Downing Street office. Here is reaction to the news. Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of UK’s Opposition Labor Party “I wish the Prime Minister a speedy recovery and hope his family are safe and …
Read more “Reaction to News UK’s Johnson Has Tested Positive for Coronavirus”
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon reports that as of Friday, there were 1,059 cases of COVID-19 in Scotland — an increase of 165 from Thursday. At a news conference Friday in Edinburgh, Sturgeon also reported an additional eight deaths from the virus overnight, bringing the total number of fatalities in Scotland to 33. …
Read more “Scotland Reports 1,059 Coronavirus Cases, 33 Deaths”
The Belarusian news website ej.by says state authorities have detained its director and editor in chief on suspicion of accepting a bribe. Syarhey Satsuk was detained on March 25 during a special operation by officers from the Financial Investigations Department, the website said on March 26. The editorial office of the online publication …
Read more “Belarusian Journalist Satsuk Detained for Alleged Bribe Taking”
We made it home to Italy, just north of Rome, last Friday and that’s when our two-week quarantine began.As soon as we arrived, we had to declare to the local health authorities that we understood the rules — we were to stay indoors and not leave the house, not even for food. All I can …
Read more “COVID-19 Diaries: I Came Home to a Totally Changed Rome”
A Qatar Airways charter flight arranged by the German government has picked up hundreds of tourists stranded in Nepal as the country went on lockdown at the beginning of this week.The tourists, who were mostly German nationals or had some connection to the country, flew out of Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport on Friday, a Nepalese …
More than half a million people in Britain have volunteered to help the National Health Service cope with the coronavirus epidemic. Across the world, people are stepping forward to help the most vulnerable – offering hope that societies can overcome the huge disruption caused by the virus. VOA’s Henry Ridgwell reports from London. …
The European Parliament on Thursday evening passed a $40 billion emergency package to help countries and their citizens most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.Only President David Sassoli returned to the building from protective quarantine for the extraordinary plenary session, while members cast their vote by email.The so-called Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative is intended to help …
Read more “European Parliament Approves $40 Billion Emergency Package”
The United States now leads the world in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases, and Congress is on the verge of action to relieve the outbreak’s economic toll.As of late Thursday, a count by Johns Hopkins Medical Center shows more than 85,000 cases in the United States, followed by China with more than 81,000 and …