A number of major French cities will eschew their normal practice of setting up fan zones showing the World Cup soccer tournament in Qatar next month, in protest against the Gulf country’s human rights record, Euronews reported. Cities such as Paris, Marseille and Lyon have opted...
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The Danish government has been brought to the brink by minks, two years after a scandal that saw millions of the small animals killed over Covid-19 contamination fears, the Local Denmark reported Wednesday. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the country will hold early elections on Nov....
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The Colombian government and the country’s largest remaining guerrilla group are planning to restart peace talks, four years after the initial negotiations were suspended amid disagreements between the two parties, the Associated Press reported. After meeting in Venezuela’s capital this week, delegates of the Colombian government...
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Switzerland’s highest court ordered German supermarket chain Lidl to destroy its chocolate bunnies after the retailer lost a copyright lawsuit brought by Swiss chocolate maker Lindt, Business Insider reported this week. The case is connected to Lindt’s well-known chocolate rabbits – the company has held a...
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The European Parliament approved new rules Tuesday that will introduce a common charger for small electronic devices in the European Union, a move proponents say will reduce waste in the bloc, Politico reported. Under the new bill, USB type-C charging ports will become standard for portable...
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A US federal court rejected the Mexican government’s $10 billion lawsuit against US-based gun manufacturers, which accused the companies of facilitating the trafficking of weapons across the US-Mexico border to drug cartels, Reuters reported. Last year, the Mexican government sued a number of gunmakers, including Smith...
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Guinea recently began a historic trial of the country’s former president and 10 of his top officials for a 2009 stadium massacre in the capital Conakry, that saw government troops killing protesters and raping women, the Washington Post reported. On Sept. 28, 2009, thousands gathered at...
Read full story →Former leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured a narrow lead in Brazil’s presidential elections Sunday but failed to win enough votes to avoid a runoff against far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, NPR reported. With the majority of the votes counted, da Silva had won 48.4...
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Chad approved new resolutions this week that would delay democratic elections by two years and extend the term of interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby, Reuters reported. Since April 2021, Chad has been ruled by a military junta led by Deby, who came to power following the...
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Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled this week that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha can remain in office, after previously suspending him as it considered whether the former military leader had exceeded his term limit, the Guardian reported. In August, opposition parties petitioned the high court, saying that Prayuth...
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Burkinabe army officers launched a coup against the country’s military junta over the weekend, a move that could further destabilize the security situation in the West African country amid an ongoing jihadist insurgency, the Associated Press reported. On Friday, a group of soldiers appeared on state...
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Venezuela freed seven US citizens imprisoned in the country over the weekend, a move that underscores recent efforts by the Biden administration to mend ties with the oil-rich South American nation, CBS News reported. The release was part of a prisoner swap that saw two nephews...
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Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins’ ruling party secured a decisive victory in Latvia’s weekend elections, even as voters punished a party favored by ethnic Russians, Bloomberg reported. Preliminary results showed that Karins’ New Unity party won nearly 19 percent of the vote, while the opposition Union...
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The trial of one of the masterminds and financiers of the 1994 Rwandan genocide began Thursday in the Netherlands, more than 28 years after the conflict that killed around 800,000 in the African nation, Radio France Internationale reported. Félicien Kabuga, one of the last remaining fugitives...
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A senior US official was elected with an overwhelming majority to head the United Nations body that establishes international standards for telecoms and tech infrastructure, Politico reported Thursday. US candidate Doreen Bogdan-Martin became the first female secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union after nearly 140 countries...
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Recent fighting in Papua New Guinea has forced about 90,000 people from the country’s highlands, with the violence linked to the national elections in July, the Guardian reported. Since May, violence has gripped the provinces of Enga, Southern Highlands and Hela, affecting thousands of people. The...
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The special prosecutor investigating the 2014 kidnapping and disappearance of 43 students in southern Mexico resigned this week, a move that raised concerns among the students’ families about the lagging pace of the long-running probe, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced...
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The Indian government banned a prominent local Islamic organization Wednesday, accusing it of being a threat to the country’s security, a move that comes amid rising communal tensions in the world’s second most populous nation, Voice of America reported. The ban targets the Popular Front...
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Saudi Arabian King Salman appointed his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as the kingdom’s prime minister, a move that formalizes the young royal’s role as the country’s de facto ruler, Al Jazeera reported. No explanation was provided for the crown prince’s appointment, even though the...
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Russian President Vladimir Putin granted Russian citizenship to Edward Snowden this week, nearly 10 years after the American whistleblower publicly disclosed classified information on US intelligence and mass surveillance programs, CNN reported. The former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor has been living in exile in Russia...
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