Month: March 2021

After years of waiting tables, Danae De Vries is one step closer to achieving her lifetime dream of becoming a theater coach.Ironically, she owes that to the pandemic. It was after last year’s brutal lockdown that shut the Spanish economy down for weeks that the owners of a small restaurant chain in Madrid offered De …

The U.N.’s premiere global body fighting for gender equality called for a sharp increase of women in global decision-making in a hotly debated final document adopted Friday night that saw continuing pushback against women’s rights and a refusal to address issues of gender identity.The Commission on the Status of Women reaffirmed the blueprint to achieve …

A commission that spent nearly two years plumbing France’s role in 1994’s Rwandan genocide concluded Friday that the country reacted too slowly in appreciating the extent of the horror that left over 800,000 dead but cleared it of complicity in the slaughter.The report said that France bears “heavy and overwhelming responsibilities” in the drift that …

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday praised a recent Russian military exercise in the Arctic region showcasing the Russian military’s ability to operate in extreme conditions. During the exercise, three nuclear-powered submarines surfaced through the polar ice simultaneously, reported the commander-in-chief of the Russian fleet, Nikolai Yevmenov, during a videoconference with the Russian leader. Yevmenov also said …

A Turkish court sentenced two former police chiefs on Friday to life in prison for their role in the killing of prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink more than 14 years ago, the Turkish state-owned Anadolu news agency said.Editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos and a leading promoter of reconciliation between the Turkish and Armenian …

The European Union’s heads of state and government decided at a virtual summit Thursday to withhold explicit approval for a ban on vaccine exports proposed by the bloc’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, opting instead to preserve “global supply chains” and avoid sparking a vaccine war.  Von der Leyen highlighted to summiteers the large vaccine …

The house detention of a Uyghur leader during the Chinese foreign minister’s visit to Turkey this week is stoking concerns among Turkey’s large Uyghur refugee community about deepening ties between Ankara and Beijing. Uyghur leader Seyit Tumturk, head of the East Turkistan National Assembly, was detained at home during Wang Li’s visit to Turkey.  Speaking …

The British government announced Friday its full support for parliamentarians and other citizens of Britain sanctioned by China for raising their voices in defense of the Uyghur Muslim minority in the Asian country.     “The MPs [Members of Parliament] and other British citizens sanctioned by China today are performing a vital role shining a …

Chinese state TV called Thursday for a boycott of H&M as Beijing lashed out at foreign clothing and footwear brands following Western sanctions on Chinese officials accused of human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region.The ruling Communist Party criticized H&M for saying in March 2020 it would stop buying cotton from the northwestern Chinese region. …

Debate over the future of the Commonwealth and Britain’s relationship with its former colonies has been fueled by claims of racism within the royal family in the aftermath of a TV interview this month of Prince Harry and his American wife, Meghan, by media mogul Oprah Winfrey.The couple said that a member of the royal …

Claims made by Prince Harry and Meghan of racism within Britain’s royal family have fueled a debate over race and colonialism in the Commonwealth — an association of 54 countries, mostly former British colonies, led by Queen Elizabeth. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.Camera:  Henry Ridgwell   …

European Union leaders on Thursday offered new incentives to Turkey to improve cooperation on migration and trade despite democratic backsliding in the country and lingering concerns about its energy ambitions in the Mediterranean Sea.Seizing on the recent conciliatory tone from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the leaders said, should the relative calm continue, “the European …