By Humeyra Pamuk and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) – European capitals celebrated a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June, as President Joe Biden’s top diplomat cracked jokes in French in Paris, posed for selfies with French youth and spoke at length about revitalizing the transatlantic relationship. It was a breath of […]
By Philip Pullella and Robert Muller BRATISLAVA (Reuters) – Pope Francis warned against too much focus on individual rights and culture wars at the expense of the common good on Monday during a visit to Slovakia amid increased nationalism and anti-immigrant sentiment across eastern Europe. The 84-year-old Francis is making his first trip since undergoing […]
By Ali Kucukgocmen VAN, Turkey (Reuters) – Afghans who manage to make the weeks-long journey through Iran on foot to the Turkish border face a three-metre high wall, ditches or barbed wire as Turkish authorities step up efforts to block any refugee influx into the country. The beefed up border measures in Turkey, which already […]
Afghans gather on a roadside near the military part of the airport in Kabul on August 20, 2021, hoping to flee from the country after the Taliban’s military takeover Kabul (AFP) – Tens of thousands of Afghans were racing Sunday to flee their country as the United States warned of security threats at Kabul’s chaotic […]
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Companies may ban Muslim employees from wearing a headscarf under certain conditions, the European Union’s top court said on Thursday, in two cases brought by Muslim women in Germany who were suspended from their jobs after they started wearing the Islamic garment. “A prohibition on wearing any visible form of expression of […]
By David Lawder BRUSSELS (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged European Union countries on Monday to sign on to a global deal to revamp corporate taxation, keep fiscal support through 2022 and consider more spending in the face of COVID-19 uncertainty. “We need sustainable sources of revenue that do not rely on further taxing […]
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain has yet to receive a formal response from the European Union over its proposal to further extend a grace period on checks on some foodstuffs moving to Northern Ireland just days before the latest deadline, a minister said on Sunday. “We think we have put forward a sensible proposal, something actually […]
Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin face off Wednesday at a tense Geneva summit, where ghosts of the Cold War will hover over modern-day US concerns about Russian cyberattacks and what the White House sees as a dangerous authoritarian drift. The setting — a sumptuous villa overlooking Lake Geneva — may be picturesque, but a gruelling […]
BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s mission to the European Union urged NATO on Tuesday to stop exaggerating the “China threat theory” after the group’s leaders warned that the country presented “systemic challenges”. NATO leaders on Monday had taken a forceful stance towards Beijing in a communique at United States President Joe Biden’s first summit with the alliance. […]
G7 Summit in England – UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson (C) holds a bilateral meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Cornwall, which is held from 11 to 13 June. – Peter Nicholls/PA Wire/dpa Top EU officials and French President […]
G7 Summit in England – UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson (R) receives French President Emmanuel Macron for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Cornwall, which held from 11 to 13 June. – Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/dpa French President Emmanuel Macron called on London to stand by its promises to Europe and respect […]
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed US President Joe Biden as “a big breath of fresh air” on Thursday because he wanted to work with London on a huge range of issues ranging from climate change to COVID-19 to security. “It’s a big breath of fresh air,” Johnson said of the talks with Biden. “It’s […]
Elton John on Thursday warned of a lost generation in the UK’s music industry because of post-Brexit curbs on touring in the European Union. John was among musicians including Ed Sheeran and Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters who signed a letter in January criticising the Brexit deal. “Put bluntly, we are currently in grave danger of […]
Joe Biden and Boris Johnson will hold their first face-to-face meeting Thursday, during which they will lay the foundations for a new pact, despite Brexit and its consequences in Northern Ireland casting a shadow on the old “special relationship”. Biden — on his first overseas tour as US president — and the British Prime Minister […]
By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden departs for Britain on Wednesday on his first trip abroad since taking office, an eight-day mission to rebuild trans-Atlantic ties strained during the Trump era and to reframe relations with Russia. The trip represents a test of the Democratic president’s ability to manage and repair […]
US President Joe Biden said Wednesday he is “looking” at possible retaliation after the White House linked Russia to a cyberattack against global meat processing giant JBS. Asked by a reporter if he would take action against President Vladimir Putin, whom he will meet for a summit in Geneva later this month, Biden said: “We’re […]
To preserve its stranglehold over global vaccine production, the pharmaceutical industry’s army of lobbyists is waging an aggressive campaign to prevent European nations from supporting a temporary patent waiver backed by more than 100 nations around the world and recently endorsed by the United States. Though flimsy European Union transparency rules have allowed Big Pharma […]
US President Joe Biden’s administration announced Friday it will not return to the Open Skies Treaty, which Donald Trump withdrew from, signaling a toughening stance against Russia. The post-Cold War treaty was meant to foster trust by allowing the two powers and their allies to monitor one another’s airspace, but Trump left the pact in […]
Syria’s Bashar al-Assad said Western criticism of Wednesday’s presidential election has “zero value” as he cast his ballot in a Damascus suburb. Commenting on US and EU criticism branding the vote “neither free nor fair,” Assad said: “Your opinions have zero value”, an AFP journalist reported. Voting is being held only in government-controlled areas and […]
US President Joe Biden and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will hold their first summit next month in Geneva, both sides said Tuesday, setting the stage for a new chapter in their fraught relationship. The meeting in the Swiss city will be on June 16, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. “The leaders will discuss […]
By Matthias Williams and Andrius Sytas KYIV/VILNIUS (Reuters) – Airlines shunned Belarus’s air space on Tuesday and Belarusian planes could soon be banned from Europe, potentially isolating the land-locked country apart from its border with Russia after it forced down a jetliner and arrested a dissident journalist. A video released overnight showed 26-year-old Roman Protasevich […]
At the beginning of the 19th century, aristocratic networks connected to the monarchy and the Tory party had effectively “captured” the institutions of the state and exploited them for their own advantage. Britain was blighted by people in official positions without duties, embezzlement of public funds, jobs for family, clients and friends, rampant over-manning and […]
Air France-KLM flew a biofuel-powered Airbus A350 from Paris to Montreal on Tuesday, demonstrating the airline’s readiness to adopt low-emissions fuel despite deep industry divisions over the pace of its adoption. Air France flight 342 took off from Charles de Gaulle airport with a 16% mix of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in its fuel tanks, […]
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday attacked a US proposal to hold a “Summit for Democracy,” saying such a gathering would only deepen fissures on the international stage. Speaking in a UN ministerial session organized by his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, the veteran Russian diplomat said that developing multilateralism should “be done on a […]
By Guy Faulconbridge LONDON (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced more allegations on Sunday about his expenditure on the refurbishment of his apartment and on childcare for his young son, which his foreign minister dismissed as baseless gossip. Johnson has repeatedly weathered gaffes, crises over Brexit and disclosures of his adultery, but the revelation […]
By David Lawder and Rajesh Kumar Singh WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Reuters) – The Biden administration faces a major dilemma in its dispute with the European Union over Trump-era steel and aluminum tariffs: back down to avoid acute pain for Harley-Davidson Inc and whiskey distillers or stick with the duties even though they are now exacerbating acute shortages […]
European Parliament ratifies Brexit trade deal – President of the European Parliament David Sassoli announces the results of the voting on the Brexit trade deal between the European Union and Britain, during a plenary session of the European Parliament. Out of the 697 EU lawmakers who cast their vote, 660 were in favour, five were […]
Bye, London: The young Scots who want independence from Britain – Supporters of Scottish independence take part in a demonstration in Edinburgh in 2018. The governing Scottish National Party has promised a referendum if it wins a majority in upcoming elections. – Jane Barlow/PA Wire/dpa Michael Gray wants out. As soon as possible. The 29-year-old […]
ExxonMobil’s strategy in the face of climate change poses an New York (AFP) – ExxonMobil’s strategy in the face of climate change poses an “existential business risk” to the company, according to an activist hedge fund that is a shareholder in the oil giant, a report in the Financial Times said Sunday. The company, which […]
TOKYO (Reuters) – A group of journalists in Japan called on Myanmar’s junta on Tuesday to free a colleague, Yuki Kitazumi, detained in Yangon following a crackdown on media amid ongoing protests against the military overthrow of an elected government. “We want the junta to stop oppressing the citizens of Myanmar, and we seek the […]