Europe

World News

France Allows In Trucks From England But Drivers Must Take COVID-19 Test

7:23am December 23, 2020

by Eleanor Beardsley

France and the U.K. have eased border restrictions imposed after a new strain of the coronavirus was detected in Britain. Thousands of French and other European truckers had been stuck in Dover.

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News Brief: Trump Slams Relief Bill, Presidential Pardons, France-U.K. Border

5:54am December 23, 2020

President Trump demands changes to pandemic relief bill, and he pardoned 15 people and commuted sentences of five others. France reopens border with Britain after new COVID-19 strain is detected.

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A poster about the new, fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus warns some Britons to stay home. The sign is displayed near King's Cross railway station in London.

What We Know About The New U.K. Variant Of Coronavirus — And What We Need To Find Out

7:05pm December 22, 2020

by Michaeleen Doucleff

There's cause for concern. But how concerned should we be? Here's a rundown of the current thinking on key issues as transmission, severity of disease — and effectiveness of vaccines.

World News

Russia's Reaction To Allegations Of Cyberattack On U.S. Federal Agencies

4:23pm December 22, 2020

by Lucian Kim

U.S. officials believe Russia is behind the massive hack of government agencies. NPR discusses what Russia is trying to achieve with this hacking effort and how it has perfected its cybercapabilities.

News Brief: Relief Measure, COVID-19 Mutations, Computer Hack

5:51am December 22, 2020

Congress ends months-long stalemate and passes $900 billion coronavirus relief bill. The U.K.'s COVID-19 variant has 17 mutations. Plus, how should the U.S. respond to the massive computer hack?

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Kevin Mandia, CEO of the cybersecurity firm FireEye, testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2017. Mandia's company was the first to sound the alarm about the massive hack of government agencies and private companies on Dec. 8.

How A Cybersecurity Firm Uncovered The Massive Computer Hack

7:07pm December 21, 2020

FireEye was the first to sound the alarm bell on Dec. 8 after it noticed an anomaly. "Right now there's absolutely an escalation in cyberspace," says Kevin Mandia, the company's CEO.

World News

Importers Struggle To Cross English Channel Amid Brexit, Pandemic Restrictions

3:44pm December 21, 2020

by Eleanor Beardsley

Long lines were already forming at the port of Calais as French truckers tried to get goods into the U.K. before post-Brexit customs rules kick in. But new pandemic restrictions made them even longer.

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World News

Kremlin Critic Navalny Makes Prank Call To Agent Allegedly Involved In His Poisoning

3:44pm December 21, 2020

by Michele Kelemen

Alexei Navalny, a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, says he tricked a Russian agent into spilling details of the Russian government's plot to kill him with a poison placed in his underwear.

A sign appears in the window of an office at Pfizer Manufacturing in Puurs, Belgium, on Monday, the same day the European Medicines Agency authorized the use of the company's COVID-19 vaccine.

EU Approves Use Of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine

1:34pm December 21, 2020

by Merrit Kennedy

Hours after the EU's drug agency signed off on the vaccine, the European Commission approved its use, clearing the way for inoculations to begin across Europe.

News Brief: Pandemic Relief, COVID-19 Mutation, 2nd Vaccine

6:02am December 21, 2020

Lawmakers reach a deal on a coronavirus relief package. A mutation of COVID-19 is discovered spreading in the U.K. Plus, the latest vaccine news from the U.S.

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