Ukrainian president: ‘I wanted to get coronavirus’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy claimed he seriously considered intentionally infecting himself with the coronavirus to show people that “it’s not the plague.” “I wanted to go through this...
View ArticleUK economy contracts record 20 percent in April
The U.K.’s GDP fell 20.4 percent in April, its worst-ever monthly fall, after the country went into lockdown in response to the coronavirus crisis. The record April fall followed a 5.8 percent...
View ArticlePutin wins right to extend his rule until 2036 in landslide vote
Surprise! Putin won. Russians voted by a landslide to pass constitutional changes that will allow Vladimir Putin to run for president twice more, potentially extending his rule until 2036. According to...
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How Australia found clout — and cover — in the EU’s shadow
SYDNEY — Caught between an erratic Donald Trump and a fast-spiraling diplomatic crisis with Beijing, Canberra turned to the EU for cover. In the lead-up to the World Health Organization’s World Health...
View ArticleAustralia reveals how it will make Google and Facebook pay for news
SYDNEY — Australia is set to force Google and Facebook to pay media companies for their news content, under draft legislation released Friday. The News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining...
View ArticleBeirut blast death toll rises to at least 78, thousands injured
Scores were killed and thousands injured by a massive blast in port warehouses that were storing highly explosive material in Beirut on Tuesday. “It is unacceptable that a shipment of 2,750 tons of...
View ArticleUK employment sees steepest fall since 2009
The number of people employed in the U.K. fell by 220,000 in the three months to June, the steepest quarterly decline since May to July 2009, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Tuesday....
View ArticleEngland adds France, Netherlands, Malta to quarantine list
People traveling to England from France, the Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Aruba will have to self-isolate for two weeks starting 4 a.m. Saturday, the British government...
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Who is Tony Abbott, the Australian tipped to be Brexit Britain’s new trade...
SYDNEY — One nation’s “Mad Monk” is another’s trade champion. Boris Johnson is rumored to have appointed former Aussie Prime Minister Tony Abbott to help drum up trade deals for Britain as an adviser...
View ArticleFacebook threatens to bar Australians from sharing news over proposed law
SYDNEY — Facebook has threatened to entirely block Australians from sharing any local and international news on its platforms if Canberra’s proposal to force it to share revenue with local media...
View ArticleUK denies it’s planning to rip up Brexit Withdrawal Agreement
The U.K. is “committed to implementing” the Northern Ireland protocol in the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, Environment Secretary George Eustice said Monday. Responding to a Financial Times report that...
View ArticleBoris Johnson: UK wants to rewrite Brexit Withdrawal Agreement to stop EU...
The U.K. wants to rewrite elements of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement to prevent the EU from being “abusive” to Britain, the country’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. “We assumed our EU friends and...
View ArticleDonald Trump tests positive for coronavirus
U.S. President Donald Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus, he confirmed in a tweet, with just 32 days until the U.S. election. “Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19,” Trump...
View ArticleEU’s top diplomat Borrell, crisis boss Lenarčič to self-isolate
EU High Representative Josep Borrell and Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič have become the latest members of the European Commission to self-isolate following contact with someone who...
View ArticleBiden: Guarded Irish border ‘just not right’
A border dividing Ireland and Northern Ireland “is just not right,” U.S. President-elect Joe Biden said. “We do not want a guarded border,” Biden told reporters on Tuesday. “We want to make sure —...
View ArticleUS lawmakers call on UK to probe 1989 Finucane murder
U.S. lawmakers called on the U.K. to establish an independent inquiry into the 1989 murder of human rights lawyer Patrick Finucane, in a letter sent to Prime Minister Boris Johnson. “The British...
View ArticleEU must invest in autonomy from US and China, says chief diplomat
The European Union will have to spend more on defense and technology to achieve autonomy, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. “If you intend to be autonomous, you have to pay your own...
View ArticleEU-AU meeting postponed over ‘agenda issues’
A videoconference between EU and African Union leaders scheduled for Wednesday was postponed indefinitely just a day before it was due to occur. A letter dated Tuesday and sent by the African Union...
View ArticleUK regulator approves Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine
The United Kingdom on Wednesday became the first country in the world to approve the coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and drugmaker AstraZeneca. The government said in its...
View ArticleAustralia offers Europe a warning on a trade deal with China
SYDNEY — The EU and China have struck their long-awaited investment deal — but what is Beijing’s signature worth when it comes to trade pacts, and what does it cost? Australia, which has descended...
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