Israel’s new government on Sunday pledged close cooperation with the United States even as it expressed “serious reservations” about efforts by Washington to rejoin the international pact to restrain Iran’s nuclear program.Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Rome in their first face-to-face meeting since a new coalition government assumed power in the Jewish state, ending the 12-year control by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Ahead of their talks, Lapid acknowledged that “in the past few years, mistakes were made” in relations between the two countries, with Netanyahu closely aligning himself with former U.S. President Donald Trump and Republicans in the U.S. Congress, at times to the exclusion of close ties with Democratic officials.”Israel’s bipartisan standing was hurt,” Lapid said. “We will fix those mistakes together.”The top Israeli diplomat, who under a power-sharing arrangement will become the country’s prime minister in two years following new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, said he has spoken with both Democrats and Republicans since taking office and had “reminded them all that we share America’s most basic, basic values — freedom, democracy, free markets and constant search for peace.”Blinken noted that although the administration of President Joe Biden is five months old and Bennett’s two weeks, “the foundation that we’re working on is one of an enduring partnership, a relationship, friendship between the United States and Israel.”Lapid did not spell out Israel’s objections to the U.S. rejoining the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which Trump withdrew from in 2018, saying it was not tough enough on Tehran. The former U.S. leader reimposed economic sanctions on Iran.Biden is seeking to rejoin Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China in the agreement to block Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran maintains its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.”Israel has some serious reservations about the Iran nuclear deal that is being put together in Vienna,” Lapid said, adding he would make his country’s objections known privately to the U.S.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid in Rome, Italy, June 27, 2021.”We have the same objective,” Blinken said. “Sometimes we differ on the tactics, and we, I think, are very clear and direct to each other when that’s the case and that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be.”Blinken and Lapid also discussed Israel’s normalization accords with Gulf Arab states, as well as the need for humanitarian aid to Gaza after nearly two weeks of fighting between Israel and Hamas militants in May.Blinken is on a multination trip to Europe. He is also holding several days of meetings with top Italian leaders, Pope Francis, Group of 20 leaders and ministerial-level officials.After being warmly welcomed in France and Germany, Blinken left Paris Sunday for Rome, where, in addition to Lapid, he also met with the Italian foreign minister, United Nations food security agencies and U.S. embassy officials.   On Monday, Blinken and Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio will co-chair a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, while Blinken also meets with Prime Minister Mario Draghi and President Sergio Mattarella to discuss Syria’s civil war and the humanitarian needs in that country.The State Department says Syria remains a big concern, with tens of thousands of women and children in humanitarian camps subject to security issues as members of the Islamic State terrorist group work to exploit the camps to recruit the next generation of fighters.Also Monday, Blinken goes to Vatican City for meetings with Pope Francis and Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican foreign minister. Among the topics he and Vatican officials are expected to discuss are climate change, human trafficking and debt relief for impoverished countries.  His meeting with the pope comes ahead of an expected October meeting between the pontiff and Biden, the second Catholic U.S. president. 
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A large, newly restored area of the Colosseum, which used to be the underground backstage of the ancient Roman amphitheater, is now accessible to the public for the first time. Visitors can use a newly constructed wooden walkway to admire the tunnels and chambers under the arena that were used by wild animals and human performers before they joined the action in front of large audiences.A team of more than 80 experts, including archaeologists, engineers and restorers, worked on the Colosseum’s hypogeum for two years. The project was the second phase in a major restoration of the iconic landmark that began in September 2013. Funding was provided by Diego Della Valle’s Tod’s fashion group. At the time, Della Valle pledged 25 million euros for the ambitious and complicated feat.Diego Della Valle, who funded the works at the Colosseum. (Sabina Castelfranco/VOA)Speaking at the opening of the hypogeum, Della Valle expressed satisfaction at what has been achieved so far for a monument that “the whole world loves.” He also praised the decision that allowed the public and private sectors to come together “for a good cause.”Alfonsina Russo, director of the archaeological park of the Colosseum, said “a monument within a monument has now been fully restored and reopened”. She said the restoration of the hypogeum was very complex adding that “each stone here is a witness of everything that occurred under the great arena of the Colosseum from its inauguration in AD 80 to its final performance in AD 523.” Alfonsina Russo, director of the archaeological park of the Colosseum. (Sabina Castelfranco/VOA)Russo said 2,000 years ago this was the heart of the Flavian amphitheater where all the preparations for the shows took place. She added that this was the backstage where gladiators prepared for their challenges and where cages with wild animals were kept for the shows.A new 160-meter wooden walkway for visitors has now been constructed in the hypogeum, which provides access to parts of the monument which were not previously visible.Russo explained that this 15,000-square-meter area was filled with technology advanced for its time, with mobile platforms and wooden elevators that allowed the animals and performer out onto the arena so that they could join the combat action. There was also special water system which filled the arena with water for naval battles, normally for the grand finale of the shows at the Colosseum.Tourists outside Rome’s ancient amphitheater. (Sabina Castelfranco//VOA)In the first phase of the works the northern and southern facades of the Colosseum were cleaned, damaged mortar in arches was replaced and the monument was fitted with new gates. The third phase, soon to be launched, will involve the restoration of galleries, the creation of a completely new visitors’ center and a new lighting system.Another project approved for the Colosseum involves installation of a high-tech retractable stage, expected to be operational by 2023 and which is likely to bring back cultural events and performances. 
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Classified documents from Britain’s defense ministry containing details about a British warship and Russia’s potential reaction to its passage through the Black Sea have been found at a bus stop in southern England, the BBC reported on Sunday.The BBC said the documents, almost 50 pages in all, were found “in a soggy heap behind a bus stop in Kent early on Tuesday morning” by a member of the public, who wanted to remain anonymous.The Ministry of Defense said it had been informed last week of “an incident in which sensitive defense papers were recovered by a member of the public”. “The department takes the security of information extremely seriously and an investigation has been launched. The employee concerned reported the loss at the time. It would be inappropriate to comment further,” a spokesperson said. The BBC reported that the documents, which included emails and PowerPoint presentations, related to British warship Defender, which sailed through waters off the Crimean peninsula which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014 last week.Russia said on Wednesday it had fired warning shots and dropped bombs in the path of the ship to chase it out of what the Kremlin says are its territorial waters but which Britain and most of the world say belong to Ukraine.It later summoned the British ambassador in Moscow for a formal diplomatic scolding over what it described as a provocation.Britain rejected Russia’s account of the incident. It said it believed any shots fired were a pre-announced Russian “gunnery exercise”, and that no bombs had been dropped.It confirmed the destroyer had sailed through what it said were Ukrainian waters, describing its path as “innocent passage” in accordance with international law of the sea.The BBC said the documents suggested the ship’s mission was conducted in the expectation that Russia might respond aggressively.”What do we understand about the possible ‘welcome party’…?” asked an official at Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ), the UK’s tri-service headquarters at Northwood, according to the BBC.  
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France was voting in the second round of regional elections on Sunday after a first round that saw a drubbing for President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling party, disappointment for Marine Le Pen’s far-right and record low turnout.    For some observers, the outcome of the June 20 first round raised doubts over whether the 2022 presidential election would come down to a duel between Macron and Le Pen in a run-off long seen as the most likely scenario.  French President Emmanuel Macron shows his passport at a polling station during the first round of French regional and departmental elections, in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, June 20, 2021. (Reuters/Christian Hartmann/Pool)The first-round results marked a boost for the traditional right-wing The Republicans as well as the Socialist Party, who have been squeezed after the centrist Macron surged into power in 2017 with his brand-new Republic on the Move (LREM) party.   Analysts warn against too much extrapolation onto a nationwide scale from the results of the regional elections, which choose the heads of France’s 13 mainland regions from Brittany in the northwest to the Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur (PACA) region in the southeast.   But there was cross-party concern over the turnout for last week’s polls, which were shunned by 66.72 percent of voters — a record in modern France.   “What we are seeing is the culmination of a disconnection between voters and the political class,” said Jessica Sainty, politics lecturer at Avignon University, while acknowledging the COVID-19 crisis also played a role in high abstention rate.   The woeful turnout prompted a debate over how to improve participation, with several figures including government spokesman Gabriel Attal suggesting electronic voting could help in future.   According to a poll published Thursday, just 36 percent of voters plan to cast their ballots on Sunday. “France is sulking,” the Le Parisien newspaper said.   Far-right eyes breakthrough The first-round results put Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) ahead in just one region, PACA, a major disappointment after polls showed a possible breakthrough in several areas.   FILE – President of the French far-right party Rassemblement National (National Rally) and MP Marine Le Pen gives a press conference, in Paris, March 9, 2021.One of the most closely watched races on Sunday will be whether RN candidate Thierry Mariani can defeat his right-wing rival Renaud Muselier in the region.    Gaining control of a region for the first time would be a huge boost for Le Pen as she seeks to convince voters that the RN — which she has reformed and rebranded since taking over from her firebrand father Jean-Marie — is a serious party of power.    Muselier could be helped by the withdrawal of left-wing candidates in a repeat of the “Republican Front” seen in past presidential elections to block the far-right.   “The idea of a victory for Mariani — even if it is far from being probable — would show that the RN can almost triumph alone over the coalition of all the others and head the powerful executive of a modern region,” said Jerome Sainte-Marie, president of the Pollingvox Institute.   Mariani has been accused by critics of being an admirer of authoritarians like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. Prime Minister Jean Castex warned last week that a Mariani victory would be “very serious” for the country.    The RN also came up short in the Ile-de-France region that includes Paris, where its 25-year-old rising star Jordan Bardella failed to trouble right-wing incumbent Valerie Pecresse, who is now expected to easily win the second round.   ‘Lacks local presence’  The first-round results made even more unpalatable reading for Macron and his LREM, confirming the party’s failure to put down local and regional roots despite controlling the presidency and lower house of parliament.   Despite sending several ministers to campaign and Macron himself embarking on a nationwide tour — that saw him slapped by an onlooker at one point — in some regions LREM did not muster the required 10 percent to make round two.   “2022: What if it wasn’t them?” asked the headline in the left-wing Liberation newspaper over a picture of Macron and Le Pen.   LREM has almost no chance of winning control of a single region and is currently just number five among political parties in France.   The Socialists are expected to pick up some regions, partly due to support from the far-left France Unbowed party.   “LREM lacks a local presence, but in 2017 that did not prevent them from winning the presidential and legislative elections,” said Sainty.   Voting began at 8:00 am (0600 GMT) on Sunday, with the last polling stations due to close 12 hours later.  
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After being warmly welcomed in France and Germany, Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to Italy on Sunday to meet with top Italian leaders and the pope and to take part in ministerial level meetings on Syria and defeating Islamic State fighters and attending a G-20 meeting. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Paris.
Camera: Bronwyn Benito
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In a blaze of publicity, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan laid a foundation stone close to Istanbul, starting the construction of a 45-kilometer canal linking the Black and Marmara seas. Erdogan declared the project would usher in a new era for Istanbul and for Turkey.“This going to be a brand-new page in Turkey’s development. On the path to this development, we will leap forward,” he said, adding, “This will save Istanbul’s Bosphorus waterway.”The canal will provide an alternative route from the Bosphorus, which cuts through Turkey’s biggest city, Istanbul, and is one of the world’s busiest waterways.Erdogan said the channel would offer a more efficient, faster and safer passage. But this month, Istanbul’s opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, voiced alarm.”I am sweating when I talk about this channel, because I can feel this is a nightmare, I can feel it deep inside,” he said. “Because I listened to tens of briefings from the scientists who are all warning against it.”The mayor warned that the project threatens the city’s water supplies and risks wider environmental consequences in the region’s delicate balance of interconnected seas.Marine biologist Cemal Saydam, contending that the government was ignoring the scientists, said such concerns were well-founded.“If you are connecting two marine bodies, you have to ask the opinion of marine scientists, which they have not done,” Saydam said. “Scientifically, it’s going to devastate the Sea of Marmara for sure, and it’s going to devastate the Black Sea for sure, and it’s going to change the whole water budget of the Mediterranean Sea, as well, because there are interconnected seas.“Riot police prevent protesters from marching to the scene where Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends the groundbreaking ceremony of Sazlidere Bridge over the planned route of Kanal Istanbul, in Istanbul, Turkey, June 26, 2021.The government dismisses such warnings, claiming it has carried out the necessary research. But most of Turkey’s leading banks are refusing to finance the canal, with an estimated cost of up to $65 billion, citing international commitments to support only environmentally sustainable projects.The canal also is a point of tension with Russia. Erdogan has said the canal is not covered by the 1936 International Montreux Convention. The convention limits foreign warships’ size and their access to the Black Sea to 21 days.Moscow considers the convention vital to limiting NATO’s naval presence and maintaining the sea as its sphere of influence. NATO-Russian tensions have been rising since Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territory in early 2014.While questions remain over whether the funds exist to complete the canal, Zaur Gasimov of Germany’s Bonn University said Ankara sees the project as a bargaining chip with Moscow.“That would open certain leverage for Ankara,” Gasimov said. “That would open a new field for the negotiation between Moscow and Ankara, and that gives new possibilities for Ankara to promote its interests in its interaction with Russia.”Analysts say the importance of access to the Black Sea is likely to grow in coming years, as NATO-Russia tensions escalate over Ukraine.Next week, the United States is scheduled to carry out a major naval exercise with Ukraine in the Black Sea.
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Britain’s Health Minister Matt Hancock quit Saturday after he was caught breaking COVID-19 rules by kissing and embracing an aide in his office, enraging colleagues and the public who have been living under lockdown.Hancock, 42, wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign after The Sun newspaper published photos on Friday of the married minister embracing a woman whom he had appointed to a taxpayer-funded role to scrutinize the performance of his department.Hancock has been at the center of the government’s fight against the pandemic, routinely appearing on television and radio to tell people to follow the strict rules to contain the virus.His departure means Johnson will have to appoint a new minister to take on the huge department that is responsible for overseeing the health service and tackling the virus, at a time when cases have started to rise again.Johnson said Friday that he had accepted an apology from the minister and considered the matter to be closed, but Hancock faced rising pressure to quit.”We owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down as I have done by breaching the guidance,” Hancock said in his letter.Johnson expresses gratitudeJohnson said in reply that he was sorry to receive it. “You should be immensely proud of your service,” he wrote. “I am grateful for your support and believe that your contribution to public service is far from over.”The Sun showed Hancock kissing the aide in his office last month, at a time when it was against the rules for people to have intimate contact with others  outside their households.The opposition Labor Party also questioned whether he had broken the ministerial code: the woman, a longtime friend of Hancock’s, was appointed as a nonexecutive director, on a taxpayer-funded salary, to oversee the running of his department.Labor leader Keir Starmer said on Twitter that Hancock was right to resign. “But Boris Johnson should have sacked him.”With 128,000 deaths, Britain has one of the highest official death tolls from COVID-19 in the world and Hancock, in the post for almost three years, had been heavily criticized for his initial handling of the pandemic.Johnson’s Conservative government has been boosted by a rapid rollout of the vaccine program, however, with 84% of adults having one dose and 61% having both, well ahead of most other countries.
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Iran said Saturday it believes a reinstatement of its 2015 nuclear deal with major world powers is possible but warned that Tehran “will not negotiate forever.””Out of a steadfast commitment to salvage a deal that the U.S. tried to torpedo, Iran has been the most active party in Vienna, proposing most drafts,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Twitter, referring to talks aimed at reviving the nuclear deal.
 
Iran and the United States have been holding indirect talks on reviving the 2015 agreement between Tehran and six powers that imposed restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for lifting international sanctions.US Could Quit Iran Nuclear Deal if Talks Do Not AdvanceBlinken addresses reporters after meeting with French foreign minister 
Then U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the agreement in 2018, but President Joe Biden has been seeking to revive it. Officials on all sides have said there are major issues to resolve before the deal can be reinstated.
 
“Still believe a deal is possible, if the U.S. decides to abandon Trump’s failed legacy. Iran will not negotiate forever,” Khatibzadeh tweeted.
 
The U.N. nuclear watchdog Friday demanded an immediate reply from Iran on whether it would extend a monitoring agreement that expired overnight. An Iranian envoy responded that Tehran was under no obligation to provide an answer.
 
The Vienna talks, which began in April, are now in a pause that had been expected to last until early July, but failure to extend the monitoring accord could throw those negotiations into disarray.
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U.N. Independent Expert on Protection against Violence and Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, is calling for the global elimination of laws that criminalize same-sex unions by 2030.  His report has been submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council. Currently, 69 countries criminalize homosexuality or some forms of gender identity, nearly half are in Africa. Among them are a handful of countries that apply the death sentence for same sex sexual acts.  They include Brunei, Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and northern Nigeria.U.N. independent Expert, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, says as of today, 2,000 million people live in criminalized environments.  He says there is no justification under international human rights law for maintaining criminalized legislation in relation to sexual orientation or gender identity.”My work has produced abundant evidence to the effect that these criminalizing provisions, even when they are not applied, they create a context, a context that is hostile to the existence of LGBT persons and that is also conducive to blackmail and to significant violence affecting the everyday lives of these persons,” Madrigal-Borloz said.   Madrigal-Borloz notes some countries have taken measures to dismantle homophobic laws.  He notes the extraordinary action taken by India’s Supreme Court, which by the stroke of a pen freed more than one billion people from the threat of imprisonment based on their sexual orientation.He says other countries that have decriminalized their legislation against homosexuality include Botswana, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Mozambique, and Angola.Madrigal-Borloz is concerned at the adoption of legislation by countries that limit the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ people.  He is critical of the law passed by Hungary earlier this month banning educational materials and programs for children that allegedly promote homosexuality and transgender identity.”I see nothing in the needs of a democratic society that would justify limiting that freedom and this is the basis for my concern as I expressed it to the Hungarian State already months ago when this legislation began to take shape under that public policy,” Madrigal-Borloz said.On the contrary, the U.N. Independent Expert says comprehensive sexual and gender education in schools will likely lead to reduced levels of violence and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
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Investigators were looking Saturday for a motive behind an attack in the German city of Wuerzburg in which a man armed with a long knife killed three people and wounded at least five others.The suspect, a 24-year-old Somali, was shot in the leg by police and arrested after the Friday afternoon attack in the southern city’s downtown area. Police said his life was not in danger and he was being questioned in a hospital.Bavaria’s top security official, Joachim Herrmann, said the suspect had been known to police and had been admitted to a psychiatric unit a few days earlier. He told news agency dpa late Friday that he couldn’t rule out an Islamic extremist motive because one witness had reported hearing the suspect shout “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great.”The man had lived in Wuerzburg since 2015, most recently in a shelter for the homeless. He apparently did not know the victims. People laid flowers and candles at the scene of the attack.Videos posted on social media showed pedestrians surrounding the attacker and trying to hold him at bay with chairs and sticks.Bavarian governor Markus Soeder praised the “really impressive dedication” of those who tried to stop the man. “Now the circumstances have to be cleared up, the motives,” he said in a statement to reporters in Nuremberg.“All of Bavaria is in mourning today,” said Soeder, who added that he would order flags flown at half-staff in the state. 
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The United Nations said 12 German troops and a Belgian soldier serving in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali were wounded Friday in an attack in the country’s restive north.The U.N. mission in the country, MINUSMA, had earlier said that 15 peacekeepers were wounded when a temporary operational base in the Gao region was targeted with a vehicle bomb. Later, it corrected the numbers.German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said three of the soldiers were seriously wounded. She told reporters in Bonn, Germany, that two soldiers were in a stable condition while the third was still undergoing surgery.All of the wounded soldiers were flown by helicopter to Gao, where they were being treated at German, French and Chinese medical facilities, the minister said.”The military operations on site aren’t completed yet,” she said.A German medevac plane will fly to Gao overnight to bring the wounded soldiers back to Germany on Saturday, said Kramp-Karrenbauer.Germany has hundreds of troops taking part in U.N. stabilization and European Union training missions in the West African nation.Mali has been trying to contain an Islamic extremist insurgency since 2012.Islamic extremist rebels were forced from power in Mali’s northern cities with the help of a French-led military operation in 2013. However, the insurgents quickly regrouped in the desert and began launching frequent attacks on the Malian army and its allies fighting the insurgency.The extremists have expanded their reach well into central Mali, where their presence has inflamed tensions between ethnic groups in the area. 
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A man armed with a long knife killed three people and injured five others, some seriously, in Germany’s southern city of Wuerzburg on Friday before being shot by police and arrested, authorities said. Police identified the suspect as a 24-year-old Somali man living in Wuerzburg. His life was not in danger from his gunshot wound, they said. Bavaria’s top security official Joachim Herrmann said the injured include a young boy, whose father was probably among the dead. The suspect was in psychiatric treatment before the attack and had been known to police, Herrmann said. There was no immediate word on a possible motive. Emergency services vehicles are seen at the site of a knife attack, in Wuerzburg, Germany, June 25, 2021.Videos posted on social media showed pedestrians surrounding the attacker and trying to hold him at bay with chairs and sticks. A woman who said she had witnessed the incident told German RTL television that the police then stepped in. “He had a really big knife with him and was attacking people,” Julia Runze said. “And then many people tried to throw chairs or umbrellas or cellphones at him and stop him.” “The police then approached him, and I think a shot was fired, you could hear that clearly.” Police spokeswoman Kerstin Kunick said officers were alerted around 5 p.m. (1500 GMT) to a knife attack on Barbarossa Square in the center of the city. Würzburg is a city of about 130,000 people located between Munich and Frankfurt. Bavaria’s governor Markus Soeder expressed shock at the news of the attack. “We grieve with the victims and their families,” he wrote on Twitter. “A big thank you and respect for the spirited intervention by many citizens, who confronted the suspected attacker in a determined way,” Soeder added. “And also to all first responders for their work at the scene.” Almost five years ago, a 17-year-old refugee from Afghanistan wounded four people with an ax on a train near Wuerzburg. He then fled and attacked a woman passerby before police shot him dead. 
 
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On the first day of its summit in Brussels, the 27-member European Union failed to agree to terms for proposed an EU-Russia summit, and sharply debated Hungary’s new LGBT legislation.
 
The Russia summit, proposed by France and Germany, was opposed by most eastern European nations, which felt such face-to-face discussions would appear to be rewarding Russian President Vladimir Putin for recent aggressive actions, such as cyberattacks or amassing troops on Ukraine’s border.
Talking to reporters ahead of day two of the summit in Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed regret her fellow EU members could not come to an agreement on terms for such a summit, which she argued was necessary to address issues with Russia. But she said the EU members established what conditions and prerequisites must be met before a future summit could take place.
Merkel said the most important thing was for the bloc to act together, rather than individual states acting on their own.  
In his comments to reporters, French President Emmanuel Macron agreed, saying that unity among member states is what’s most importance. But he also questioned why the eastern European nations did not express similar objections to U.S. President Joe Biden’s meeting with Putin earlier this month.
Both Merkel and Macron said most EU members let Hungary know their objections to the recently approved legislation banning depictions interpreted to “promote” homosexuality or gender fluidity to any person under the age of 18. Merkel said the EU members let Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban, know that the legislation goes against European values.
Macron said the legislation is an example of certain European states being pulled by “models of society, political models, that are contrary to our values.” He said it was important member states work through those differences.  
Merkel also said she has warned member states of the rise of the delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19.  The variant spreads more quickly and can lead to more severe symptoms. She said it is on the rise in Germany and elsewhere in Europe and if left unchecked, it could stifle the recovery from the pandemic. She urged nations to step up their vaccination programs.
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Friday that the absence of an interim agreement to monitor Iran’s nuclear activities could prompt the United States to abandon efforts to rejoin a nuclear deal. “This remains a serious concern,” Blinken said at a news conference in Paris. “The concern has been communicated to Iran and needs to be resolved.”The International Atomic Energy Agency has said a three-month interim monitoring agreement reached on Feb. 21 expired Thursday after it was extended by one month. The agency said it is negotiating with Tehran on a second extension. Blinken, who is visiting Paris as part of a multi-nation European tour, acknowledged the U.S. could eventually decide not to rejoin the agreement if negotiations in Vienna continue without progress.’There will come a point, yes, where it will be very hard to return back to the standards set by the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action),” a 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and major powers to curb its uranium enrichment program in exchange for lifting sanctions imposed by the U.S., the European Union and the United Nations. Negotiating parties have held talks for six weeks, and a sixth round of indirect talks ended last Sunday with major issues still unresolved. Iran Says Nuclear Talks to be Adjourned for Consultations in Capitals It was unclear when formal negotiations would resumeFrench Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian underscored Blinken’s warning, saying at the Paris news conference Friday it is up to Iran to move the talks forward. “We’re waiting for Iranian authorities to take the final difficult decisions to allow for the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal,” he said.  Blinken meets with French President Emmanuel Macron later Friday. The top U.S. diplomat arrived in France from Germany, where on Thursday he and German leaders said the U.S. and Germany were partnering to counter Holocaust denial and antisemitism, an effort the secretary of state said will “ensure that current and future generations learn about the Holocaust and also learn from it.”  Speaking at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin, Blinken said Holocaust denial and antisemitism go hand in hand with homophobia, xenophobia, racism and other forms of discrimination, and have become “a rallying cry for those who seek to tear down our democracies.” US, Germany Launch Effort to Counter Holocaust Denial US Secretary of State Tony Blinken says partnership will ‘ensure that current and future generations learn about the Holocaust and also learn from it’ Earlier Thursday in Berlin, the secretary of state and Libyan interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dabaiba held talks on the heels of an international conference focused on supporting Libya’s transition to a permanent, stable government.  Wednesday’s conference, hosted by Germany and the United Nations, included officials from 17 countries and reinforced support for national elections in Libya scheduled for late December.  Libya Conference Focuses on Elections, Security Attendees agree on the need to support December vote and for foreign fighters to leave the countryA senior U.S. State Department official told reporters Wednesday that the elections are important “not just to legitimize a long-term, credible Libyan government,” but also to help achieve the goal of carrying out an existing call for all foreign fighters to leave the country.  Libya has experienced political instability since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that ousted longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi from power.  Rival governments operated in separate parts of the country for years before a cease-fire deal in October that included a demand for all foreign fighters and mercenaries to leave Libya within 90 days.     At a news conference following Wednesday’s conference, Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush said there was progress toward the exit of the foreign fighters and that “hopefully within the coming days mercenaries from both sides are going to be withdrawn.”  A senior U.S. State Department official told reporters that achieving that goal is an important step that now “has to be made operational.”  Defeating Islamic State will be the focus of a conference co-hosted by Blinken and Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio in Rome. The top U.S. diplomat will also participate in a ministerial meeting in Italy to discuss Syria and the humanitarian needs in that country.     Blinken is also scheduled to visit the Vatican, where Reeker said the agenda includes combating climate change and human trafficking. This report includes information from Reuters and AFP.
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Airlines and holiday providers on Friday expressed frustration with the U.K.’s plans to ease travel restrictions, saying uncertainty about how and when the new rules will be implemented make it difficult for people to book summer vacations.
The government on Thursday expanded its “green list” of safe travel destinations, allowing people to visit without having to self-isolate for 10 days after returning to Britain. However, all but one of the new additions were also placed on a watchlist, meaning the quarantine requirement may be re-imposed at short notice.
Transportation authorities also said they intend to relax travel restrictions by allowing fully vaccinated travelers to visit higher-risk destinations, including the U.S. and most of the European Union, without having to self-isolate. They expect to implement this change “later in the summer.”
“The U.K. has already fallen behind the EU’s reopening, and a continued overly cautious approach will further impact economic recovery and the 500,000 U.K. jobs that are at stake,” said Shai Weiss, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, which offers mainly long-haul flights to destinations such as New York, Los Angeles and Barbados.
Airlines and hospitality companies have pressured the government to ease travel restrictions imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19 following the U.K.’s successful vaccination program. The pandemic has devastated Britain’s travel industry, with the number of people flying through London’s Heathrow Airport, the nation’s busiest, plunging 73% last year.
The government has created a traffic light system to manage the reopening of air travel.
Destinations with low levels of COVID-19 and high levels of vaccination are placed on the “green list,” which allows pleasure trips and doesn’t require self-isolation on return to Britain. Only essential travel is permitted to “amber list” countries, but travelers must self-isolate for 10 days when they return home. The government has banned most travel to destinations on the “red list,” and anyone arriving from one of these countries faces a 10-day quarantine in a government-approved hotel at their own expense.
The lists are updated every three weeks.
The Department for Transport said Thursday night that the expansion of the green list and plans to ease restrictions on fully vaccinated travelers were the result of the successful vaccination program. Almost 61% of U.K. adults are fully vaccinated, and 83% have received at least one dose.
But Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said caution was still required.
“It won’t be quite like it was in 2019 and the old days, but we are moving in a positive direction,” Shapps told Sky News.
Public health authorities are concerned about the possibility that travelers may spread potentially more dangerous variants of COVID-19 to the U.K. from countries with low vaccination rates. The delta variant, first identified in India, has already become the dominant version of the virus in Britain.  
Regardless of U.K. policy, officials in the European Union are considering imposing a quarantine on British travelers because of their concerns about the delta variant which is 40% to 60% more transmissible than previous versions of COVID-19. In minutes released from government meetings earlier this month, experts said the delta variant also may be linked to a higher risk of hospitalization, although “numbers are still small” and there is no evidence the variant is more deadly.  
Diana Holland, assistant general secretary of the Unite union, said the government needs to change its approach to provide greater certainty for the travel industry and consumers.
“The traffic light system is simply not fit for purpose,” she said. “It is impossible for a multibillion-pound industry to make plans for the future when the rug can be pulled from under them every three weeks.”
The government on Thursday added more than a dozen countries and territories to its green list, including the popular holiday destinations of Malta, Madeira and the Balearic Islands. All of the destinations except Malta were placed the watch list.
The changes, which take effect at 4 a.m. June 30, will expand the green list to 27 countries and territories.
The newly added countries are: Malta, Madeira, the Balearic Islands, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Antigua, Barbuda, Dominica, Barbados and Grenada.
Britain also added six countries to the red list, including the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Uganda. That brings the number of countries covered to 56.
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Search and rescue crews in the southeastern Czech Republic were going house to house Friday searching for survivors of a rare tornado that struck late Thursday, killing at least three people, injuring more than 100 and causing widespread damage.  
Emergency crews from neighboring Austria and Slovakia joined the Czech army where the tornado struck along the Austrian border, about 270 kilometers southeast of Prague.  
At least seven villages were severely damaged. The Czech news agency CTK quoted the mayor of Hrusky as saying that half of his village had been razed to the ground. Residents in the village of Mikulcice told the Reuters news service their entire village was destroyed.  
A Czech television meteorologist said the tornado might have reached F3-F4 levels, on Fujita damage scale, with winds hitting 267-322 kiilometers per hour, making it the strongest tornado in the nation’s modern history. Hail stones as large as tennis balls reportedly accompanied the storm.  
It was the first tornado reported in Czech Republic since 2018. Tornadoes were also reported in Slovakia and Poland Thursday. The storms struck while much of eastern Europe is seeing record heat. 
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A Ukrainian hacker was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in a notorious cybercrime group that stole millions of credit and debit card details from across the United States, the Department of Justice said Thursday.Andrii Kolpakov, 33, was also ordered to pay $2.5 million in restitution after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit computer hacking, the department said in a press release.Kolpakov’s lawyer, Vadim Glozman, said his client was disappointed with the sentence but respected the judge’s decision.He said Kolpakov — who has already spent three years in custody after being apprehended by police in Spain in 2018 — planned to return to Ukraine after serving out the remainder of his sentence.Kolpakov was sentenced in the Western District of Washington. Glozman said that his client was currently in custody in Washington state.Kolpakov’s gang — dubbed “FIN7” — is among the most prolific cybercriminal enterprises in existence. A memo drawn up by U.S. prosecutors said that “no hacking group epitomizes the industrialization of cybercrime better,” alleging that the gang had over 70 people organized into discrete departments and teams, including a unit devoted to crafting malicious software and another unit composed of hackers who exploited victims’ machines.For cover, FIN7 masqueraded as a cybersecurity company called “Combi Security,” which claimed to be involved in penetration testing.Prosecutors say Kolpakov worked for FIN7 from at least April 2016 until his arrest in June 2018 and rose to become a midlevel manager directing “a small team of hackers” tasked with breaching victims’ computer systems and training new recruits to use FIN7’s malicious tools.
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A rare tornado struck along the Czech Republic’s southern border on Thursday evening, destroying parts of some towns as strong storms swept through the area and injured at least 150 people, emergency services and media reported.A Czech Television meteorologist said the tornado, reported in towns around Hodonin, along the Austrian border and 270 kilometers southeast of Prague, may have reached F3-F4 levels, with winds hitting 267-322 kph in the latter level.That would make it the strongest in the central European country’s modern history and the first tornado since 2018.Photos on social media and news websites showed houses and some churches with destroyed roofs, broken windows, and fallen trees and destroyed cars along streets after the storms hit.BREAKING: Tornado causes major damage in the Czech Republic pic.twitter.com/TdSm87Z4gG— BNO News (@BNONews) June 24, 2021A spokesperson for the South Moravia region’s ambulance service told CTK news agency up to 150 people were injured.Czech TV reported around seven small towns were “massively” damaged, citing an emergency services spokesperson. An official of one municipality, Hrusky, said half of the town was practically leveled to the ground.Interior Minister Jan Hamacek wrote on Twitter the situation in the area was serious and all emergency services units were at work. Search and rescue teams were also headed to the towns. 
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in France, his latest stop in a multination tour, where he will meet Friday with President Emmanuel Macron, following up on U.S. President Joe Biden’s recent meetings with allies in the region to boost transatlantic relations. “During this trip to engage with the United States’ oldest ally, Secretary Blinken will emphasize the importance of maintaining transatlantic cooperation, addressing our joint response to the ongoing health crisis, tackling the climate crisis, and highlighting the strength of our long-standing bilateral partnership,” the State Department said Thursday in a statement. France’s President Emmanuel Macron addresses the media as he arrives on the first day of the EU summit at the European Council Building in Brussels, Belgium, June 24, 2021.France continues to be “a steadfast partner in the fight against terrorism,” the State Department said, adding the two countries “agree on the need to hold Russia accountable for its aggressive and destabilizing activities, including in Ukraine.” The U.S. and France collaborate on issues like “human rights, economic coercion and corruption” to counter the People’s Republic of China’s efforts to “erode the values and institutions that undergird the rules-based international order.” The U.S. “will continue to work with France in implementing climate finance to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and accelerating the transition to a clean energy economy to achieve net-zero emissions by midcentury,” said the State Department. Earlier Thursday while in Berlin, Blinken said the United States and Germany are partnering to counter Holocaust denial and antisemitism, an effort the secretary of state said would “ensure that current and future generations learn about the Holocaust and also learn from it.” Media cover U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas as they talk inside the Holocaust Memorial, in Berlin, Germany, June 24, 2021.Speaking at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin, Blinken said Holocaust denial and antisemitism go hand in hand with homophobia, xenophobia, racism and other forms of discrimination, and have become “a rallying cry for those who seek to tear down our democracies.” “That’s why we have to find innovative ways to bring the history of the Holocaust to life, not only to understand the past, but also to guide our present and to shape our future,” the top U.S. diplomat said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and German Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas are served beers as they arrive to speak at a youth outreach event at the Clarchens Ballhaus in Berlin, June 24, 2021.He and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas signed a document on the partnership. Blinken said the two governments would work to strengthen education and counter denial and distortion, helping public servants and young people understand the Holocaust and antisemitism in depth and to feel a responsibility to stop atrocities. “This dialogue will help us remember all that can be lost, but also help us to see all that we can save if we choose — if we choose — to stand up rather than stand by,” said Blinken. Libya talks Earlier on Thursday, Blinken and Libyan interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dabaiba held talks in Berlin following an international conference focused on supporting Libya’s transition to a permanent, stable government.  Wednesday’s conference, hosted by Germany and the United Nations, included officials from 17 countries and reinforced support for national elections in Libya scheduled for late December.  A senior U.S. State Department official told reporters Wednesday that the elections are important “not just to legitimize a long-term, credible Libyan government,” but also to help achieve the goal of carrying out an existing call for all foreign fighters to leave the country.  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, speaks as he meets with Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dabaiba, right, at the Berlin Marriott Hotel in Berlin, Germany, June 24, 2021.An official statement from conference attendees said that “all foreign forces and mercenaries need to be withdrawn from Libya without delay,” but on that point Turkey noted its reservations.  The senior State Department official said Turkey sees its personnel in Libya acting as trainers based on an agreement it had with a previous interim government, the U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord.  Libya has experienced political instability since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that ousted longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi from power. Rival governments operated in separate parts of the country for years before a cease-fire deal in October that included a demand for all foreign fighters and mercenaries to leave Libya within 90 days.     At a news conference following Wednesday’s conference, Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush said there was progress toward the exit of the foreign fighters and that “hopefully within the coming days mercenaries from both sides are going to be withdrawn.”  Defeating Islamic State will be the focus of an upcoming conference co-hosted by Blinken and Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio in Rome. The top U.S. diplomat will also participate in a ministerial meeting in Italy to discuss Syria and the humanitarian needs in that country.     Blinken is also scheduled to visit the Vatican, where Philip Reeker, acting assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs, said the agenda includes combating climate change and human trafficking. 
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A fatal attack by a gunman on a provincial office of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party is stoking fears of growing political violence against opposition parties. For VOA, Dorian Jones report from Istanbul.Produced by: Rod James   
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