Travels News
French President Emmanuel Macron held his first big rally Saturday in his race for reelection, promising the French more “progress” and “solidarity” over the next five years, but his campaign has hit a speed bump. It’s been dubbed “the McKinsey Affair,” named after an American consulting company hired to advise the French government on its …
Read more “Macron Holds 1st Big Rally; Rivals Stir up ‘McKinsey Affair’”
A diverse coalition of opposition parties made their final appeal to Hungarian voters Saturday ahead of the country’s fiercely fought election that will decide whether nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban continues his autocratic rule for a fourth consecutive term. Several hundred supporters of the six-party coalition, United For Hungary, gathered in the rain in central …
Read more “Opposition Vows End to Orban’s Autocratic Rule in Hungary”
United Nations agencies say humanitarian needs are increasing and spreading throughout Ukraine as the war there intensifies and expands to more areas of the country. The World Food Program says food is dwindling and becoming harder to get in Ukraine. Despite the security risks, WFP says it has managed to provide food to 1 million …
Read more “UN Agencies Warn of Rising Humanitarian Needs in Ukraine”
Ukrainian forces were advancing Saturday into areas north of Kyiv as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused departing Russian soldiers of leaving behind mines. A Red Cross convoy was heading to Mariupol, set to try again to evacuate civilians from the besieged port. Fighting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russian soldiers of deliberately mining areas …
Read more “Ukraine and Russia: What You Need to Know Right Now”
Ukrainian forces were advancing on Saturday into areas north of Kyiv littered with debris and destroyed Russian tanks as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused departing Russian soldiers of leaving behind mines. Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said Ukrainian troops had retaken more than 30 towns and villages in the region since Russia announced this week …
Read more “Ukraine Forces Retake Areas North of Kyiv as Russians Look Eastward”
Irina, her husband and 4-year-old son hid in the cellar of their house in Chernihiv, north of Kyiv, for three weeks as intense fighting, including a tank battle, raged around them. “At first my son seemed to be coping okay,” she says. “But then with unrelenting stress, shelling and blasts, there was a deterioration — …
Read more “Psychiatrists Worry About Ukraine’s Long-Term Mental Health Challenges”
Pope Francis set off on a two-day visit to the Mediterranean island nation of Malta Saturday, a visit that was postponed in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The pope is expected to use this visit to address the issue of European migration, which has become an increasing concern with the war in the …
Read more “Pope Embarks on Trip to Malta; Migration Main Concern”
Pakistan’s military chief Saturday slammed Russia’s military attack on Ukraine, calling for immediate cessation of what he described as a “huge tragedy” being inflicted on a smaller country. General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s rare criticism of Moscow evidently was at variance with that of his country’s embattled prime minister, Imran Khan, who has advocated Islamabad’s neutrality …
Read more “Pakistan Army Chief Blasts Russia’s Aggression Against Ukraine”
New details have emerged about Belarusians fighting for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion as part of a broader struggle to free their own country from Russian domination and the rule of Moscow-backed autocrat Alexander Lukashenko. Speaking exclusively to VOA in a Tuesday phone interview, the deputy commander of the largest pro-Ukraine Belarusian fighting force said its …
Read more “How Belarusian Fighters in Ukraine Evolved Into Prominent Force Against Russian Invasion”
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters a second month, social media and television continue to constantly broadcast disturbing images and news about the conflict. That’s raising some concerns about the effect it might be having on children’s mental health. Video: Artyom Kokhan …
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A Red Cross convoy traveling to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol will make another attempt to evacuate civilians from the besieged port Saturday as Russian forces looked to be regrouping for new attacks in the southeast. Mariupol, encircled since the early days of Russia’s 5-week-old invasion, has been Moscow’s main target in Ukraine’s southeastern region …
Read more “Red Cross Heads Again for Mariupol as Russia Shifts Ukraine Focus”
The U.S. Defense Department announced Friday it is allotting $300 million in “security assistance” for Ukraine to bolster the country’s defense capabilities, adding to the $1.6 billion Washington has committed since Russia invaded in late February. The package includes laser-guided rocket systems, drones, ammunition, night-vision devices, tactical secure communications systems, medical supplies and spare parts. …
Read more “Pentagon Commits Extra $300 Million in Security Aid to Ukraine”
Shouts of fear and panic. The thunder of gunfire. Dozens of corpses in pools of blood on the floor of the Bataclan concert hall. A Paris court Friday released audio recordings and photos of the 2015 Paris terror attacks that had never been made public before, to expose the horrors of that night. Some survivors …
Read more “Paris Attacks Trial: Key Suspect Speaks, Shocking Images “
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the western Ukrainian town of Ternopil was full at lunch time — as it has been most days since Russia invaded Ukraine. “The cathedral is full of people praying for peace,” Archbishop Vasyl Semeniuk told me. But as I reported Thursday, the Greek-Catholic …
Read more “Reporter’s Notebook: An Apocalyptic War With No End?”
The first European Union-China summit in nearly two years took place Friday by video link and lasted just two hours. The European Union warned China not to support Russia’s war in Ukraine or interfere with international sanctions against Moscow, during a virtual summit that failed to ease sharp differences between the sides over the conflict. …
The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said he has reached separate agreements with Ukrainian and Russian authorities on what assistance his agency will provide as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters a second month. Fears have been high throughout the five-week-long war of a potential nuclear accident, as Russia indiscriminately shells many parts of …
Read more “IAEA to Assist in Safeguarding Ukraine Nuclear Sites”
The Kremlin’s clampdown on news of the war in Ukraine has hackers and volunteers from around the world are sending messages directly to Russian citizens’ phones to keep them informed. Matt Dibble has the story. …
Ukraine’s presidential office says Ukrainian and Russian officials held online peace talks Friday, but gave no further details. The meeting follows Tuesday’s face-to-face peace talks in Istanbul, which both Turkish and Ukrainian officials described as positive. In a television interview Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, while acknowledging that some Russian commitments to deescalate …
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised India for not judging the Ukraine crisis in a “one-sided way,” and said that the two countries would find ways to trade using local currencies. “Our relations were very sustainable during many difficult times in the past,” the Russian foreign minister said during a visit to New Delhi Friday. …
Read more “Russian Foreign Minister Praises Indian Position on Ukraine Crisis”
The besieged Southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol is waiting Friday to see whether Russia will honor a humanitarian corridor that could allow aid into the city and allow evacuations out. “We remain hopeful, we are in action moving towards Mariupol … but it’s not yet clear that this will happen today,” Ewan Watson, a spokesman …
Read more “Ukraine’s Mariupol Hoping For Humanitarian Corridor”
Golden butterflies adorn the walls of the Netherland’s only euthanasia expertise center, put up in remembrance of thousands of patients who have chosen to die with dignity over the past two decades. Situated in a leafy upmarket suburb of The Hague, the Euthanasia Expertise Center is the only one of its kind, giving information, assisting …
Read more “‘Dying With Dignity’: Dutch Mark 20 Years of Euthanasia”
An accident in a mine in central Serbia killed at least eight people and wounded 20 Friday, state Serbian television RTS reported. The accident in the Soko coal mine happened around 5 a.m. (0300 GMT). The RTS report says part of the mine pit collapsed trapping the miners inside. The head of the medical center …
Read more “Central Serbia Mine Accident Kills At Least 8, Injures 20”
Australia said Friday it will send armored vehicles to Ukraine after a plea for much needed military aid from its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, made during an address to the Australian Parliament. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told lawmakers in Australia by video link Thursday from Ukraine that those “fighting against evil” must be armed. He urged …
Read more “Australia to Send Armored Troop Carriers to Ukraine”