Putin chose the moment to make his first public remarks on Navalny’s death, claiming in a victory press conference Sunday night that he’d agreed to swap the opposition leader in a prisoner exchange days before he died in an Arctic jail. “We can only consider that this election has been taken in the middle of … Read more
Protesters took to the streets of Cuba on Sunday in a rare outburst of social unrest as a fresh wave of blackouts exacerbated tensions on the cash-strapped island. Social media posts showed crowds of people in Santiago de Cuba, the second-largest city on the eastern part of the island, chanting “corriente y comida” — power … Read more
French lawmakers are expected Monday to anchor the right to abortion in the country’s constitution, in a global first that has garnered overwhelming public support. Issued on: 04/03/2024 – 04:02 3 min A congress of both houses of parliament in Versailles starting at 3:30 pm (1430 GMT) should find the three-fifths majority needed for the … Read more
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government on Thursday ordered the local United Nations office on human rights to suspend operations and gave its staff 72 hours to leave, accusing it of assisting coup plotters and terrorist groups. Foreign Affairs Minister Yván Gil announced the decision at a news conference in Caracas, which came amid heightened … Read more
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A wealthy ex-general with ties to both Indonesia’s popular outgoing president and its dictatorial past looks set to be its next leader. He’s promised to continue the outgoing president’s widely popular policies, but his human rights record has activists and some analysts concerned about the future of Indonesia’s democracy. Defense Minister … Read more
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian voters were choosing a new president Wednesday as the world’s third-largest democracy aspires to become a global economic powerhouse a quarter-century after shaking off a brutal dictatorship. The front-runner, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, is the only candidate with ties to the Suharto era. He was a special forces commander at … Read more
The European Commission launched on Wednesday legal action against the so-called “sovereignty law” recently passed by the Hungarian parliament. ADVERTISEMENT The legislation, spearheaded by Viktor Orbán’s ruling party and approved by the parliament in mid-December, empowers the state to investigate people and organisations suspected of undermining the country’s sovereignty, with potential convictions of up to … Read more
A Dhaka court sentenced Muhammad Yunus — who won the Nobel Peace Prize for pioneering microloans to some of Bangladesh’s poorest — to 6 months in jail for labor law violations. A labor inspector had found that employees of Grameen Telecom, of which Yunus, 83, is chairman, were denied benefits including leave and welfare deposits. … Read more
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Thursday the European Commission is blackmailing Hungary by withholding billions in frozen funds over rule-of-law concerns. Orbán said the blackmail is “a fact,” even admitted by the blackmailers themselves — members of the European Parliament. “In our view, Hungary fulfils all the qualities of the rule of law, and … Read more
Updated Nov. 23, 2023 10:31 am ET The electoral win by Geert Wilders, the Dutch far-right leader who has championed draconian policies against immigration and Islam, reflects how intractable the issue of migration remains in Europe—and in much of the West. Nearly a decade ago, an influx of Middle Eastern and African arrivals drove a … Read more