An administrative court in France has overturned a government ban on meetings in churches and other places of worship. The case underscored broader tensions in coronavirus-hit Europe over religious freedom amid an ongoing pandemic.
The European Union’s head of foreign policy stated Monday that the bloc would not recognize any annexation changes Israel made to “1967 borders” unless these had been agreed by the Palestinians, the Times of Israel reports. In his statement, Josep Borrell added: “We strongly urge Israel to refrain from any unilateral decision that would lead to the annexation of any occupied Palestinian territory and would be, as such, contrary to international law.”
Montenegro has released a Serbian Orthodox Church bishop and at least seven priests whose detention sparked protests and riots with police.
Terrorist groups have established a way to siphon off European funds designated for Palestinian civil society, Israel’s Strategic Affairs Ministry (SAM) has said in a new report. The SAM publication follows a European Union announcement that it would continue to fund Palestinian “civil society organizations,” even if such groups include terrorists, Israel Hayom reports.
U.S. stocks sank Friday after figures showed retail sales in the country plunged by a record 16.4 percent last month, the worst decline in decades.
Slovenia has become the first European nation to declare an end to its coronavirus pandemic. It also opened the borders on Friday, despite new infections being reported.
Hope was rising Thursday for an Iranian Christian father and his young son held in detention on the Hungarian-Serbian border for 17 months, after the European Union’s top court condemned Hungary’s treatment of asylum seekers. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that Budapest was obliged to reconsider their applications. The court stressed that Hungarian authorities circumvented EU law by holding migrants seeking refuge in unlawful prison-like conditions.
France wants European Union countries to consider a hard response to Israel if it proceeds with the annexation of parts of Judea and Samaria, three EU diplomats told Reuters. Under the Israeli government’s coalition agreement, the process of annexing Jewish settlements in the West Bank could begin on July 1.
Leaders of Europe attended subdued ceremonies over the weekend to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe while facing a perceived new war against an invisible enemy, the coronavirus.
Nations on Monday struggled to balance public and economic health amid mounting pressure to reopen economies despite an uptick in coronavirus cases ranging from China to even the White House.
Turkey has revived its bid for membership in the European Union (EU), calling to ‘revitalize’ their relationship and citing the coronavirus pandemic as a clear demonstration of the need for unity.
A leading democracy watchdog has suggested that Hungary has become the first non-democratic European Union member state, prompting an angry reaction from the government. Washington-based Freedom House also warned that Poland is heading towards the same direction.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed progress in combating the coronavirus pandemic along with arms control issues and oil prices in a phone call Thursday, the White House and the Kremlin said.
Rights group Amnesty International has condemned the Hungarian parliament’s rejection of an international treaty to combat violence against women amid a coronavirus pandemic. “This decision is extremely dangerous,” said David Vig, Amnesty’s Hungary director. “It comes at a time when reported domestic violence incidents in Hungary have doubled since the start of the [new coronavirus] COVID-19 lockdown” to halt the virus outbreak.
Donors have pledged 7.4 billion euros ($8 billion) for developing a vaccine against the new coronavirus disease COVID-19. But after the online-meeting with world leaders, banks and organizations, officials warned more money might be necessary.
Israeli airstrikes in eastern Syria have killed 14 Iranian and Iraqi fighters, a group monitoring the Syrian war says.
The 30th anniversary of Hungary’s first freely elected Parliament since the end of Communist dictatorship has been overshadowed by fresh doubts over the government’s democratic credentials. Opposition parties stayed away from this weekend’s ceremony in Parliament, citing concerns about policies by the increasingly autocratic Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
An international pledging marathon has begun where world leaders are to raise at least 7.5 billion euros ($8.2 billion) to find a coronavirus vaccine. With social distancing the world’s new norm, world leaders choose video conferencing to raise the billions of dollars needed for research into a possible vaccine.
Iran has suggested it will abandon an already shaky deal to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons if an arms embargo on Tehran remains in place. The United States wants to extend the ban, which was due to end in October this year.
Pakistan and Russia have reported their most significant one-day rise in new coronavirus infections. Their announcement Saturday came after some other countries and U.S. states where case numbers are stabilizing allowed businesses and public activities to reopen.