EU member countries reached agreement Saturday on removing air and maritime internal border controls with Bulgaria and Romania, but the two countries’ full entry into the bloc’s passport-free Schengen zone remains subject to further discussions. Controls at sea and air borders with Romania and Bulgaria will be lifted as of March 31, the Council of … Read more
Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. Tatyana Margolin is co-founder of STROIKA, with a mission to reverse the tide of rising authoritarianism by building, resourcing and connecting resistance movements around the globe. One can reliably gauge the latest geopolitical upheaval by who is sleeping on the red pullout couch in … Read more
Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. Is 2024 the year when democracy hits a tipping point and slides toward autocracy? It may seem like an odd question to ask at a time when countries representing nearly half the world’s population, or an estimated 3.8 billion people, are sending their voters … Read more
The U.S. Navy destroyed three boats carrying Houthi rebels in the Red Sea on Sunday after fighters attempted to board a container ship in the second attack against the vessel this weekend. Helicopters from two destroyers, the USS Eisenhower and USS Gravely, were dispatched after the Maersk Hangzhou issued a distress call at 6:30 a.m. … Read more
Israel will allow ships from several European countries to deliver aid directly to war-torn Gaza, the country’s top diplomat said Sunday, as the Israeli military ramped up large-scale air attacks across central Gaza. Ships from countries including France, Greece, the Netherlands and the U.K. can “immediately” start shipping aid packages via a proposed sea corridor … Read more
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark used her New Year’s address on Sunday to unexpectedly announce her abdication on live television. The queen, who has reigned for 52 years, said she will abdicate on January 14 and will be succeeded by her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik. The 83-year-old queen, who took over the throne in … Read more
Chinese President Xi Jinping said the country’s reunification with Taiwan was “inevitable” in his New Year’s address on Sunday, just weeks before the self-ruled island holds elections that could reshape relations between the two. “The reunification of the motherland is a historical inevitability,” Xi said; “China will surely be reunified,” according to the official translation … Read more
An Albanian court has ruled that Sali Berisha, a former prime minister and current opposition leader, should be placed under house arrest as he is investigated for corruption. Berisha, Albania’s prime minister between 2005 and 2013, is under investigation for allegedly abusing his power to help privatize public land to build 17 apartments for the … Read more
Russia launched a fresh wave of missile attacks against Ukraine’s second-largest city on Sunday, just hours after Moscow accused Kyiv of pounding Russian border areas and killing civilians. At least 28 civilians were injured after Moscow hit Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv overnight with six missiles and Iranian-made Shahed drones, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said … Read more
LONDON — Dominic Cummings — adviser-turned-nemesis of Boris Johnson — claimed Saturday he held talks with Rishi Sunak about a “secret deal” to help the prime minister win the next election. The bombshell revelation is likely to anger Tory MPs who see the mastermind of the Vote Leave campaign for Brexit as a divisive figure, … Read more
