EU is finally ready to tap markets in a $900 billion stimulus push
The European Union is finally ready to raise much-needed funds from public markets and boost the economies of its 27 members after the severe shock from the coronavirus crisis.
World News
Pope Francis Criminalizes Sexual Abuse of Adults by Priests
Pope Francis has changed church law to explicitly criminalize the sexual abuse of adults by priests who abuse their authority and to say that laypeople who hold church office can be sanctioned for similar sex crimes.
Hungary Unveils Memorial For 28 Victims Of Danube’s Boat Disaster
Hungarian and South Korean government officials have unveiled a memorial in Budapest to the victims of the Danube River’s worst boating accident in more than half a century which killed dozens of people.
China now allowing couples to have three children, increasing limit to address aging population
The Chinese government said Monday it will ease its limits on births, allowing couples to have three children instead of two, to address the country’s again population and keep its economy thriving.
Showdown: U.S., NATO wage war games in Europe; Russia to send troops west
The U.S. and its NATO allies on Monday conducted a set of major war games across Europe, while Russia responded by announcing plans to send at least 20 new military units to its western border.
Russia tells U.S. to expect ‘uncomfortable’ signals ahead of Putin-Biden summit
Russia said on Monday it would send what it described as “uncomfortable” signals to the United States ahead of a summit between the two countries’ leaders next month and announced it was beefing up its western border militarily.
Russia Removes Opposition Leader From Plane; Andrei Pivovarov Detained
The leader of the now-defunct opposition group Open Russia says he has been pulled off a plane and detained by Russian police in St. Petersburg late Monday.
Report: ‘Denmark Helped US Spy On European Leaders’
European Union leaders expressed concern Monday about reports that Denmark’s military intelligence agency helped the United States spy on leading European politicians, including the German chancellor, Angela Merkel.
Russia Gives Massive Loan To Belarus Despite Western Outrage
Russia says it will continue with a massive loan of $1.5 billion to neighboring Belarus despite mounting international concern about the treatment of critical journalists and dissidents there.
France Threatens To Withdraw From Mali Over Coup And Islamist Influence
French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that France will withdraw troops from Mali if political instability there leads to greater Islamist radicalization.
Syria’s Assad Wins 4th Term With 95% of Vote, in Election the West Calls Fraudulent
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a fourth term in office with 95.1% of the votes in an election that will extend his rule over a country ruined by war but which opponents and the West say was marked by fraud.
New study claims China created COVID-19 in lab, then ‘retro-engineered’ to cover their tracks
A new study alleges that Chinese scientists developed COVID-19 in a lab and then sought to obfuscate by reverse-engineering virus versions to cause it to appear the illness evolved from bats.
Vietnam finds new virus variant, hybrid of India, U.K. strains
Vietnam has discovered a new coronavirus variant that’s a hybrid of strains first found in India and the U.K., the Vietnamese health minister said Saturday.
EU Drugs Agency Approves COVID Vaccines For Children
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has approved vaccinating children against the coronavirus despite concerns about side effects. Germany already said it plans to start in early June, Germany’s broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) reported Friday.
Hong Kong Jails Pro-Democracy Leader And Activists
Pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for participating in an unauthorized assembly in 2019.
U.S. tells Russia it won’t rejoin Open Skies arms control pact
The Biden administration informed Russia on Thursday that it will not rejoin a key arms control pact, even as the two sides prepare for a summit next month between their leaders.
Former nuclear inspector says ‘time is running out’ on Iran
A day after the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned that Iran’s uranium enrichment program was “very concerning,” a former inspector from the international nuclear watchdog agency cautioned that there might be “unforeseeable developments.”
BBC Presenter Dies After Taking AstraZeneca’s COVID Vaccine
A radio presenter of British broadcaster BBC presenter has died after she took the AstraZeneca COVID-19 shot, her family said Thursday.
Afghanistan Military Massively Surrenders To Taliban As US Withdraws
Many Afghan military units surrender to the Islamist militant Taliban group as American troops withdraw, a report said Thursday.
Russia Prohibits Austrian Airlines To Enter Moskou
Russia has prevented an Austrian Airlines flight from entering Moscow because it refused to cross over Belarusian airspace.