Month: December 2021

Austria’s ruling party on Friday named Interior Minister Karl Nehammer to lead the conservative camp and the country after the shock resignation of former chancellor Sebastian Kurz as party head caused fresh political upheaval. “I wanted to announce that today I was unanimously appointed by the OeVP (People’s Party) leadership as party head and at the same time as the chancellor candidate,” Nehammer told reporters. The meeting of the party’s top brass came a day after Kurz, implicated in a corruption scandal, said he was quitting as party boss. Alexander Schallenberg, who took over as chancellor in October, said on …

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A Serbian court Thursday jailed four former intelligence officers for up to 30 years over the brutal 1999 murder of journalist Slavko Curuvija, a fierce critic of late strongman Slobodan Milosevic. The special court sentenced Serbia’s former secret police chief, Radomir Markovic, and the head of Belgrade’s intelligence branch, Milan Radonjic, to 30 years in prison, the Beta news agency said. Two other intelligence officers, Ratko Romic and Miroslav Kurak, were each given 20 years in prison. Kurak was sentenced in absentia. According to Serbian media outlet Cenzolovka, the group was convicted of premeditated murder “for the purpose of protecting …

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with both the Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers in Stockholm on Thursday, amid concerns over troops amassed at their common border. Blinken stressed America’s strong commitment to Ukraine’s territorial integrity and called on both sides to seek a diplomatic solution, as VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports. …

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The tale of two South Sudanese brothers recently rescued in the Mediterranean Sea is a common one among the many African migrants seeking better lives in Europe. The two men left Libya on a flimsy boat, but the engine broke down and they were eventually picked up by the Ocean Viking rescue ship. Reporter Ruud Elmendorp was on board the rescue vessel and has their story.  Producer: Rob Raffaele. Camera: Ruud Elmendorp. …

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The European Union this week launched a $340 billion “Global Gateway” fund to boost global infrastructure, which analysts say is aimed at rivaling China’s Belt and Road Initiative. But can it compete with Beijing’s billions?  The EU says its Global Gateway will finance high-quality digital, climate, and energy and transport infrastructure, including fiber-optic cables, road and rail, and renewable power, primarily in developing nations.  Green transition “It will invest around the world to support our priorities — that is, the green and digital transition,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a press conference on Wednesday. “Think, for example, …

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Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her likely successor, current Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, Thursday announced new restrictions on the nation’s unvaccinated in an effort to fight the surge in new COVID-19 infections. Merkel and Scholz told reporters in Berlin that under the new rules, the unvaccinated will be excluded from nonessential stores and cultural and recreational venues. They made the announcement following a meeting with the governors of Germany’s 16 states. Merkel said parliament will also consider imposing a general coronavirus vaccine mandate as part of the country faces a fourth wave of infections. Germany’s Robert Koch Institute for …

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The Duchess of Sussex on Thursday won the latest stage in her long-running privacy lawsuit against a British newspaper publisher over its publication of parts of a letter she wrote to her estranged father. The Court of Appeal in London upheld a High Court ruling that the publisher of The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline website unlawfully breached the former Meghan Markle’s privacy by reproducing a large chunk of the handwritten letter she sent her father, Thomas Markle, after she married Prince Harry in 2018. Associated Newspapers challenged the decision at the Court of Appeal, which held a hearing last …

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A top U.S. defense official says Washington will not be alone if it needs to take action in response to Russia’s massive troop buildup along its border with Ukraine.  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in Seoul for meetings with South Korean officials, said Thursday that while he would not speculate on how Washington will respond to Russia’s provocations against Ukraine, Moscow should know the U.S. will not be alone.  “Whatever we do will be done as a part of an international community,” Austin said during a news conference with his South Korean counterpart, further calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to …

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