The European Union has awarded its top human rights prize to the Belarus opposition movement and its leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. They received the Sakharov Prize for their challenge to what EU leaders view as Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko’s long, hard-line reign.
Nigerian authorities reportedly opened fire on protestors demonstrating against the brutality of a police force called SARS (the Special Anti-Robbery Squad) in Lagos, Sky News reports.
Dutch King Willem-Alexander apologized Wednesday for going on holiday to Greece while his nation was in a half-lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The World Economic Forum, which organizes the annual Davos economic summit, is involved in developing a passport-like system for travelers to prove they are not infected with COVID-19 before they enter another country, Zero Hedge reports. The system is being spearheaded by the Commons Project, a non-profit funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.
The Iranian Islamic regime has announced it is beginning a massive air defense drill across half of Iran’s airspace this week, the Jerusalem Post (JP) reports. Set to start on Wednesday, the drill follows the expiration on October 18 of the ten-year long UN arms embargo on Iran, and renewed Iranian interest in upgrading its military and defense technology.
Pope Francis, in an Italian documentary released Wednesday, signaled support for same-sex civil unions.
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) projects it will have the record desert locust swarms that have plagued East Africa under control by the end of the year.
Brussels and London have “re-established” a basis for Brexit talks on Wednesday following an apparent impasse last week, the UK’s chief negotiator David Frost said on Twitter.
The Trump administration has approved more than $1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan in a move likely to further ratchet up tensions between Beijing and Washington.
China is preparing for a possible military invasion of Taiwan, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported Sunday. The Chinese government considers Taiwan to be a break-away part of China and is determined to bring it under Beijing’s control.
Environmental groups have reacted furiously to reports that the Japanese government is set to approve plans to dump more than 1 million tons of highly radioactive water stored at the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean, with their concerns shared by the governments of neighboring countries and people living in northeastern Japan.
The Nigerian state of Lagos has imposed a 24-hour curfew on Tuesday in response to nationwide protests over police brutality. The curfew would apply to all parts of the state, including the metropolis of Lagos, authorities said.
The United States and Russia moved closer Tuesday to reaching a deal on nuclear arms control that would freeze both nations’ nuclear warheads.
A representative from the White House went to Damascus for secret meetings with the Syrian government earlier this year, in an effort to secure the release of at least two US citizens believed to be held hostage there, Reuters reported Monday.
An exiled Iranian dissident group says Iran has developed a new nuclear bomb-making facility, the Washington Times reports. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a French- and Albanian-based group working to overthrow the Iranian regime, said Friday it has learned that there is a new facility in Sorkheh-Hesar in northeast Iran.
The chief Brexit negotiator for the European Union stressed Monday the bloc was prepared to “intensify” trade talks with Britain after holding a call with British dealmaker David Frost.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of violating a new humanitarian ceasefire in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in a conflict that has killed hundreds in recent weeks. The clashes are rapidly escalating into an all-out war, with civilians caught in the middle.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says he was wrong in allowing the royal family to vacation in Greece while discouraging “unnecessary travel” for others due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The United States says Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to extend the New START nuclear disarmament treaty without freezing nuclear warheads is a “nonstarter.”
NATO-member Turkey has tested its Russian-made advanced air defense missile system, Turkish media reports said Friday, raising the specter of a new standoff with the United States.