World News

Serbia’s ruling populists were due to tighten their grip on power in the first European national election since the coronavirus pandemic. Voting began Sunday in the, heavily Orthodox, Balkan nation despite concerns about ongoing COVID-19 cases and what critics view as the autocratic style of the current president.

The United States says disarmament talks between its top arms control negotiator and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov will take place next week in Austria.

The board of governors of the United Nations’ atomic agency issued a resolution on June 19 urging Iran to provide access to two sites where nuclear activity may have occurred in the past.

The European Union’s top court ruled Thursday that Hungary’s legislation requiring non-governmental organizations to reveal their foreign donors is against EU rules. The Luxemburg-based Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) condemned a law that forces NGOs receiving at least 7.2 million Hungarian forints ($23,000) to register with authorities.

The UK’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has announced a “major breakthrough” in the treatment of patients who are seriously ill with COVID-19. On Twitter Tuesday the NIHR said a RECOVERY trial it supported showed that the steroid dexamethasone “significantly reduces” the risk of dying for coronavirus patients requiring respiratory intervention.

The UK is set to begin negotiations on post-Brexit free trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand, the Guardian reported Wednesday.

On Tuesday night, for the second time in one week, US fighter jets intercepted Russian military planes off the coast of Alaska, the Hill reports. Russian aircraft have been flying increasingly closer to US airspace: in March and April Russian planes were intercepted 50 nautical miles off the Alaskan coast.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Wednesday the latest round of U.S. sanctions against Syria, tightening pressure on President Bashar al-Assad and his government, amid concerns the war-torn country’s population will suffer.

Turkey and Libya’s internationally recognized government are discussing possible Turkish use of two military bases in the North African country, a Turkish source said on June 15, with a view to a lasting Turkish presence in the south Mediterranean.

The leader of Lebanese terror group Hezbollah said Tuesday that new US sanctions are intended to “starve” both Syria and Lebanon, the Times of Israel (ToI) reports.

A day after destroying an inter-Korean liaison office, North Korea continued to increase tensions with South Korea Wednesday, when Pyongyang announced it was sending troops to the Kaesong Industrial Zone and to Mt. Kumgang, both areas that had once been the sites of joint economic ventures between the two countries, UPI reported. The move follows two weeks of Pyongyang making angry threats against Seoul because Northern defectors have been sending balloons with information leaflets over the border.

The United States has condemned Russia for sentencing an ex-marine to 16 years in a high-security prison for spying, charges he vehemently denies.

Hungarians dressed in white have braved pouring rain to mourn those who died of the government’s coronavirus measures and COVID-19 patients who passed away. Their ‘White Silence’ rally in Budapest was, at times, interrupted by the tolling of small church bells on top of two ladders.

A human embryo editing experiment gone wrong has scientists warning against treading into the field altogether.

Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia on June 14 said talks would continue later this week to resolve their dispute over a Nile River dam that Ethiopia is constructing, even as Cairo accused Addis Ababa of rejecting “fundamental issues” at the heart of the negotiations.

Leaders from Britain and the European Union agreed on Monday that talks on their future relationship should be stepped up to clinch a deal, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggesting an agreement could be reached in July with “a bit of oomph”.

Borders reopened across Europe on Monday after three months of coronavirus lockdowns. But many restrictions persist and remain unclear how willing Europeans will be to travel this summer.

Russia and Turkey have postponed scheduled talks about their respective and opposing roles in conflicts in Libya and Syria, the Washington Times reported.

A human rights group supports a European court case against Hungary for “failing to protect its citizens” and “causing death” by emptying hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Air Force is sending F-35s to the Middle East to escort ships, deter potential enemies, conduct reconnaissance and, of course, support ongoing combat operations in the U.S. military’s Central Command region.