Author: Fworld

A top European Union official said Sunday that Americans who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 should be able to travel to Europe by summer, easing existing travel restrictions.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told The New York Times that the union’s 27 members would accept, unconditionally, all those who are vaccinated with vaccines that …

In March, one of the world’s biggest container ships became stuck in Egypt’s Suez Canal, creating a commercial logjam and spikes in the cost of oil. At a training facility in France, mariners are learning how to avoid a similar predicament.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more. …

A leading contender to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor this fall has called for “dialogue and toughness” toward China when it comes to defending democratic values and human rights.Annalena Baerbock, the environmentalist Greens’ candidate for chancellorship, told the weekly Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that Europe should use its economic might to block Chinese goods made …

An uneasy calm pervades Chad’s capital N’Djamena since Friday’s funeral for President Idriss Deby, who ruled the central African country for more than 30 years. Civilians say handing over power to Deby’s 37-year-old son to lead a transitional military council for 18 months is undemocratic.Inoussa Labarang, 37,  feeds his 27 chickens at his residence in …

Greece will lift quarantine restrictions on coronavirus-free visitors from more countries including Australia and Russia from Monday as it extends exemptions ahead of formally opening up to tourists on May 15, the transport ministry said on Sunday. The change, which came as Greece crossed the threshold of 10,000 deaths from COVID-19, follows a move this month …

Turkey says it summoned the U.S. ambassador to Ankara to condemn President Joe Biden’s declaration that the World War I-era massacre of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire constituted a genocide. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal told U.S. Ambassador David Satterfield late Saturday that Biden’s statement had no legal …

Pope Francis said on Sunday that “now is the time for shame” after 130 migrants were feared dead in the Mediterranean and a U.N. organization accused states of not responding to distress calls. Merchant vessels and a charity ship searching the Mediterranean for boats with migrants found 10 bodies floating near a capsized rubber boat in …

England’s football authorities have joined forces to announce a social media boycott next weekend in response to continued online racist abuse of players.The boycott will take place across a full fixture program in the men’s and women’s professional game from 3 p.m. local time (1400 GMT) on Friday to 11.59 p.m. on May 3.Clubs across …

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has refused to rule out a ban from next season’s Champions League for all 12 clubs involved in trying to set up a breakaway European Super League.But Ceferin also told Britain’s Mail on Sunday that the six English clubs — Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United — deserve …

U.S. President Joe Biden’s recognition of the Armenian genocide was met Saturday with tempered satisfaction from the nation’s U.S. diaspora, with some saying the words need to result in more pressure against Turkey.”It’s a middle step, because (Biden) didn’t say Turkey,” said Yvette Gevorkian, who was among some 400 people who marched in New York …

U.S. President Joe Biden recognized Saturday the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide.   Biden’s recognition of the mass killings fulfills a campaign promise and came on the same day that Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day was observed in Armenia and by the Armenian diaspora.   “Each year on …

Belarus’ authoritarian leader said Saturday that he would change the law on presidential succession so that power in the Eastern European nation will be transferred if he dies to the national security council, where his son plays a prominent role.Many observers have suggested that President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled with an iron fist since …

French authorities have arrested three people in connection with the stabbing death of a police worker outside Paris Friday, as they explore possible terrorism motives of the assailant, who was killed by police.     Media report the three people detained include a father and two people who sheltered the 36-year-old Tunisian, who stabbed a …

U.S. President Joe Biden recognized Saturday the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide.   Biden’s recognition of the mass killings fulfills a campaign promise and came on the same day that Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day was observed in Armenia and by the Armenian diaspora.   “Each year on …

U.S. President Joe Biden praised world leaders for coming together on climate change and urged them to make good on promises as he closed a virtual climate change summit hosted from the White House.“The commitments we’ve made must become real,” Biden said Friday on the last day of the two-day summit that involved 40 world …

U.S. officials have indicated President Joe Biden will likely soon recognize that the systematic killing and deportation of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a century ago was genocide.  As VOA Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports, he would be the first American president to do so. Camera:  Dilge Timocin,  Aram Avetisyan …

U.N. agencies have delivered 23 tons of hygiene items to civilians in the rebel-controlled part of eastern Ukraine, the United Nations said Friday.This was the second time this month that a U.N.-organized humanitarian convoy had been allowed to cross the 500-kilometer contact line, which separates Ukrainian government forces from the Russian-backed rebels. The first delivery …

Police officials in Rambouillet, France, say a man attacked and killed a police administrator Friday with a knife outside a police station in the southwest suburb of Paris. The officials say at least one police officer at the scene opened fire on the assailant – identified as a 36-year-old Tunisian national living in France – …

Germany’s health minister said Friday the nation’s coronavirus vaccination program is picking up momentum just as “emergency brake” COVID-19 restrictions go into effect across the country to slow the spread of the virus.   The German parliament this week gave approval to measures granting emergency powers the Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to implement nationwide shutdowns, …

The White House brought out the billionaires, the CEOs and the union executives Friday to help sell President Joe Biden’s climate-friendly transformation of the U.S. economy at his virtual summit of world leaders.  The closing day of the two-day summit on climate change showcased Bill Gates and Mike Bloomberg, steelworker and electrical union leaders and …

Pakistan’s parliament will resume debating the fate of the French ambassador Friday after the government appeared, for now, to put a lid on bloody anti-France protests that rocked the country for a week.A resolution calls for debate on whether to expel the French envoy, for the national assembly to condemn Western blasphemy, for Muslim nations …

Athletes who make political or social justice protests at the Tokyo Olympics were promised legal support Thursday by a global union and an activist group in Germany.The pledges came one day after the International Olympic Committee confirmed its long-standing ban on “demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda” on the field of play, medal podiums …

The Czech Republic on Thursday ordered Russia to remove more staff from its Prague embassy, in a growing spat between the two countries.Last week, Prague expelled 18 embassy staff members, saying they were intelligence officers.The dispute stems from Czech accusations that Russian spies were behind a deadly explosion at a Czech arms depot in 2014. …

An ally of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has urged Navalny to end his hunger strike, which is in its third week.”To continue [the strike] would be dangerous for his life and health,” Anastasia Vasilyeva, head of the Doctors Alliance union, told Reuters. “We very much hope Alexei will end the hunger strike tomorrow.”The news …

As President Biden hosts a virtual climate summit this Earth Day, a report out Thursday adds more fuel to the planet’s growing crisis, showing record-breaking temperatures in Europe and Arctic Siberia last year. It comes as the European Union announced a key climate deal and financing rules — both sharply criticized by green groups. The …

Ukraine’s president said Thursday that Russia’s troop reduction near the Ukraine border was reducing tensions between the countries but cautioned his country must remain alert.Russia earlier ordered tens of thousands of troops to return to their home bases following large-scale drills.“The reduction of troops on our border proportionally reduces tension,” tweeted President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. “Ukraine …