Month: October 2021

Leaders of Germany’s newly-installed Bundestag – the lower house parliament – said Wednesday they will not extend the “epidemic situation of national scope” when it expires next month, though certain public health measures will remain to prevent the spread of COVID-19.   The declaration of the health emergency allows the federal and state governments to …

In an effort to stop a 4th wave of COVID, Russian authorities have decided to halt commercial activity and social gatherings. Russia’s national inoculation strategy is falling short: only 33% of the population is fully vaccinated.  Elizabeth Cherneff narrates this report from the VOA Moscow bureau. …

British Court to Rule on Assange Extradition Request …

Turkey is threatening to launch a new military operation against Syrian Kurdish forces after a deadly attack in Syrian territory where Turkish forces are present. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

A British court will consider this week whether Julian Assange, founder of the Wikileaks website, can be extradited to the United States on charges of hacking and theft. The two-day hearing is scheduled to begin Wednesday in London’s high court.  U.S. prosecutors appealed a British district court verdict from January, which ruled that Assange should …

Global pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions are just a fraction of what’s needed to prevent catastrophic global warming, according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Program. The warning comes ahead of the critical COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow which begins next week.  World leaders pledged to restrict global warming to no …

Global pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions are just a fraction of what’s needed to prevent catastrophic global warming. That’s the warning from the United Nations, ahead of the critical COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow, Britain next week – where world leaders will try to agree on further action to combat global warming. Henry Ridgwell …

Journalists who cover Russia’s space program say they may adopt a more cautious approach to their reporting after several aspects of Roscosmos were effectively declared off limits.  A Federal Security Service (FSB) order, which took effect October 11, lays out information that it says could be used to threaten national security if received by foreign …

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians, was released from a Washington hospital Monday morning after an overnight stay early in his 12-day visit to the United States.  Bartholomew, 81, was scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden later Monday at the White House, and also to meet with Secretary of State …

A German woman received a 10-year prison sentence Monday for allowing a young Yazidi girl, who was being kept as a slave in Iraq by the woman and her husband, to die of thirst in the hot sun. German authorities said the 30-year-old convert to Islam, identified only as Jennifer W., was a member of …

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen told British lawmakers Monday that the social media giant “unquestionably” amplifies online hate.  In testimony to a parliamentary committee in London, the former Facebook employee echoed what she told U.S. senators earlier this month. Haugen said the media giant fuels online hate and extremism and does not have any incentive to …