(Refiles to clarify wording in second paragraph to make clear compulsory testing will be replaced by random testing) By Steve Scherer OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada will ease entry for fully vaccinated international travelers starting on Feb. 28 as COVID-19 cases decline, allowing a rapid antigen test for travelers instead of a molecular one, officials said on …
Canada to ease travel requirements as COVID cases decline Read More »
ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday turned down a request to hold a national referendum on the right to die after proponents of the move collected over a million signatures in support. Italian right-to-die advocates seek to partly abrogate sanctions imposed on those who assist in the suicide of patients who have incurable …
Italy’s Constitutional Court blocks right-to-die referendum Read More »
By Anton Zverev and Tom Balmforth MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia’s lower house of parliament voted on Tuesday to ask President Vladimir Putin to recognise two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent and the European Union told Moscow not to follow through. The move by the State Duma, if approved, could further inflame a wider …
Russia’s parliament asks Putin to recognise breakaway east Ukrainian regions Read More »
By Alun John (Reuters) – Bristling tensions and looming laws in Europe could offer clues to two questions: Can bitcoin be a safe-haven asset? And can Russia emerge as a crypto superpower? The answer to the first, for now at least, is no; while fortress gold has risen 2.3% over the past week, as Western …
CRYPTOVERSE-Bitcoin runs into Russian rules and regiments Read More »
(Reuters) -Novak Djokovic is prepared to miss the French Open and Wimbledon if COVID-19 vaccination becomes mandatory at the Grand Slams but he is not against inoculation, the world number one tennis player said. Djokovic, who is unvaccinated, was barred from competing in this year’s Australian Open, depriving the 34-year-old Serbian of the chance to …
Tennis-Djokovic prepared to miss Grand Slams if COVID jab made mandatory Read More »
(Reuters) – A new wave of infections from the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is moving towards the east of Europe, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, urging authorities to improve vaccination and other measures. Over the past two weeks, cases of COVID-19 have more than doubled in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Russia and …
Omicron threat remains high in east Europe – WHO Read More »
By Iain Axon, Karolos Grohmann and Joseph Campbell BEIJING (Reuters) -Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has argued that her positive drug test was caused by a mix-up with her grandfather’s heart medication, an Olympic official said on Tuesday. The 15-year-old’s defence was revealed as Beijing braced for an unprecedented Olympic moment – the world’s top …
Olympics-Valieva argued positive test was mix-up with grandfather’s heart drug – IOC Read More »
By Dan Williams MANAMA (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett arrived in Bahrain’s capital Manama on Monday in the highest-level visit since the countries established relations under a 2020 U.S.-sponsored deal based in part on shared worries about Iran. Bennett will meet with Bahraini Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, his office …
Israeli prime minister lands in Bahrain in first visit Read More »
By Steve Scherer, David Ljunggren and Nichola Saminather OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday activated rarely used emergency powers in an effort to end protests that have shut some U.S. border crossings and paralyzed parts of the capital. Under the Emergencies Act, the government introduced measures intended to cut off protesters’ funding …
Canada’s Trudeau invokes emergency powers in bid to end protests Read More »
By Darya Korsunskaya and Natalia Zinets MOSCOW/KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday called on the country’s people to fly flags and sing the national anthem in unison on Feb. 16, a date that some Western media say Russian could invade. Ukrainian government officials stressed that Zelenskiy was not predicting an attack on Wednesday, …
