The number of US forces stationed in Afghanistan will be reduced to less than 5,000 in the coming months, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in an interview with Fox News. The withdrawal, which would account for around half of the 8,600 personnel in the country, will be completed by November, he said. “Right now we think that we can do all the core missions – first and foremost ensuring the United States is not threatened by terrorists coming out of Afghanistan – we can do those at a lower level,” he told Fox News’ Judge Jeanine. US President Donald Trump […]
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The Polish government intends to fully reopen schools on September 1, Education Minister Dariusz Piontkowski said on Wednesday, despite a recent renewed spike in coronavirus infections. Cases started rising after restrictions on public gatherings were eased. On Tuesday, authorities reported the fourth record daily increase in a week, with 680 new infections. Poland, a nation of 38 million people, had recorded a total of 48,789 cases and 1,756 deaths as of Wednesday, Reuters reports. “We want students to come back to normal education in schools from September,” Piontkowski said. The ministry will impose strict hygiene and safety rules for schools, as […]
Ireland plans to take “a very cautious approach” to easing Covid-19 restrictions in the coming weeks, Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has said. Tuesday’s statement came ahead of a government meeting that will decide whether to reopen bars or ease travel restrictions, Reuters reported. “I know that is going to come as a further blow to some of the sectors that are not being reopened, but we just can’t risk going backwards,” he told reporters in Dublin, following advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team. Source link
Germany is contending with a second wave of the coronavirus, the head of the country’s doctors’ union said in an interview published on Tuesday. The number of daily confirmed coronavirus cases has risen steadily in recent weeks. “We are already in a second, shallow upswing,” Susanne Johna, president of Marburger Bund, which represents doctors in Germany, told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. She said there was a danger that a suppression of containment measures would fritter away the success Germany had achieved so far. She urged people to stick to social distancing, hygiene rules, and to wear masks. In France, the top […]
Vietnam has no plans for a nationwide lockdown, the government said. “We will only implement social distancing in areas considered virus epicenters, and will not pursue a widespread lockdown,” Mai Tien Dung, the government’s spokesman, told a monthly meeting of reporters on Monday. Selective lockdown measures will allow the government to achieve the dual goals of containing the virus and boosting the economy at the same time, Dung said. “If there’s an infection in a hamlet, we will lock down that hamlet only, not the whole district or the whole province,” he added. PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc told officials that “early […]
Argentina will extend a mandatory lockdown until August 16 as its coronavirus cases continue to rise, President Alberto Fernandez said on Friday. The lockdown, which has been the strictest in the capital Buenos Aires, was due to expire on Sunday. The South American nation has seen its caseload spike in recent weeks and recorded a record daily tally on Thursday with 6,377 new cases. There are now 185,373 confirmed cases and 3,466 deaths, Reuters reported. “The big problem that we have had in the last 15 days is that we relaxed, we felt that it was contained,” Fernandez said. Argentina has […]
Washington on Friday imposed sanctions on a powerful Chinese company in the Xinjiang province and two officials for what it said were human rights abuses against Uighurs and other ethnic minorities. The move is the latest blow to US-China relations. The US Treasury Department said it blacklisted the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), along with Sun Jinlong, former party secretary of the XPCC, and Peng Jiarui, deputy party secretary and commander of the XPCC, over accusations they are connected to “serious human rights abuse” against ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. The action freezes any US assets of the company and officials, […]
China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday slammed the United States for “reckless provocation of confrontation” after the two countries ordered tit-for-tat closures of each other’s consulates. In a call with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, Wang warned that China-US relations could “fall into the abyss of confrontation,” AFP said. He also called for the international community to resist “any unilateral or hegemonic act,” according to a transcript published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. However, Wang also called for “rational communication” between Beijing and Washington. Source link
Australia has registered 10 new coronavirus-related deaths over the past 24 hours, marking the deadliest single-day toll for the country since the pandemic began. The latest victims were aged between their 40s and 80s, with seven of the deaths occurring in care homes. The fatalities bring the cumulative death count to 155. All 10 deaths occurred in the state of Victoria, which also recorded 459 new Covid-19 cases. Australia has seen around 14,000 confirmed cases in total. Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, has spent the last two weeks under strict lockdown. Masks are mandatory and movement in and out of the […]
The Taliban has said it is ready for talks with Afghanistan’s political leadership after the Muslim holiday of Eid ul-Adha at the end of July. The movement also offered to hand over the last of the government prisoners in a week’s time, providing the government frees the last of its Taliban prisoners, AP reports. The offer was made by the Taliban’s political spokesman Suhail Shaheen in a tweet published late on Thursday. The group earlier appointed the son of the movement’s founder to head its military wing and designated powerful leadership council members to its negotiation team. On Friday, the High […]
The campaign team for the opposition challenger in Poland’s presidential election, Rafal Trzaskowski, says it now wants the vote annulled, citing numerous irregularities. The liberal Warsaw Mayor lost the July 12 runoff by a narrow margin to conservative incumbent President Andrzej Duda. Trzaskowski, who received 48.97 percent of votes, earlier conceded defeat to Duda, who received 51.03 percent. Trzaskowski’s team and his Civic Platform party lodged a protest with the Supreme Court last week. They argued that state-run media and the government were unfairly involved in boosting Duda’s campaign, while not all Poles abroad were able to cast ballots. Polish media […]
Iranian judicial authorities have halted the execution of Amirhossein Moradi, 26, a cellphone retailer, Said Tamjidi, 28, a student, and 26-year-old Mohammad Rajabi. Babak Paknia, a lawyer representing one of the accused, told AFP that “we conveyed a request [for a retrial] to the Supreme Court and they have accepted it.” The defense hopes that the verdict will eventually be overturned, he added. The Supreme Court had this week upheld the sentence, triggering an online campaign that urged authorities not to execute the three. Moradi, Tamjidi, and Rajabi were convicted on the back of the nationwide protests sparked by the government’s […]
Russia’s defense minister Sergey Shoigu and his Azeri counterpart Zakir Hasanov have discussed the situation in the Southern Caucasus during a phone call, Russia’s Ministry of Defense has said. The talks come after almost a week of border clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which have left more than a dozen dead on both sides, according to various estimates. Moscow had earlier offered to become a mediator in peace talks between the two former Soviet republics. Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have remained tense since the early 1990s, when Nagorno-Karabakh, a large Armenian-populated enclave inside Azerbaijan, declared independence from Baku. The two […]
Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed implementing the Minsk agreements to peacefully solve the conflict in eastern Ukraine in a phone call on Wednesday. Putin “emphasized the counter-productivity of Ukrainian attempts to distort the substance” of the agreements, amid Kiev’s statements about the need to review them, according to the Kremlin press service. “He underscored that Kiev’s course towards selective fulfillment of its obligations brings the negotiations process to a stalemate.” “Both sides condemned recent statements made by Ukrainian officials that the Minsk complex of measures must be reviewed,” TASS reported. The two leaders also confirmed that […]
The government in Hanoi has agreed to resume commercial flights to and from China after months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Transport Ministry, however, said on Monday that the frequency and timing of flights was still being discussed. With 372 infections and no deaths, Vietnam has seen no community infections of the virus for nearly three months, Reuters reported. This allowed it the Southeast Asian nation to start resuming economic activity sooner than many other countries. Vietnam suspended all commercial flights to and from China and stopped issuing visas for Chinese tourists in February after the first cases […]
The leader of Spain’s Catalonia Quim Torra has called on the residents of the city of Lleida to follow his government’s home confinement orders, after a rise in coronavirus cases. The statement came despite a Spanish judge’s decision to bar the lockdown. Quim Torra told reporters on Monday it was impossible to accept the judge’s ruling because of the risks involved. The local government will approve a decree to tackle the growing number of cases in the region, according to Torra. Spanish Judge Elena Garcia-Munoz Alarco had said earlier in the ruling that “what is proposed today goes far beyond a […]
Police forces dismantled a makeshift shelter camp in the northern French port of Calais on Friday, removing hundreds of migrants. The dismantling was one of the biggest operations of its kind in several months. Since the easing of the coronavirus lockdown and the reopening of borders within the EU, migrants have begun to flock to Calais again, hoping to reach Britain via the Channel Tunnel. On Friday, some 519 people living in the camp were taken by bus to various reception centers. Another 20 people deemed to have irregular immigration status were arrested and taken to detention centers, Reuters cited local […]
Beijing said on Friday it will impose reciprocal measures in response to US sanctions on Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses against the Uighur Muslim minority. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing that the US action represented serious interference in China’s affairs and was deeply detrimental to bilateral relations. On Thursday, Washington blacklisted Xinjiang region’s Communist Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, a member of China’s Politburo, and three other officials. A senior administration representative described Chen as the highest ranking Chinese official ever sanctioned by the United States, Reuters said. China’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Chen […]
The United States and Russia are not enemies and cannot afford to stop talking to one another, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov has said. Speaking on Russia-US relations during a video conference organized by the Washington-based Center for the National Interest on Wednesday, he said: “There is an ongoing debate on who is more at fault for their current deplorable state.” “There are contrasting views on who should take the first step towards the other side,” the diplomat noted. Currently, this process “resembles walking in a circle without any clear perspective of finding common ground,” he said. “On many […]
As part of rolling out the UK’s own sanctions agenda for alleged human rights abuses around the world, London has blacklisted 25 Russian nationals, including the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin. Bastrykin has led the law enforcement agency – the Russian equivalent of the FBI in the US – since January 2011. In that capacity, he was sanctioned by the US in 2017, ostensibly over the death of accountant Sergey Magnitsky in a Russian prison in 2009. While the sanctions, announced Monday by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, are supposed to be the first autonomous foreign policy initiative by the […]
China began pulling back troops from along its contested border with India on Monday, Indian government sources said. A clash between the two countries last month left 20 Indian soldiers killed. Beijing has yet to confirm whether it suffered casualties. On Monday, the Chinese military was seen dismantling tents and structures at a site in the Galwan valley near to where the latest clash took place, Reuters quoted the Indian government sources as saying. Vehicles were seen withdrawing from the area, as well as at Hotsprings and Gogra – two other contested border zones, according to the sources. Answering a question […]
Britain’s talks on separation with the European Union resume on Monday with few signs of compromise on a new trade agreement and time running out to avoid a messy split. London will host EU negotiator Michel Barnier after a round of face-to-face talks ended a day early last week in Brussels because of deep divides in the sides’ approach, AFP said. “Serious divergences remain,” Barnier said after ending the negotiations last Thursday. His UK counterpart David Frost cited “significant differences” that meant the sides were still searching for basic “principles underlying an agreement.” Chancellor Angela Merkel said upon taking over help […]
The Foreign Ministry in Beijing said on Monday that the United States had deliberately sent its ships to the South China Sea to flex its muscles. China also accused Washington of trying to drive a wedge between the countries in the region. Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made the comments in response to a question about two US aircraft carriers conducting operations and exercises in South China Sea. US Navy aircraft carriers are conducting exercises in the contested sea within sight of Chinese naval vessels spotted near the flotilla, the commander of one of the carriers, the USS Nimitz, told Reuters on […]
A rocket fired toward Baghdad’s Green Zone, where the US’ and other embassies are based, failed to reach the diplomatic compound and, instead, landed near a house, Iraq’s military said on Sunday. A child was injured. Citing police sources, Reuters reported that a missile defense system protecting the US embassy shot down the rocket, which exploded in mid-air before it could hit the Green Zone. Local media said the rocket fell close to a number of sit-in protesters near the Green Zone, after being intercepted by an American Patriot air-defense battery. Also on Sunday, Iraqi security forces said they thwarted a […]
Travelers to Switzerland from 29 countries will from July 6 have to register with the authorities and go into self-isolation, the government said on Thursday. The move is part of measures to prevent a resurgence of the coronavirus. The list includes the United States, Sweden, Brazil and Russia, which have been designated as countries with a high risk of infection, Reuters reported. Visitors who have spent time in the named countries in the previous 14 days must notify the Swiss authorities immediately on arrival and then go into quarantine for 10 days, according to the government. Source link
Berlin will keep reviewing travel advice for Turkey, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told his Turkish counterpart on Thursday. Any decisions are being coordinated with the EU and based on reliable data on coronavirus infections and the health situation, Maas added. Turkey is disappointed that the EU has excluded it, along with the US and others states, from a list of countries recommended for non-essential travel. Ankara has called on Brussels to correct the “mistake,” Reuters reported. Speaking after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Berlin, Maas said reviews of the situation take place every two weeks. The issue […]
Cuba will begin easing its pandemic lockdown in Havana on Friday, while most of the rest of the country will move to phase two of a three-phase process towards normalization. The capital’s 2.2 million residents will be able to move around on public and private transport, go to the beach and other recreation centers, and enjoy a seaside drive just in time for the summer break. Residents can also dine out and have a drink, although social distancing and wearing masks remain mandatory. Optional medical and other services will also resume. Only a handful of coronavirus cases were reported in Cuba […]
Ankara has taken aim at France for allegedly ignoring violations of an international arms embargo placed on Libya, claiming that illegal activity was being carried out to benefit commander Khalifa Haftar. According to Reuters, Turkey’s ambassador to Paris, Ismail Hakki Musa, said on Wednesday that the United Arab Emirates and Egypt were bypassing the UN blockade – and that “biased” France was doing nothing to stop it. The accusation comes a day after Turkey slammed France’s “dishonest approach” to the crisis in Libya. For its part, Paris has condemned Ankara for turning a blind eye to illegal arms shipments for the […]
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday urged the UN Security Council to extend an arms embargo on Tehran. “Iran will hold a sword of Damocles over the economic stability of the Middle East, endangering nations like Russia and China that rely on stable energy prices,” Pompeo told the virtual session, referencing two opponents of prolonging the embargo. The US is adamant about prolonging the ban on conventional arms sales to its adversary which expires in October and has threatened to use a disputed legal move to force a return of UN sanctions on Iran, AFP said. Iran denies arming […]
Australia will spend A$1.35 billion ($926.1 million) over the next 10 years to boost its cyber security defenses, PM Scott Morrison said on Tuesday. The statement came weeks after Australia said that a “sophisticated state-based actor” has been attacking all levels of the government, political bodies, essential service providers and operators of critical infrastructure. The government’s top priority is “protecting our nation’s economy, national security and sovereignty,” Morrison said in a statement. “Malicious cyber activity undermines that.” The package will include A$470 million to hire an extra 500 security experts in the Australian Signals Directorate, the country’s cyber intelligence agency. Australia […]
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda came top in the first round of the presidential election, the majority of results showed on Monday. He fell short of the overall majority needed to avoid what looks set to be a tight run-off vote on July 12, Reuters reports. Duda, an ally of the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, got 45.73 percent of the vote, according to results based on 82.2 percent of the total number of polling districts. Liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, who is standing for the largest opposition party, the centrist Civic Platform (PO), came second with 28.51, officials say. […]
The Hungarian government is “very concerned” that the coronavirus pandemic will trigger more waves of migrants trying to reach Europe from poorer nations, where the disease will have a greater impact, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Friday. EU leaders are obligated to help citizens who lost jobs due to the pandemic, by stemming “labor-oriented migration” that is “definitely against the interests” of Europe, Szijjarto said. According to the minister, the EU’s migration policies must be scrapped because they “can be understood as an invitation for those who consider coming to Europe illegally.” The EU must wage a strong battle against […]
A Catholic archbishop in Cameroon says he has developed two plant-based remedies for Covid-19 which are given free to those who test positive for the disease. Archbishop Samuel Kleda of Douala diocese, who has practiced herbal medicine for several years, called the products ‘Elixir Covid’ and ‘Adsak Covid.’ Kleda told Reuters that 3,000 patients have been cured with the remedies, adding that he met Cameroon’s PM Dion Ngute at the end of May to present his remedy. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said plant-based therapies touted as possible treatments must be tested for efficacy and side effects. Despite the WHO’s […]
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that the alliance is seeking details on US President Donald Trump’s decision to cut US troops numbers in Germany. Trump has criticized Germany for not spending more on defense, and on Monday confirmed last week’s reports of a cut of 9,500 troops. “It’s not yet decided how and when this decision will be implemented,” Stoltenberg told a video news conference. He had spoken to Trump, as well as other US officials, and was also consulting with German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who said last week she had not been informed of the decision, Reuters […]
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced the next stage of easing coronavirus restrictions in a televised address, two weeks ahead of delayed local elections which do not look promising for his party. The president attempted to lighten the mood of his fellow citizens by telling them France enters the “Green Zone” – a lower state of alert over the epidemic – starting Monday. That means that Paris restaurants in particular can now operate as normal, he said. “The fight against the epidemic is not finished but I am happy about this first victory against the virus,” Macron stated. He also promised […]
Spain’s borders will be unlocked for members of the EU’s Schengen zone on June 21, with Portugal being the only exception to the move, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced during a video conference call with regional leaders as reported by local media. The border with the neighboring Pyrenean country will remain shut until July 1 by the request of the Portuguese premier Antonio Costa. Travelers from other nations will also be allowed in the country without self-quarantining from July 1 onwards, provided there is a reciprocal agreement on travel. Unlike the rest of Spain, the Balearic Islands will start taking in […]
From July 1, foreign tourists will be allowed to visit popular but more remote sites in the areas less hit by the Covid-19 outbreak, the government said. The first destinations to be opened to international travelers will include the southern part of the Sinai Peninsula with the major resorts of Sharm el Sheikh, the Red Sea resorts of Hurghada and Marsa Alam, along with Marsa Matrouh on the Mediterranean coast. Last month, Egypt allowed hotels to start admitting domestic tourists while working at a limited capacity. Antiquities and Tourism Minister Khaled al-Anani told AFP on Wednesday that top tourist attractions such […]
Belgrade wants to keep balancing its ties with the West, China and Russia, as Serbia seeks to join the EU and reach a settlement with Kosovo, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday, ahead of a parliamentary election. Vucic’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party is a frontrunner in a parliamentary election on June 21. He told Reuters that Serbia was ready to talk to the breakaway province Kosovo “without a timeline” and “in good faith,” but that mutual recognition was not on the agenda. “We are ready for talks but… no white flag,” the president said in an interview. “We believe it is […]
A new route has been charted on the map of patrols conducted by Russian and Turkish service personnel in Syria, according to Aleksandr Shcherbitsky, chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria. “For the first time, a joint Russian-Turkish patrol reached the village of Jennakra in Idlib province, with an itinerary of 40 kilometers,” he said. “Two BTR-82A armored personnel carriers and a Tigr armored vehicle took part in the joint patrol from the Russian side,” TASS quoted him as saying. He said that, on Wednesday, the 16th joint Russian-Turkish mission had patrolled the area along […]
Austria is lifting checks at its border with Italy and ending quarantine requirements for arrivals from 30 other European countries as of June 16, the government in Vienna said on Wednesday. The lifting of restrictions will not apply to Britain, Sweden, Spain and Portugal, according to Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg. Austria will continue to advise against travel to Lombardy, Italy’s hardest-hit region, with a partial travel warning, he added. Officials had told Reuters on Tuesday that Austria would lift coronavirus-related restrictions on arrivals from more than 20 European countries, including Italy, from June 16. The details of the decision were ironed […]
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that the West could not ignore the rise of China. Beijing was coming closer to the West in various ways – in the Arctic, in cyberspace and in critical infrastructure, including telecommunications, he told BBC radio. The head of the Western military alliance also said it was important that Britain had a review of the role of Huawei in its 5G network to ensure its security. “I trust that the UK government will design their networks in ways that protect the networks and make sure that the UK has secure 5G networks,” Stoltenberg told […]
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Turkey will not allow Syria’s Idlib it “to become a conflict zone again.” He also accused the Syrian government on Tuesday of “increasing provocations” in the rebel-held areas. The Turkish-Russian ceasefire deal over three months ago halted major fighting in Syria’s northwest region. Syrian government forces have repelled militants’ attack on a settlement in the southern part of the Idlib de-escalation zone, the Russian military said on Monday. Damascus’ SANA news agency reported last week on infighting among Turkey-backed militants over “the looting of agricultural lands after the displacement of their owners” in northwestern […]
Slovakia will allow free travel to and from 16 more European countries from June 10 and no longer require face masks to be worn outside, PM Igor Matovic said on Tuesday. There will be no restrictions on visitors from the countries including Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, the Baltic states, Finland, Norway and Denmark. Last week, Bratislava reopened borders with neighbors Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary. Compulsory quarantine upon arrival from abroad will now be dropped for countries on the safe list, and people will not have to activate “smart quarantine” on their mobile devices, Reuters reported. On Monday, Slovenia opened […]
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has stopped easing coronavirus restrictions in Israel after a sharp increase in new Covid-19 cases. “There is a very sharp rise in illness,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “The first thing we’ve decided to do is put the brakes on it. We’ve stopped all the easings we were going to put in place in the next few days.” Israel could already be facing a doubling of the infection rate within 10 days, Netanyahu warned. He urged the public to keep social distancing, wear face masks and maintain good hygiene. The PM did not detail what planned […]
Kosovo’s parliament elected a new government on Wednesday with Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti promising to reach a deal on normalizing ties with Serbia. The new government of Hoti, of the center-right Democratic League of Kosovo, was supported by 61 deputies in the 120-seat parliament after weeks of legal wrangling, Reuters reports. “We will not allow any change of the borders or exchange of territories,” Hoti told MPs. Serbia does not recognize the independence of its breakaway province. Hoti was deputy PM in the previous government of Albin Kurti, from leftist party Vetevendosje. The cabinet was dismissed in a no confidence vote […]
Berlin will lift a travel ban for EU member states plus Britain, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland from 15 June as long as there are no entry bans or large-scale lockdowns in those countries. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday that all countries concerned met those criteria except Norway due to an entry ban and Spain, where he said parliament was deciding whether to extend an entry ban. The travel warning will be replaced with guidelines, Maas said, adding that Germans would be urged not to travel to Britain when not essential while a 14-day quarantine […]
The German cabinet will on Wednesday discuss a resolution on downgrading the travel warnings currently in force for EU countries and several other associated states into softer guidelines, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said. “We are preparing a resolution for the cabinet tomorrow, which is still being agreed within the government,” Maas told reporters on Tuesday. “This week, we want to start by turning the travel warning we have for the European Union and the associated countries into travel guidelines,” Reuters quoted him as saying. Source link
The Saudi-led coalition shot down two drones launched in the direction of Saudi Arabia by the Houthi group, a coalition spokesman said on Monday. The drones were launched toward the border town of Khamis Mushait, Saudi state news agency SPA said. The coalition, which has been fighting the Houthis in Yemen, accused their forces of targeting civilian facilities and residential areas. The Houthis did not confirm the attacks. The group’s media reported dozens of airstrikes on Sunday by the coalition’s warplanes. The strikes reportedly took place in several provinces including Marib, where fighting has raged over the last three months. Source […]
Skirmishes between Taliban militants and security forces recommenced in Afghanistan in the day since a three-day ceasefire ended. However, the government officials said on Thursday that the incidents were minor and the truce could still hold. The Taliban have remained silent on government appeals for an extension of the ceasefire, which was announced for the Eid al-Fitr holiday that ends the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, Reuters said. “The ceasefire is not over yet,” said Javid Faisal, spokesman for the Afghan national security advisor (NSA). “There have been violations because it is a complicated technical process that requires good coordination […]
Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said on Tuesday he would not take part in talks on normalizing ties with Serbia led by an European Union special mediator. In March, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell appointed Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajcak as special mediator for the breakaway Serbia’s province. Slovakia is one of five EU member countries – along with Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Spain – that decline to recognize Kosovo’s independence. “In front of us we will have two negotiators from the countries that do not recognize Kosovo’s independence,” Thaci said in Pristina, referring to Lajcak and Borrell, a former Spanish foreign minister. Thaci […]
Israel will not miss a “historic opportunity” to extend its sovereignty over parts of the West Bank, PM Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday. At a meeting of legislators of his right-wing Likud party on Monday, Netanyahu set land moves in the West Bank as “perhaps the first in importance in many respects” of the tasks to be undertaken by the government. “We have a historic opportunity, which hasn’t existed since 1948, to apply sovereignty judiciously as a diplomatic… step in Judea and Samaria,” the PM said. “It is a big opportunity and we will not let it pass by.” The statement […]
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that Japan will lift a state of emergency for Tokyo and four remaining areas later in the day. Social distancing curbs were loosened for most of the country on May 14 as new infections fell, but the government has kept Tokyo and four other prefectures under watch. Abe also told reporters that it would still take considerable time to get back to normal life while controlling infection risks. Japan had managed to get the coronavirus infection under control in just one-and-a-half months, in its own way, he said, adding that this showed the strength […]
France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Tuesday EU states which are skeptical about a Franco-German proposal for a €500 billion (US$546 billion) coronavirus recovery fund should back it or risk making it even harder to get out of the crisis. “It’s in the interest of all European countries to sign up for this initiative… if there isn’t this momentum, nobody will be able to get out of it,” Le Drian told LCI television. The plan proposed by Berlin and Paris on Monday would offer non-repayable grants to EU regions and sectors hit hardest by the pandemic, with the cash […]
Opposing sides in Syria’s conflict have agreed to reconvene in Geneva for talks on the constitution, United Nations special envoy Geir Pedersen said on Tuesday. He added that a lull in fighting could provide an opportunity to start healing “deep, deep mistrust” between them. “As soon as the pandemic situation allows, they have agreed to come to Geneva and they have agreed on an agenda for the next meeting,” he told reporters. The envoy did not give a date and said that a virtual meeting of the constitutional committee would not be possible. Pedersen also repeated a message made to the […]
Children in Australia’s most populated state will return to school full-time next week, a major step towards normalizing life amid the coronavirus pandemic. The directive from New South Wales (NSW) Premier Gladys Berejiklian to reopen schools full-time lifts childcare responsibilities for the parents and carers of around 800,000 children in public schools as Australia seeks to stem a surge in unemployment and restart the economy. Teachers Federation President Angelo Gavrielatos said the decision “caused a lot of concern, frustration and anger among teachers and principals.” According to Berejiklian, individual, temporary closures are likely to contain future outbreaks. In neighboring Victoria, the […]
Hungary’s government could end emergency powers obtained to fight the coronavirus pandemic in late June, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff said on Thursday. The move will depend on the evolution of the pandemic, Gergely Gulyas added. The government is considering an easing of restrictions in Budapest from next week due to a decline in infections, the official told an online press briefing. The easing measures, which Gulyas did not specify, would take effect from Monday after discussions with the mayor of Budapest. Hotels outside the capital would be allowed to reopen from next week, Reuters quoted him as saying. […]
Iceland expects to start easing restrictions for visitors arriving from overseas no later than June 15, the government said on Tuesday. Under a plan still being developed by the authorities, travelers would be given a choice between a test for Covid-19 upon arrival in Iceland or a two-week quarantine, Reuters reported. “Iceland’s strategy of large-scale testing, tracing and isolating have proven effective so far,” Tourism Minister Thordis Kolbrun Reykfjord Gylfadottir said in a statement. Iceland has reported three new Covid-19 infections in May. Source link
French Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Tuesday that parks and gardens would remain closed in Paris and the greater Paris region to limit the risk of a second wave of coronavirus infections. France is gradually easing a nationwide lockdown, and Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo asked on Twitter for the re-opening of the French capital’s parks, closed since March 17, provided people wear face masks. Veran was speaking after crowds of Parisians gathered on the banks of the trendy Saint-Martin canal and the Seine river on Monday to celebrate the easing of the lockdown. Police had to disperse the crowds and […]
Denmark is “very unlikely” to be hit by a second wave of coronavirus, the country’s chief epidemiologist said on Tuesday. Kare Molbak made the statement after the government laid out plans for increased testing and a contact tracing system. The Nordic country, which has 533 coronavirus-related deaths, was the first in Europe to relax its coronavirus lockdown almost a month ago. The infection rate and the number of deaths have continued to drop. Denmark this week began a second phase of relaxing its lockdown which will include reopening of restaurants and shopping malls. “No country has seen an actual second wave […]
The Swiss government will further ease curbs on migration from Europe while considering opening borders with neighbors, the government said on Friday. As migration resumes, initial steps will include processing a backlog of applications from people seeking work in Switzerland. For Swiss citizens as well as for those from the European Union, family reunification in Switzerland should also be possible again, Reuters reports. “The controls at the border will continue,” the government said. “Border crossings will be opened in consultation with the domestic and foreign partner authorities.” Bern also said it would test this month a voluntary contact tracing app for […]