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LONDON - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a no-confidence vote on Monday, securing enough support from his Conservative Party to remain in office despite a rebellion that leaves him a weakened leader with an uncertain future.Known for his ability to shrug off scandals, the charismatic leader has struggled to turn the page on revelations that he and his staff repeatedly held boozy parties that flouted the COVID-19 restrictions they imposed on others. Support among his fellow Conservative lawmakers has weakened as some see the leader, renowned for his ability to connect with voters, increasingly as a liability rather than an asset in elections.Johnson won the backing of 211 out of 359 Conservative lawmakers, more than the simple majority needed to remain in power, but still a significant rebellion of 148 MPs.

FILE - A protester holds a placard reading "Legal abortion, no compromises" during the protest. (Alex Bona/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)WARSAW, Poland - The government of Poland, where a near-total abortion ban is in place, faced accusations Monday of creating a "pregnancy register" as the country expands the amount of medical data being digitally saved on patients.Women's rights advocates and opposition politicians fear women face unprecedented surveillance given the conservative views of a ruling party that has already tightened what was one of Europe's most restrictive abortion laws.They fear the new data could be used by police and prosecutors against women whose pregnancies end, even in cases of miscarriage, or that women could be tracked by the state if they order abortion pills or travel abroad for an abortion."A pregnancy registry in a country with an almost complete ban on abortion is terrifying," said Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, a left-wing lawmaker.The matter gained attention Monday after Health Minister Adam Niedzielski signed an ordinance Friday expanding the amount of information to be saved in a central database on patients, including information on allergies, blood type and pregnancies.The health ministry spokesman, Wojciech Andrusiewicz, sought to allay concerns, saying only medical professionals will have access to the data, and that the changes are being made at the recommendation of the European Union.Tens of thousands of people marched across the U.S.

The economy grew by 10.8% in GDP terms in the first three months of this year but shrank by 1% when measured by Modified Domestic Demand, which more closely tracks the domestic economy, new Central Statistics Office figures show today.

What vaccines, treatments do we have to combat monkeypox?

The first cases of a new Covid-19 variant of concern have been confirmed in Ireland.

NATO said Sweden and Finland would be “warmly welcomed” if the countries decided to apply for membership in the military alliance.Now, it appears at least one NATO nation doesn’t feel the same way.

TRIPS, need to be more flexible."

Face masks are set to be no longer mandatory in airports and on flights in Europe, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have said.

The coronavirus infection rate has gone up in one area of Greater Manchester, as the weekly rates continue to plummet across the other nine areas. However, the infection rate across the region remains below the national average.

The head of the world's biggest airline trade body has said that the recovery in passenger traffic was accelerating and that on average, the industry could now return to pre-pandemic figures in 2023.

Italy has announced that a passenger locator form is no longer required to enter the country - but other Covid travel rules will remain in place until the end of the month.

Spain has confirmed that Covid-19 travel rules will remain in place for UK flyers until May 15.

The European Commission has said that between 60% and 80% of the EU population is estimated to have been infected with Covid-19, as the bloc enters a post-emergency phase in which mass reporting of cases is no longer necessary.

French President Emmanuel Macron defeated his far-right rival Marine Le Pen on Sunday by a comfortable margin, securing a second term and heading off what would have been a political earthquake.Cheers of joy erupted as the results appeared on a giant screen at the Champ de Mars park at the foot of the Eiffel tower, where Macron supporters waved French and EU flags. People hugged each other and chanted “Macron.”Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulated Macron on Twitter, saying he’s looking forward to continuing to work with him.In a tweet Sunday afternoon, Trudeau wrote, “Looking forward to continuing our work together on the issues that matter most to people in Canada and France – from defending democracy, to fighting climate change, to creating good jobs and economic growth for the middle class.”Congratulations, @EmmanuelMacron.

Google."Ads shouldn’t detract from important conversations about the climate crisis," the company said in a statement outlining its new policy Friday.There was no indication that the change would affect what users post on the social media site, which along with Facebook has been targeted by groups seeking to promote misleading claims about climate change.The announcement coinciding with Earth Day came hours before the European Union agreed upon a deal requiring big tech companies to vet their sites more closely for hate speech, disinformation and other harmful content.RELATED: Time flies: Google Earth Timelapse feature shows your town change over 37 yearsTwitter said it would provide more information in the coming months on how it plans to provide "reliable, authoritative context to the climate conversations" its users engage in, including from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The U.N.-backed science panel's reports on the causes and effects of climate change provide the basis for international negotiations to curb climate change.RELATED: Elon Musk says he has $46.5B in financing ready to buy TwitterAdvertisementThe company already has a dedicated climate topic on its site and offered what it described as "pre-bunks" during last year's U.N.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered his country’s answers to a questionnaire required for a membership in the European Union (EU) on Monday.

Mariupol, of which Moscow said it had taken almost full control, following almost two months of bloody fighting.After failing to overcome Ukrainian resistance in the north, the Russian military has refocused its ground offensive on Donbas, while launching long-distance strikes at targets elsewhere, including the capital, Kyiv.Eighteen people have been killed and more than 100 wounded in shelling in the past four days in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Ukraine completes questionnaire for EU membership, official says “This is nothing but deliberate terror: mortars, artillery against ordinary residential quarters, against ordinary civilians,” he said late on Sunday.Russia denies targeting civilians and has rejected what Ukraine says is evidence of atrocities as staged to undermine peace talks.

Greece has said that pandemic restrictions such as mask-wearing indoors and Covid certificates will be lifted throughout the summer tourism period and authorities will consider reinstating them in September.

KYIV, Ukraine - A showdown looms in Ukraine after Russia appointed a new military commander and looked to concentrate its attacks in the east, while Ukraine’s president said his troops will hold their ground, urging Western leaders, in particular President Joe Biden, to do more.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Sunday in a nightly address that this week will be as crucial as any during the war, saying "Russian troops will move to even larger operations in the east of our state."Ukraine’s fate as the war shifts south and east depends on whether the United States will help match a surge in Russian weaponry, he said, echoing comments he made in an interview with The Associated Press on Saturday."To be honest, whether we will be able to (survive) depends on this," Zelenskyy said in a "60 Minutes" interview. "Unfortunately, I don’t have the confidence that we will be receiving everything we need."Zelenskyy said he was grateful to Biden for U.S.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the powerful head of Russia‘s republic of Chechnya, said early on Monday that there will be an offensive by Russian forces not only on the besieged port of Mariupol, but also on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

Russia is being accused of committing another horrific war crime—this time at a railway station in eastern Ukraine. Thousands of people were waiting to evacuate the increasingly volatile region when a missile hit the station in Kramatorsk, killing at least 50 people.

COLOMBO (News 1st); The European Union has requested Sri Lankan authorities to start in-depth discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the reforms needed to bring the Sri Lankan economy back to a sustainable path.They issued a joint statement on the recent developments in Sri Lanka together with the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States and with the diplomatic missions of Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, & the United Kingdom.

Secretary General of the Department of Health Robert Watt said a new permanent Chief Medical Officer will be appointed over the next few months.

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Warning: This story contains details that may be disturbing to some. Reader discretion is advised.

KYIV, Ukraine - Russia faced a fresh wave of condemnation on Monday after evidence emerged of what appeared to be deliberate killings of civilians in Ukraine. Some Western leaders called for further sanctions in response to the alleged atrocities, even as Moscow continued to press its offensive in the country's east.Germany's defense minister suggested the European Union discuss a ban on Russian gas imports, but more senior officials indicated an immediate boycott was not possible — a sign that leaders could struggle in the short-term to ramp up already severe sanctions on Russia.Ukrainian officials said bodies of 410 civilians were found in towns around the capital, Kyiv, that were recaptured from Russian forces in recent days.

People wait for their COVID-19 vaccinations at a shopping mall in Luanda, Angola. ©WHO

KYIV, Ukraine - The first face-to-face talks in two weeks between Russia and Ukraine began Tuesday in Turkey, raising flickering hopes there could be progress toward ending a war that has ground into a bloody campaign of attrition.Ahead of the meeting in Istanbul, the Ukrainian president said his country is prepared to declare its neutrality, as Moscow has demanded, and is open to compromise over the contested eastern region of Donbas — comments that might lend momentum to negotiations. But he warned the "ruthless war" continued, and even the negotiators assembled, Russian forces hit an oil depot in western Ukraine and a government building in the south.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the two sides that they had a "historic responsibility" to stop the fighting."We believe that there will be no losers in a just peace.

US President Joe Biden (L) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (R) hold a joint press conference in Brussels, Belgium on March 25, 2022. (EU Commission/Pool/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) BRUSSELS - The United States and European Union on Friday announced a new partnership to reduce the continent's reliance on Russian energy, a step top officials characterized as the start of a years-long initiative to further isolate Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine.U.S.

Despite previous deals falling apart almost immediately, Ukraine and Russia have reached another agreement for humanitarian corridors, to allow more people to flee the war.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Western allies opened the first of three summits Thursday focused on increasing pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin over his war in Ukraine while tending to the economic and security fallout spreading across Europe and the world.Biden and the leaders of other NATO countries met at the alliance's headquarters where they posed for a group photo memorializing the urgent gathering before retreating behind closed doors for their summit, which was expected to last several hours.Over the course of Thursday, the European diplomatic capital is hosting an emergency NATO summit as well as a gathering of the Group of Seven industrialized nations and a summit of the 27 members of the European Union.

MADRID - Authorities in Gibraltar seized a superyacht belonging to a notorious Russian billionaire on March 21, local media reported. In recent footage obtained by Storyful, the ship, the Axioma was seen arriving at a dock in the British overseas territory. ThE footage shows the Axioma coming in to dock in the British overseas territory. The vessel was reportedly seized for its ties to Dmitry Pumpyansky, owner of Russian steel company TMK.The 240-foot boat has an estimated value of $75 million.

Ukraine becomes increasingly brutal, with Russian attacks killing and displacing civilians, experts say the international community is shifting its focus from sanctions to helping the Ukrainian military.That’s partly because the few remaining options that could have a significant impact on Russia’s economy — namely, a European ban on Russian oil and gas — are not feasible in the short term. It’s also becoming clearer that the sanctions, while devastating, are not swaying Russian President Vladimir Putin.“It’s not hurting (Russia) enough to make them stop,” said James Brander, a professor in international business and public policy at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business.“It’s hard to get to that level, whereas what’s really hurting the Russians right now is on the ground in Ukraine, where they’re running into a lot of military trouble.

UKRAINE - A group of European leaders is fighting to allow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the people of Ukraine to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, despite the Nobel Committee’s expired deadline.In a letter, dated March 11, the politicians called on the committee to re-open and reconsider the 2022 nomination rules for the honor."Brave Ukrainian men and women are fighting to preserve democracy and self-government," the letter read. "From the defiance democratically elected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the man with tears in his eyes saying goodbye to his family to fight for his country, people all over Ukraine are rising up to resist the forces of authoritarianism.

Around the world, superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs are being seized and impounded thanks to ongoing sanctions from Canada, the U.S. and the European Union in response to Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine.

WTO members to come into force.

vaccines, sources familiar with the deal said on Tuesday.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are signing their names on an open letter which called out loosening COVID-19 policies across the world.

was - President Joe Biden will announce Friday that, along with the European Union and the Group of Seven countries, the U.S. will move to revoke "most favored nation" trade status for Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.That's according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement. Each country would have to follow its own national processes, the person said.

European and international airlines and airport bodies have called for an end to pandemic measures for European domestic flights as most countries begin to relax requirements to present proof of vaccination and wear masks.

The European Union is now gearing up to phase out Russian energy supplies in response to the war in Ukraine. Jackson Proskow reports on the planned timeline, and the growing international goal to end reliance on Russian energy.

The EU’s foreign policy chief said on Friday he has urged China to use its influence with Moscow to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, adding that if the U.N.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a “desperate” plea to the United States to help Kyiv get more warplanes to fight Russia’s invasion and retain control of its airspace.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Washington has given a “green light” to the idea and is currently “very, very actively” looking at a proposal under which Ukraine’s neighbour Poland would supply Kyiv with Soviet-era fighters and in turn receive American F-16s to make up for their loss.However, the proposition is fraught with uncertainty and Poland has been less than enthusiastic about it in public, largely because Russia has warned that supporting Ukraine’s air force would be seen in Moscow as participating in the conflict and open up suppliers to possible retaliation.

Airbnb is responding to Russia's invasion of Ukraine by suspending all operations in Russia and Belarus.The decision was tweeted by Chief Executive Officer Brian Chesky late Thursday.On Monday, the company announced its nonprofit arm Airbnb.org would offer free, temporary housing for up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine.Chesky and Joe Gebbia, chairman of Airbnb.org, sent letters to leaders of Poland, Romania, Germany and Hungary offering help to house the refugees, according to Reuters.Except for Germany, the countries share borders with Ukraine.FILE - In this photo illustration the American online marketplace and hospitality service Airbnb logo seen displayed on a smartphone with an economic stock exchange index graph in the background.

Authorities in Germany this week seized a lavish $600 million yacht belonging to a Russian oligarch, according to reports.The Dilbar, a 512-foot vessel belonging to billionaire Alisher Usmanov, was taken over by authorities while it was being refitted in a German shipyard, Forbes reported.The business magazine learned about the move Wednesday, just two days after Usmanov was sanctioned by the European Union as part of its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the report said.The EU has accused Usmanov of being a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a supporter of Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea, the Washington Examiner reported.Usmanov on Tuesday confirmed that financial actions had been taken against him."On 28 February 2022 I became the target of restrictive measures imposed by the European Union I believe that such decision is unfair, and the reasons employed to justify the sanctions are a set of false and defamatory allegations damaging my honor, dignity, and business reputation," he wrote Tuesday.The statement was posted on the website of the International Fencing Federation, where the former professional fencer served as president since 2008 until stepping down Monday, the Examiner reported.The Dilbar had been undergoing work at a shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, since October, according to Forbes. Employees of Blohm+Voss, the shipbuilding firm overseeing the project, were not at work Wednesday, the report said.German shipbuilder Lurssen, which built the Dilbar, claims it’s the world’s largest motor yacht by gross tonnage, weighing nearly 16,000 tons, according to Forbes.When operating, the ship has a crew of 96 people.

The European Union has approved new sanctions against Belarus for its supporting role in Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine, effectively banning about 70 per cent of all imports from that country, the EU said on Wednesday.

Ordinary Russians faced the prospect of higher prices and crimped foreign travel as Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine sent the ruble plummeting, leading uneasy depositors to line up at banks and ATMs on Monday in a country that has seen more than one currency disaster in the post-Soviet era.

Joe Biden announced Tuesday night in his State of the Union address that the U.S. is banning Russian flights from its airspace in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.The move follows similar action by Canada and the European Union this week.