Month: June 2021

Djokovic Wins French Open, Clinching 19th Grand Slam

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic defeated Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas Sunday in the French Open final, clinching his 19th Grand Slam win 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.   “I want to thank my team, my box, my family, my coach,” Djokovic said after his win, acknowledging that while the game was “physically and mentally very difficult” he knew he was capable of the win.   The five-set match lasted four hours and 11 minutes, as the 34-year-old Djokovic made a comeback from losing the first two sets, in what he called an “electric ambiance” after the match.   Sunday marked the …

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G-7 Communique Wide-Ranging, But Critics Find Shortcomings   

U.S. President Joe Biden has declared that the G-7 summit was an “extraordinarily collaborative and productive meeting” that made progress on fighting the coronavirus pandemic, reviving the global economy and calling out China by name for its bad behavior. Speaking to reporters Sunday at the end of the gathering in Carbis Bay, England, Biden also praised agreements on tackling corruption, fighting ransomware and ending public finance for coal projects (but with no timeline agreement).    U.S. President Joe Biden holds a news conference at the end of the G-7 summit, at Cornwall Airport Newquay, Britain, June 13, 2021.Leaders of the G-7 on Sunday signed the FILE …

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Britain Expected to Delay Lifting COVID-related Restrictions 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce the delay of the easing of COVID-19-related restrictions due to the growing presence in the U.K. of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, first identified in India. A prominent British epidemiologist told the BBC that she supports the delay. Sian Griffiths said, “From a public health point of view, we’re seeing the cases increase, we’re seeing a slight increase in hospitalization in areas where there are a lot of cases, and the vaccination does work, but we need to get second doses into everybody over 50 and expand the vaccination program to …

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Britain’s Raab Says EU Should Stop Treating N. Ireland as ‘Separate Country’  

British foreign minister Dominic Raab criticized the European Union on Sunday for treating Northern Ireland as if it were a separate country rather than part of the United Kingdom, and said that approach was causing damage to the British province.”Various EU figures here in Carbis Bay, but frankly for months now and years, have characterized Northern Ireland as somehow a separate country and that is wrong. It is a failure to understand the facts,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr program.Raab made his comments amid a dispute between Britain and the European Union over the interpretation of the Northern Ireland …

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Spain’s Right Rallies Against Plan to Pardon Catalan Separatists

Right-wing protesters hit the streets of Madrid on Sunday to denounce controversial Spanish government plans to offer pardons to the jailed Catalan separatists behind the failed 2017 independence bid.The mass protest, which is scheduled to start at midday (1000 GMT), will up pressure on Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez who has called for understanding over the planned gesture that has dominated political debate for weeks and reactivated the controversy over Catalan separatism.”I understand there may be people who could have objections over this decision that the government may take, given what happened in 2017,” he said on Wednesday during an official …

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Biden to Reassure Allies of US Commitment to NATO Mutual Defense Clause

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is set to discuss revising its strategic concept when its leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, gather Monday in Brussels.NATO last updated the document outlining its purpose in 2010. The security threats and challenges it faces have changed since then, according to the organization’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg.“For instance, in the current strategic concept, China is not mentioned with a single word. And climate change is hardly mentioned at all. And of course, our relationship with Russia was at a very different place at that time compared to where we are today,” Stoltenberg told reporters …

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EU Talks Up Hope of Breakthrough at Iran Nuclear Meetings 

European Union negotiators said international talks that resumed Saturday on the Iran nuclear agreement were on track to revive the deal, which crumbled after the United States withdrew in 2018.Senior diplomats from China, Germany, France, Russia and Britain concluded a 90-minute meeting with Iranian representatives at a hotel in the Austrian capital.”We are making progress, but the negotiations are intense and a number of issues [remain], including on how steps are to be implemented,” EU representative Alain Matton told reporters in Vienna.The United States is not formally part of meetings that launched in Vienna this year. But the administration of …

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4 Afghans Get 10-Year Jail Terms for Greek Migrant Camp Fire

A Greek court on Saturday sentenced four Afghan asylum-seekers convicted of starting fires that burnt down Europe’s largest migrant camp last year to 10 years in prison each.The court in Chios found the defendants guilty of arson while their lawyers denounced a “lack of sense of fairness.”No one died in the fires.The lawyers told AFP they had immediately filed for an appeal after the sentence was handed down.The young Afghans were taken to the court handcuffed and were expected to return to the Avlona jail outside Athens, where they were held before the trial.In March, two other Afghan youths were …

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Denmark’s Eriksen Taken to Hospital After Collapsing at Euro 2020

Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen was taken to a hospital Saturday after collapsing on the field during a match at the European Championship, leading to the game being suspended for more than 90 minutes. The governing body of European soccer said Eriksen has been stabilized and the Danish soccer federation said he was awake. “Christian Eriksen is awake and is undergoing further examinations at Rigshospitalet,” the Danish federation wrote on Twitter. The Euro 2020 match between Denmark and Finland had been halted in the 43rd minute with the score 0-0 but was to resume at 8:30 p.m. local time. UEFA said both teams had held …

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G-7 Leaders Vow No Pandemic Repeat 

Leaders of the G-7 are set to sign the FILE – A health worker holds a tray with vials of the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 during a priority vaccination program at a community medical center in Sao Paulo, Brazil, May 6, 2021.The recommendations include acceleration of the development and licensing of vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for any future disease to under 100 days; a commitment to reinforce global surveillance networks and genomic sequencing capacity; and support for reforming and strengthening the World Health Organization.Some observers responded with skepticism.“Often the G-7, the problem with it is they announced many grand declarations. …

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Taliban Rejects Foreign Military Role in Guarding Kabul Airport After Troop Exit

The Taliban warned Saturday that it would be “unacceptable” to them and a “mistake” on the part of any nation to retain a military presence in Afghanistan to guard airports or other installations after the departure of U.S.-led NATO troops from the warn-torn country.   The insurgent group’s warning raises questions for Washington, other world countries, and aid groups with missions in Kabul about how to safely evacuate their personnel from the landlocked South Asian nation should fighting intensify and engulf the Afghan capital once all international forces withdraw by a September 11 deadline.     Turkey, with about 500 …

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Biden, Putin to Meet for First Time in Geneva

U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for the first time in Geneva Wednesday amid deteriorating relations between the world powers.The meeting takes place in the final hours of Biden’s first trip abroad as president that also has him attending the 47th G7 summit in the English city of Cornwall.In an interview with NBC News, portions of which aired Friday, Putin said U.S.-Russia ties had deteriorated to their “lowest point in recent years.”The White House said Saturday only Biden would speak to the media after the meeting, denying the media and other observers the chance to compare …

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