Author: Fworld

France, Italy, Spain and Belgium curbed stock market trading on Tuesday, banning short-selling to shield some of Europe’s biggest companies from a sell-off triggered by the coronavirus.   The move will temporarily halt bets on falling shares at scores of companies from the world’s largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev, to Spanish bank Santander and Air France-KLM.The radical …

Britain will on Tuesday unveil a rescue package for businesses threatened with collapse by the coronavirus outbreak as budget forecasters said the scale of the borrowing needed might resemble the immense debt splurge during World War II.  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who told people to avoid pubs, clubs, restaurants, cinemas and theaters on Monday, …

The European Union’s external borders will be closed to non-essential travel  for 30 days as of Tuesday to fight the spread of the coronavirus, while France is following Italy and Spain in imposing a nationwide lockdown for at least 15 days.In an address to the nation Monday night, President Emmanuel Macron announced France was at war against COVID-19. He announced new measures …

Spain is suffering Europe’s worst coronavirus contagion after Italy, according to government officials who have declared a “state of alarm” to implement the type of emergency measures instituted in Italy, forcing people to stay indoors even at the risk of economic paralysis. According to Spanish health authorities, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose past 9,000 …

Russian journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva has been formally charged with justifying terrorism in a case that has drawn criticism from rights and media watchdogs.Prokopyeva, a freelance contributor for RFE/RL’s Russian Service, said on March 16 she had been handed the indictment document at the prosecutor’s office in Pskov.She denies the charge, which stem from comments made …

Spain’s tally of coronavirus cases rose to 8,744 on Monday and the number of fatalities rose to 297, said Fernando Simon, the head of the country’s health emergency center.   The previous tally was 7,753 cases on Sunday, with 288 fatalities …

Russia’s Constitutional Court has approved amendments that, among other changes, would allow Vladimir Putin to run again for president in 2024. The constitutional changes are due to be put to a nationwide vote in April.In January, Putin announced a major shake-up of Russian politics and a constitutional overhaul, which the Kremlin described as a redistribution of …

Spain’s King Felipe VI has renounced any future personal inheritance he could receive from his father, King Emerit Juan Carlos I, over the alleged financial irregularities involving the former monarch, the country’s royal house announced Sunday.The royal house said in a statement that in addition to renouncing his inheritance, Felipe is stripping Juan Carlos of …

Berlin is trying to stop Washington from persuading a German company seeking a coronavirus vaccine to move its research to the United States, prompting German politicians to insist no country should have a monopoly on any future vaccine.German government sources told Reuters on Sunday that the U.S. administration was looking into how it could gain …

 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will step up government action this week in a bid to slow the spread across Britain of the potentially deadly coronavirus by accelerating plans to make the elderly stay at home — possibly for months — and for whole families to self-quarantine when any family member displays COVID-19 symptoms.The acceleration …

Vladimir Putin has formally signed off on constitutional amendments that would allow the Russian leader to run again for president in 2024, the Interfax news agency reported on March 14.The announcement comes a day after it was reported that all of Russia’s regional parliaments had voted in favor of the measures.In January, Putin announced a …

People across France voted in the first round of municipal elections Sunday — one of the few major events that authorities haven’t canceled or postponed over the coronavirus outbreak. Voters may punish President Emmanuel Macron’s young party. French authorities have shuttered schools, restaurants and non-essential commerce across the country to help slow the coronavirus outbreak that …

The Vatican has taken an unprecedented decision due to the coronavirus outbreak. All Holy Week services with Pope Francis will be held without a congregation, including Easter Sunday mass.It will be a very different Holy Week for the faithful this year, particularly for those in Rome. No one will be allowed to attend any of …

French voters are going to the polls Sunday to cast their votes in municipal elections, despite an outbreak of the coronavirus and an outcry that the virus and the fear of contamination will keep many voters home. President Emmanuel Macron has insisted that the democratic continuity of the nation would be in jeopardy if the vote …

Romanian lawmakers on Saturday voted overwhelmingly to approve Prime Minister Ludovic Orban’s new government, the same one ousted last month as the result of losing a no-confidence vote.Orban’s nomination by President Klaus Iohannis came amid Romania’s efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus, which has already infected 109 people in the country. After Orban …

Spain decided Saturday to follow Italy in declaring a nationwide lockdown to slow the accelerating spread of the coronavirus epidemic, Spanish media reported.Spain’s decision came as European countries took ever more severe, though widely varying, measures to reduce contact between their citizens and slow the pandemic. China — where the virus first emerged late last …

The U.S. travel ban on most flights from Europe, a part of the U.S. strategy in preventing the spread of the deadly coronavirus, has gone into effect. U.S. President Donald Trump announced the ban Wednesday night in an address from the Oval Office.  The 30-day ban blocks most foreign visitors from 26 countries in Europe, while …

Vladimir Putin has formally signed off on constitutional amendments that would allow the Russian leader to run again for president in 2024.His approval comes a day after it was reported that all of Russia’s regional parliaments had voted in favor of the measures.In January, Putin announced a major shake-up of Russian politics and a constitutional …

The U.S. travel ban on most flights from Europe, a part of the U.S. strategy in preventing the spread of the deadly coronavirus, has gone into effect. U.S. President Donald Trump announced the ban Wednesday night in an address from the Oval Office.  The 30-day ban blocks most foreign visitors from 26 countries in Europe, while …

Amid stalls of vegetables and cheap clothes, party faithful push campaign flyers at Saint-Denis’ weekly market near the French capital under scudding clouds. Some shoppers brush past, unconvinced by the political offers. Others accept the colorful manifestos, stuffing them between bags of cassavas and oranges. Located a few miles outside Paris, this gritty suburb is …

Kosovo will not lift its 100% tariffs on goods from Serbia and Bosnia anytime soon because the coalition government cannot agree on whether the import taxes should be phased out or abolished all at once, the country’s prime minister said Friday.Prime Minister Albin Kurti said his left-wing Self-Determination Movement, or Vetevendosje, wanted to lift the …

Spain will be in a state of emergency for the next 15 days to better combat the coronavirus, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Friday, in a dramatic increase to the policy response that will allow authorities to confine people and ration goods.The state of emergency, which Sanchez said will formally be decided by a …

France is shutting schools nationwide, among other coronavirus measures. But municipal elections taking place over the next two Sundays are going forward. Analyst predict a so-called ‘green wave’ of ecologically minded candidates may surge in the polls – powered by a raft of alarming environmental developments. Lisa Bryant reports from the working-class town of Saint-Denis, …

After the Turkish Health Ministry recently confirmed the country’s first coronavirus case, people have been flocking to pharmacies, grocery stores, and other outlets to prepare for a potential nationwide pandemic. VOA’s Umut Colak in Istanbul, in collaboration with Murat Karabulut in Ankara, filed this report on the shortage of supplies like face masks and sanitizers, …

Greece’s first female president, a former high court judge, was formally sworn in to office Friday, nearly two months after the country’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to elect her.      The swearing-in ceremony for Katerina Sakellaropoulou took place in an almost empty parliament, as part of measures being taken to prevent the spread of the …

European Union interior ministers on Friday were trying to coordinate their response to the novel coronavirus as cases spread throughout the 27-nation bloc and countries took individual measures to slow the disease down.      With Italy at the epicenter of Europe’s outbreak, some of its neighbors, like Austria and Slovenia, have begun taking steps …