Rioters waged a running battle with police in Belfast on Thursday night, tossing gasoline bombs, setting fires and dodging jets from water cannon, as a week of unrest showed no sign of letting up.
Rioters set a hijacked bus on fire and hurled gasoline bombs at police in Belfast in at least the fourth night of serious violence in a week in Northern Ireland, where Brexit has unsettled an uneasy political balance.
Italy and Germany on Monday joined Ireland and Holland as the latest European Union member states to suspend the use of the British-Swedish AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, Reuters reports. The decisions follow Norwegian reports of blood clots and brain hemorrhages among people who had taken the shot; Denmark, Norway, and Bulgaria have also suspended use of the vaccine.
Leading Christian rights activist, broadcaster, and author Faith McDonnell, has become director of advocacy at the U.S.-based Katartismos Global (KGI Global) charity. The group says it “exists to equip the Church for mission and ministry” by supporting persecuted Christians and other believers in need.
A new survey reveals that some pastors worry their church may not survive the COVID-19 pandemic because of financial pressures, Christian Today reports. Titled “Something other than a Building,” and compiled by Churches in Ireland and Queen’s University, Belfast, the survey shows finances have been a source of anxiety for most of the pastors who participated.
Authorities in several European countries banned flights from Britain on Sunday amid mounting fears over an infectious new strain of COVID-19.
A British grandmother has become the world’s first person to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 injection as part of a controversial global vaccination program.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed have been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, the Jerusalem Post reports. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lord David Trimble of Northern Ireland has nominated the two leaders for their pioneering agreement to normalize relations between Israel and the UAE.
European leaders say their citizens should prepare for a bleak winter as the coronavirus rages across nations. Countries from West to East Europe warned it is too early to plan for Christmas travel because COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
Apparent President-elect Joe Biden received congratulatory phone calls from world leaders after his performance in Nov. 3’s election.
Stalled post-Brexit trade deal talks have resumed once again as British and European Union negotiators convened in London Monday, the Washington Times reports. Recent talks in Brussels left the two sides still far apart on the way forward following the UK’s official departure from the EU trading bloc in January. The parties have until December 31 to agree a trade deal before the post-Brexit transition period comes to an end. Hundreds of thousands of jobs on both sides may be lost in the event of a “no-deal Brexit.”
Around 200 evangelical leaders have signed a statement titled “A 2020 Call for Biblical Peacemaking: Evangelical Leaders’ Statement on Violence and Division,” in which they urge Christians to rise up as peacemakers in the wake of a tempestuous year and a fraught electoral season, the Christian Post reports.
The Polish president is among European leaders infected with COVID-19 as the continent struggles to contain the coronavirus.
The European Union said Thursday it will take legal action against the British government for violating the terms of their Brexit agreement.
Europe is racing to contain rising coronavirus infections and prevent more hospitalizations and deaths. Authorities in several countries announced new restrictions, sparking protests in Spain, which saw one of the lockdowns.
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen has given her first State of the Union speech with angry words about Britain’s plans to renegotiate its divorce deal with the EU.
More than four years since Brits voted to leave the European Union, the United Kingdom is once again engulfed in another Brexit crisis — with a dramatic move by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to potentially rewrite parts of the initial divorce deal, sparking outrage and threats of legal action from E.U. leaders.
European Union leaders have accused Britain of throwing political grenades across the channel by threatening to undermine its divorce deal with the EU. The so-called Brexit Withdrawal Agreement was signed last year to allow Britain’s orderly exit from the bloc.
Leading rights groups and church officials will hold Thursday their annual protest and prayer vigil against the reported massive persecution of Christians in Eritrea for the first time online, amid ongoing coronavirus lockdown restrictions in Britain.
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.