UTRECHT, Netherlands (Reuters) -Several thousand people gathered in the central Dutch town of Utrecht on Saturday to protest against new coronavirus restrictions that came into force last weekend. Protesters walked through the streets of the town carrying banners saying “Medical Freedom Now!” and waving Dutch flags. A heavy police presence was visible along the route …
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PARIS (Reuters) – Valerie Pecresse, who has described herself as “one-third Thatcher, two-thirds Merkel”, has won the French conservative Les Republicains (LR) ticket for the 2022 presidential election and will now aim to thwart Emmanuel Macron’s re-election bid. Opinion polls have so far shown the 54-year-old head of the Paris Ile-de-France region winning about 11% …
Pecresse wins French conservative ticket for presidential election Read More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Members of Germany’s Social Democratic party (SPD), which narrowly won a federal election in September, voted on Saturday to back a coalition agreement with the Greens and Free Democrats that should allow the three-way alliance to take over next week. The coalition, the first at federal level between the ideologically disparate Greens, …
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BERLIN (Reuters) – Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans on Saturday to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to help turn the tide on a fourth wave of cases that she said had become “dramatic” in parts of the country. “We are in a very serious situation. In some parts of the country you can only describe …
Merkel makes farewell plea for Germans to get vaccinated Read More »
By Philip Pullella and Karolina Tagaris ATHENS (Reuters) -Pope Francis appealed on Saturday for a return to “good politics”, saying democracy has deteriorated dangerously as discontented people are lured by the “siren songs” of populist politicians who promise easy but unrealistic solutions. The pope arrived from Cyprus in Athens, often seen as the birthplace of …
Citing ancient Greeks, Pope Francis laments threats to democracy today Read More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia has dismissed new U.S. media reports about a possible Russian attack on Ukraine, accusing Washington of trying to aggravate the situation while blaming Moscow, the Kommersant newspaper said on Saturday, citing the Foreign Ministry. The Washington Post cited officials and an intelligence document on Saturday as saying U.S. intelligence thought Russia …
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THE HAGUE (Reuters) – Dutch health authorities said on Saturday the final tally of passengers on two flights from South Africa last week who had tested positive for the Omicron coronavirus variant was 18. The Netherlands’ Institute for Health (RIVM) added in a statement that its investigation on passengers on the two flights has now …
Dutch authorities say 18 passengers from South Africa had Omicron Read More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donors to the World Bank-administered Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) have agreed to decide about a transfer of funds to humanitarian aid agencies by Dec. 10, a World Bank spokesperson said on Friday. The World Bank’s board this week backed transferring $280 million from the $1.5 billion trust fund, which was frozen …
Donors eye Dec. 10 decision on shifting frozen funds for Afghanistan Read More »
By Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday he is developing comprehensive initiatives to make it difficult for Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine and that he would not accept Moscow’s “red lines,” as fears mounted that the simmering conflict could erupt into war. A video teleconference between the two …
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By Joseph Ax and Brad Brooks (Reuters) – Authorities searched for the parents of a Michigan teenager accused of murdering four fellow high school students, after they were charged with involuntary manslaughter on Friday for buying their son the weapon as a Christmas gift and ignoring warning signs as late as the day of the …
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