Category: Світ

Protesters took to the streets of the Polish capital, Warsaw, late Wednesday and more demonstrations were scheduled for Thursday after the government implemented a court ruling that placed a near-total ban on abortions.The ruling, which was made October 22 but came into force Wednesday, permits abortions only in cases of rape and incest, and when the mother’s …

Thousands of students and teachers held peaceful demonstrations in Greece’s two biggest cities Thursday against proposed education reforms, defying a weeklong ban on protests imposed as part of measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. About 4,000 people, wearing masks against the virus, marched through the streets of Athens, while another roughly 1,500 demonstrated in the northern …

A vaccine war has erupted between Britain and the European Union with Brussels demanding that tens of millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses earmarked for Britain, and made by a British pharmaceutical company, be diverted to Europe to make up for a shortfall in promised deliveries.     The demand marks a sharp political turn in …

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, global tourism had its worst year ever in 2020, with international arrivals down 74% compared to 2019.According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the drop meant $1.3 trillion less in revenues, which is 11 times more than the drop caused by the 2009 economic crisis. The U.N. …

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the humanitarian crisis in Yemen — as well as U.S. relations with Russia and China — are among his immediate priorities.  VOA Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington. …

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III said Wednesday he values Germany as a station for U.S. troops, leading to speculation he may reverse a decision by the Trump administration to pull troops out of the country.   Austin made the comments in an introductory call to German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. A summary of …

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the humanitarian crisis in Yemen — as well as U.S. relations with Russia and China — are among his immediate priorities.  VOA Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington. …

A German survivor of the Holocaust Wednesday urged lawmakers during a special session of the German Parliament to “take care of our country.”Charlotte Knobloch, 88, told lawmakers that the lives of Jews in Germany are still far from normal, nearly eight decades after Nazis murdered 6 million European Jews in the Shoah — another name …

Looking through family photographs at his home in Leeds, England, Gordon Bonner, 86, said he was lost in a “hinterland of despair and desolation.” It’s been nine months since Muriel, his wife of 63 years, died from COVID-19. He was called to her bedside for the final moments.“I sat for the next hour and watched …

A Polish law limiting abortion to cases of rape, incest and when the mother’s health or life is at risk was expected to go into effect Wednesday following an October court decision deeming abortions due to fetal defects illegal. The court’s decision set off protests across the mostly Roman Catholic country. More protests were expected as the …

With vaccine delays threatening Europe’s recovery from the pandemic, the European Union has issued an angry warning to pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca. In this report narrated by Jon Spier, Alfonso Beato in Barcelona says there is growing alarm in Spain, a nation that remains among the world’s top ten hotspots in the number of cases. Camera: …

For the first time since his inauguration, U.S. President Joe Biden spoke Tuesday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin — agreeing to extend a landmark nuclear arms deal while expressing concerns about the arrest of dissident Alexei Navalny, Moscow’s cyber-espionage campaign and bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, two senior Biden administration officials said.   Biden’s stance appeared to mark …

Authorities in Moscow have lifted some coronavirus restrictions, including the overnight closure of bars, restaurants, and nightclubs, citing the improving health situation. Starting on Wednesday, businesses no longer are required to have at least 30 percent of employees working remotely, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on his blog, saying the “situation with the spread of the …

For the first time since his inauguration, U.S. President Joe Biden spoke Tuesday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, expressing concerns about the arrest of dissident Alexei Navalny, Moscow’s cyber-espionage campaign and bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, two senior Biden administration officials said.Biden’s stance appeared to mark another sharp break with that of former President …

Britain’s health department reported Tuesday the nation’s death toll from COVID-19 has surpassed 100,000 people.   In a televised news briefing from his office, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, “It’s hard to compute the sorrow contained in that grim statistic, the years of life lost, the family gatherings not attended, and for so many …

The U.S. Senate’s confirmation of U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has raised hope on the other side of the Atlantic. Yellen said the U.S. administration remains committed to working to resolve digital taxation disputes, a remark that Europeans are reading optimistically.In this file photo taken on Dec. 1, 2020, Janet Yellen speaks during a cabinet …

Greece and France have sealed a $2.8 billion deal for the purchase of 18 Rafale fighter jets for the Greek air force. The deal is part of a larger weapons purchase program that Greece is carrying out as it sits down to negotiate a solution to a growing dispute with Turkey over energy rights in …

Trucks and building machines are parked on a river dam in southwest Serbia but not for construction work. Instead, huge cranes are being used to clear tons of garbage crammed at the foot of the power plant. Serbia and other Balkan nations are overwhelmed by communal waste after decades of neglect and lack of efficient …

Despite making up just 0.1% of Britain’s economy, fishing played an outsized role in the brinkmanship leading up to December’s Brexit agreement between London and Brussels.     Many Brexit supporters saw regaining control of the country’s sovereign waters as totemic. A month since the agreement was signed, many fishermen say they feel betrayed.   Sorry, …

European governments are split over whether to introduce vaccine passports with the tourist-dependent southern member states of the bloc touting them as a possible way to reopen international borders and encourage a resumption of travel.Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has been at the head of a pack of national leaders urging the European Commission to …

World leaders gathered virtually Monday for the Climate Adaption Summit, an online meeting hosted by the Netherlands with hopes of developing practical solutions and funding for dealing with climate change between now and 2030.The online program featured leaders from around the world, including China’s Deputy Prime Minister Han Zheng, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President …

Pirates who seized 15 sailors when they stormed a Turkish-crewed container ship in the Gulf of Guinea two days ago have not yet made contact with authorities, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Monday.An Azeri sailor was killed when armed attackers boarded the vessel, which was headed to Cape Town from Lagos, and abducted 15 Turkish …

Greece and Turkey opened their first direct talks in nearly five years in Istanbul Monday to discuss long-standing maritime disputes in the eastern Mediterranean.Relations between Athens and Ankara were exacerbated in August of last year when Turkey deployed a survey vessel in contested Mediterranean waters and gunboats from the two countries collided.Disputes over energy sources …

Rioters set fires in the center of the southern Dutch city of Eindhoven and pelted police with rocks Sunday at a banned demonstration against coronavirus lockdown measures, while officers responded with tear gas and water cannons, arresting at least 55 people.Police in the capital of Amsterdam 125 kilometers (78 miles) away also used a water …

Estonia’s two biggest political parties clinched a deal Sunday to form a new government to be led by a female prime minister for the first time in the Baltic country’s history, replacing the previous Cabinet that collapsed in a corruption scandal earlier this month.  The party councils of the opposition, center-right Reform Party and the …

Hundreds of people remained behind bars in Russia Sunday, a day after they were arrested for joining nationwide street protests demanding the release of jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny. Navalny was detained a week ago upon his return to Russia from Germany, where he spent the last several months recovering from a nearly fatal poisoning …