Category: Світ

The largest concentration of black African churches outside of Africa can be found in South London. Each week, about 20,000 people attend one of the mostly Pentecostal churches in the city. Reporter Marthe van der Wolf has more from London.   …

A reception center for minors in Madrid became the focus for clashing views on immigration and social welfare Thursday, a day after police defused a grenade found there. The row around the center, in the suburb of Hortaleza, crystallized worries about immigration and insecurity that helped the far-right Vox party double its result in last month’s election to become the third-biggest bloc in parliament.Vox repeatedly singled …

In the swirl of protests in Moscow this summer against a political system that many deem repressive, an eloquent 21-year-old political science student stood out. Yegor Zhukov, who studies at Moscow’s prestigious Higher School of Economics, has drawn a sizable audience on his YouTube channel. In a series of video blogs, he has railed against President Vladimir Putin, …

Cyprus has petitioned the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to safeguard its offshore mineral rights, its president said on Thursday, upping the ante with neighbor Turkey which disputes its claims.Cyprus’s internationally recognized government discovered offshore gas in 2011 but has been at loggerheads with Turkey over maritime zones around the island, where …

A court in Kosovo has sentenced a lawmaker who once served as a government minister to two years in jail for denying a massacre by Serb forces in 1999 — which prompted NATO’s intervention to halt the war.Ivan Todosijevic was serving as a minister in the Pristina government in March this year when he described …

BOLSOVER, ENGLAND — Dennis Skinner is a no-nonsense, unchanging socialist and the only British MP ever to heckle the Queen’s Speech Ceremony, when Britain’s lawmakers process from the Commons annually to the House of Lords to hear the monarch’s address outlining the government’s legislative program.Nicknamed the “Beast of Bolsover,” a reference to the Derbyshire constituency …

Quentin Louedec, a 28-year-old engineer, usually struggles to find anyone wanting to share a ride on his daily three km (two mile) commute to the Val-de-Seine industrial zone in northern Paris. But not on Thursday.Demand on carpooling apps surged ahead of a public sector strike across France that paralyzed transport and forced commuters to find …

The Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee on Thursday endorsed a controversial deal on maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean reached between Turkey and Libya’s U.N.-supported government.The committee approved the agreement which would give Turkey access to an economic zone across the Mediterranean, paving the way for a final vote in the parliament’s general assembly later in …

The Eiffel Tower shut down, France’s vaunted high-speed trains stood still and teachers walked off the job as unions launched nationwide strikes and protests Thursday over the government’s plan to overhaul the retirement system.                     Paris authorities barricaded the presidential palace and deployed 6,000 police as activists, many in yellow vests representing France’s year-old …

Moscow denies any involvement in the shooting death of a former Chechen rebel commander in Berlin in August. The Russian government Wednesday condemned Germany’s decision to expel two Russian diplomats over the case. Germany has accused Russia of failing to assist in the investigation. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports the attack on the Chechen rebel in …

France is preparing for nationwide strikes beginning Thursday that could bring the country to a standstill.French labor unions have called for walkouts over President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to overhaul the retirement system.In Paris, the unions plan to march Thursday, prompting police to order all shops, cafes and restaurants along the route to close for the …

Islamic State media operatives appear to be flailing about in cyberspace, still trying to recover more than a week after tens of thousands of their messaging accounts were targeted by European officials. Unlike some past efforts to hamper the terror group’s propaganda efforts, which dealt only temporary setbacks, the latest takedown seems to be having a …

The self-confessed middleman in the murder of a journalist told a court on Wednesday a wealthy Maltese businessman was the brains behind the killing but also implicated people tied to government in the growing scandal.Melvin Theuma received immunity from prosecution last week for information that would lead to the conviction of alleged plot leader and …

Seventy years since its Cold War-era founding as a transatlantic alliance focused on Moscow, NATO is expanding its gaze towards the increasingly muscular challenge posed by China.But it is unclear, even to diplomats within the 29-member military alliance, whether NATO is up to the task – especially at a time of intense internal divisions and …

The Czech Republic’s prime minister is facing fraud charges after the country’s chief prosecutor overturned a previous decision to drop the case.                     Pavel Zeman announced the move Wednesday after evaluating a September finding to dismiss the charges despite a police recommendation to indict Babis.                     The case involves a farm that received …

President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday demanded West African leaders dismiss growing anti-French sentiment across the region if they wanted France’s military to continue its operations against Islamist militants.France, the former colonial power, is the only Western country with a significant military presence waging counter-insurgency operations in Mali and the wider Sahel, an arid region of …

NATO leaders are gathering at a golf resort outside of London Wednesday to present a united front amid bitter differences over terrorism, Turkey and increased burden sharing with the United States.The 29 leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, posed for a traditional “family” photograph before retreating for the planned three-hour meeting.  The leaders are expected …

The far-right Vox party won a seat on the committee responsible for running Spain’s parliament on Tuesday, raising its national profile as the Socialists struggled to form a government following an inconclusive national election last month.The Socialists, meanwhile, again held talks with a Catalan separatist party in a bid to gain support.Vox became the third-largest …

Hungary has stifled its independent media and imposed a level of control over journalists that is unprecedented in an EU country, according to a joint report from six international press watchdogs that calls on EU leaders to take action.The report was compiled ahead of a meeting next week at which EU leaders will discuss punishing …

The meeting of NATO leaders in London to mark the alliance’s 70th anniversary got off to a difficult start Tuesday as the leaders of the United States, France and Turkey clashed over burden sharing and the future direction of the alliance. The official summit is set to take place Wednesday, where the various threats to …

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attended a reception late Tuesday at Buckingham Palace hosted by Queen Elizabeth on the sidelines of the NATO summit, where leaders are marking 70 years of the alliance.This is the third time the Trumps have met the monarch. They met at a Buckingham Palace banquet during …

Russia on Tuesday accused a former U.S. Marine it has held for almost a year on spying charges of faking health problems in custody and lying about his ill-treatment to stir up noise around his case.Paul Whelan, who holds U.S., British, Canadian and Irish passports, was accused of espionage after agents from Russia’s Federal Security …

Differences between U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron were on full display as NATO leaders gathered for a summit in London.In an almost 40-minute session with journalists the two leaders clashed on a number of issues including burden sharing within NATO, terrorism, Turkey’s incursion into northern Syria, and the U.S. withdrawal from …

France is threatening a “strong European riposte” if the Trump administration follows through on a proposal to hit French cheese, Champagne, handbags and other products with tariffs of up to 100%.                     The U.S. Trade Representative proposed the tariffs on $2.4 billion in goods Monday in retaliation for a French tax on global tech …

A top European human rights official has demanded immediate closure of a migrant camp in Bosnia where hundreds of people have refused food and water to protest a lack of protection in snowy and cold weather.The Vucjak camp near the northwestern town of Bihac has almost no facilities. International aid organizations have said it is …

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper urged Turkey on Monday to stop holding up support for a NATO defense plan for the Baltics and Poland, as Ankara presses the alliance to support its fight against U.S.-backed Kurdish YPG militia in Syria.In an interview with Reuters ahead of the NATO summit, Esper warned Ankara that “not everybody …