British lawmakers from the ruling Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission are saying the Chinese Communist Party has intensified an assault on all human rights throughout China — and that those interacting with the regime should do so in the knowledge that they are interacting with “a criminal state.” Henry Ridgwell reports from London.Camera: Henry RidgwellRead more

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday he hoped positive steps will be taken on Turkey’s role in the F-35 jet program once U.S. President-elect Joe Biden takes office, describing Ankara’s exclusion for purchasing Russian defenses as a “serious wrong.”Last month, Washington imposed long-anticipated sanctions on Turkey’s defense industry over its acquisition of S-400 missileRead more

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Friday that travel corridors into the nation would be closed to fight the spread of COVID-19.At a news briefing at his residence, Johnson said that effective Monday at 4 a.m. Britain time, all travelers into the country must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hoursRead more

The recent arrest by Turkish authorities of an alleged Iranian spy ring is seen as a sign of increasing rivalry between the two neighbors.  The arrest comes as Turkey seeks to expand its influence in the Caucasus, an area considered by Tehran as its backyard. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.  …Read more

Police in Belgium made 116 arrests after a demonstration in Brussels over the death of a young Black man who collapsed while in police custody turned violent. Police said most of violence took place after a largely peaceful demonstration Wednesday of about 500 protesters — some holding Black Lives Matter signs — ended in downtownRead more

Ireland’s prime minister apologized Wednesday after a commission of inquiry released its final report on the harm done to unmarried women and their children in church-run homes in the 20th century.Micheal Martin’s formal state apology followed the release of the final report of a probe into the deaths of 9,000 children in 18 mother-and-baby homesRead more

Dutch authorities began a mass testing program Wednesday in a coastal town after 30 cases of the new, more easily transmissible strain of COVID-19 was discovered at a grade school. Authorities set up a testing center in a sports hall in Bergschenhoek, part of the municipality of Lansingerland, near the port city of Rotterdam. While testingRead more

The symptoms came on almost laughably textbook.   One morning in late November, my sense of smell suddenly disappeared. Soon my muscles ached and I developed a headache that resembled a spike dancing on my head.   Then there was the hacking cough, the nausea, the sweats, the chills.   It took a few daysRead more

The world’s leading democracies should form a coalition to counter China’s human rights abuses at home and its support for authoritarianism overseas, according to a prominent group of British lawmakers.Several members of parliament from Britain’s ruling Conservative Party have formed the “China Research Group” to monitor Beijing’s influence. They say Britain is in desperate needRead more

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Wednesday he is hoping the nation’s current situation is the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, as infection rates and hospitalizations are at or near record levels. In televised interviews. Hancock said Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) is facing intense pressure due to the high number of COVID-19 cases, treatingRead more

Testimony begins Wednesday in Italy in the country’s largest organized crime trial in more than three decades.   More than 350 defendants will stand in the dock in a specially-built high security courtroom in the southern town of Lamezia Terme, in Italy’s Calabrian region, home of the powerful mafia-like ‘Ndrangheta empire.  As many as 900 witnessesRead more

Turkey has been providing refuge for Uighurs fleeing Chinese persecution, but rights groups are worried that Turkey’s parliament is poised to pass an extradition treaty with China. As Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, this also has alarmed the Uighur community in Turkey.  …Read more

Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced Tuesday the government is extending its COVID-19 restrictions by three weeks, to February 9, expressing concern about the new so-called “British variant” of the virus. At a televised news conference in The Hague, Rutte said he was certain the news was no surprise and that most people would understand thereRead more

A top British police official Tuesday said officers have issued about 45,000 fines for violations of COVID-19 restrictions and that they will issue more to keep the infection from spreading. The chair of Britain’s National Police Chiefs’ Council, Martin Hewitt, made the comments at a news conference, along with Home Secretary Priti Patel. Hewitt said heRead more

European markets are mixed Tuesday as the worsening coronavirus pandemic around the world, coupled with political turmoil in the United States, is putting a damper on trading activity.   At the midday point of the trading day, London’s FTSE index is down 0.6%, the CAC-40 index in Paris is nearly 3 points lower but unchanged percentage-wise (-0.04%)Read more

Pope Francis changed church law Monday to formally allow for more roles for women within the Catholic Church. The decree, called “Spiritus Domini” (The Spirit of the Lord), allows women to serve as readers and altar servers, as well as to assist priests during service or in administering Holy Communion. It officially updates the Code ofRead more

The British government Monday launched an ambitious coronavirus vaccination plan, with the goal of having 15 million citizens inoculated by the middle of next month. In a statement, the health department said the plan is to have 2,700 vaccination sites around the country, with one located within 16 kilometers of every person in Britain by theRead more

Pope Francis, in another step towards greater equality for women in the Roman Catholic Church, on Monday changed its law to formally allow them to serve as readers at liturgies, altar servers and distributors of communion.   In a decree, the pope formalized what already has been happening in many developed countries for years. ButRead more