Iran Sentences Ex-Official to Death Over Alleged UK Spying 

Iran has sentenced a former senior defense official to death after convicting him on charges of spying for Britain, state-linked media reported Wednesday.  The judiciary said Ali Reza Akbari, who was deputy defense minister until 2001, was a “key spy” for British intelligence, the semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported. It said Iranian intelligence unmasked the …

Cameroon Fishers Urge Stop to Gulf of Guinea Poachers to Reverse EU Ban

Fishing boats arrive back at Idenau, a coastal village near Cameroon’s western border with Nigeria. Authorities say there are several hundred fishers in Idenau and most of their catch is exported to neighboring states like Nigeria as well as to Europe. But fishing authorities say many of the fishers operating in Cameroon’s waters in the …

VOA Interview: What to Know About Russia’s Manipulated War Statistics

As Russia’s war on Ukraine approaches its one-year anniversary, Moscow is increasingly suspected of manipulating its official death toll, diminishing its own losses and exaggerating Ukraine’s.  Russia’s defense minister said last September that 5,937 Russian troops had been killed in the war. In November, U.S. officials estimated that Moscow’s casualties were “well over 100,000 Russian …

Australian Cardinal George Pell, Acquitted of Child Sexual Assault, Dead at 81

Australian Cardinal George Pell, a leading Roman Catholic conservative and former top Vatican official who in 2020 was acquitted of sexual abuse allegations, died Tuesday at the age of 81, his private secretary said.   Father Joseph Hamilton told Reuters that Pell died in Rome on Tuesday night.   Archbishop Peter Comensoli, the archbishop of Melbourne, said …

Constantine, Former and Last King of Greece, Dies at 82

Constantine, the former and last king of Greece who spent decades in exile, died Tuesday. He was 82. Doctors at the private Hygeia Hospital in Athens confirmed to The Associated Press that Constantine died late Tuesday after treatment in an intensive care unit but had no further details pending an official announcement. When he rose …

Charlie Hebdo Doubles Down on Iran Leader Cartoons

French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo doubled down on its ridicule of Iran’s religious rulers on Tuesday, with fresh cartoons of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, despite protests from Iran and its allies. “The mullahs aren’t happy. The caricatures of their supreme leader … do not seem to have made them laugh,” the paper’s editor, known …

Romanian Court Upholds Arrest of Influencer Andrew Tate

A court in Romania’s capital Bucharest has upheld the 30-day arrest of divisive social media personality and self-described misogynist Andrew Tate on charges of organized crime, human trafficking and rape, an official said late Tuesday. Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romanian anti-organized crime agency DIICOT, said the court rejected an appeal by Tate against a …

Turkish-Swiss IS Supporter Sentenced in 2020 Killing

A Turkish-Swiss dual national who stabbed a passer-by to death in a rare jihadi attack in Switzerland was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in a psychiatric institution. Named only as Omer A., the 29-year-old was found guilty of murder, attempted murder, attempted arson in trying to blow up a gas station, support for the Islamic …

French PM to Unveil Pension Changes that Upset Many Workers

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on Tuesday unveiled a contentious pension overhaul aimed at raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030, which has prompted vigorous criticism and calls for protests from leftist opponents and worker unions.  Speaking in a news conference in Paris, Borne said the minimum retirement age to be entitled …

Czechs Prepare to Choose New President, as Rivals Clash Over Support for Ukraine

Military support for Ukraine and relations with Russia and China are among the key issues as Czech voters prepare to choose a new president Friday, with three candidates neck-and-neck in the polls. Among them is Andrej Babiš, the billionaire former prime minister who received a boost after he was acquitted of fraud Monday. Babiš was …

Iran Sentences Belgian Aid Worker to Prison, Lashes

Iran has sentenced a Belgian aid worker to a lengthy prison term and 74 lashes after convicting him of espionage charges in a closed-door trial, state media reported Tuesday. The website of Iran’s judiciary said a Revolutionary Court sentenced 41-year-old Olivier Vandecasteele to 12.5 years in prison for espionage, 12.5 years for collaboration with hostile …

NATO, EU Back More Military Aid for Ukraine

NATO and European Union leaders have reinforced their commitment to providing Ukraine with military support to counter Russia’s nearly year-old invasion, including providing advanced air defenses and other equipment. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters Tuesday she thinks Ukraine should get all the military equipment it needs to defend itself, “because they …

Virgin Orbit Rocket Carrying Satellites Fails to Reach Orbit

A mission to launch the first satellites into orbit from Western Europe suffered an “anomaly” Tuesday, Virgin Orbit said.   The U.S.-based company attempted its first international launch on Monday, using a modified jumbo jet to carry one of its rockets from Cornwall in southwestern England to the Atlantic Ocean where the rocket was released. The …

Scholz: Berlin Will Not Go It Alone as Pressure Mounts to Supply Kyiv Tanks

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Monday he remained convinced of the need to coordinate weapons deliveries to Ukraine with allies as pressure mounts on Berlin to send Kyiv its Leopard 2 battle tanks. Germany announced last week it would provide Ukraine with Marder infantry fighting vehicles to help repel Russian forces. The announcement came on …

Plane Carrying Rocket Takes Off for First UK Satellite Launch

A modified jumbo jet carrying a Virgin Orbit rocket took off from southwestern England Monday, marking the first attempt to launch satellites into orbit from Western Europe. Hundreds gathered for the launch cheered as the repurposed Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 aircraft, named “Cosmic Girl,” took off from Cornwall late Monday. Around an hour into the …

Russia Launches Criminal Probes of Prominent Kremlin Critics

Russian authorities on Monday announced parallel criminal probes against a famous actor critical of the war in Ukraine and a philanthropist who supports the Russian opposition, the latest in a months-long, sweeping crackdown on dissent. Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement that its chief Alexander Bastrykin ordered the launch of a criminal case against …

US Green Beret Veteran Clears Mines in Ukraine

Ryan Hendrickson is a retired Green Beret, a special forces unit of the U.S. Army. But today he is in Ukraine, helping to clear mines laid by invading Russian forces and keep soldiers and civilians safe. For VOA, Іa Meurmishvili talked to Hendrickson in this report. Video editor – Anna Rice. …

Independent News Outlet Staff Go on Trial in Belarus

Five employees of what used to be authoritarian Belarus’s largest independent news outlet went on trial Monday in Minsk, facing several charges including tax evasion and “inciting enmity”, a rights group said. The outlet Tut.by covered large-scale protests in 2020 that erupted after President Alexander Lukashenko claimed a sixth term in office in a contested …

UK Summons Top Iranian Diplomat Following Latest Executions

Britain’s foreign minister James Cleverly summoned Iran’s most senior diplomat on Monday after Iranian authorities executed protestors Mohammad Mahdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini. “Today I have summoned the Iranian charge d’affairs to condemn in the strongest possible terms the abhorrent executions we witnessed over the weekend,” Cleverly said in a statement. Since the death …

Pope Condemns Iran’s Use of Death Penalty Against Protesters 

Pope Francis condemned Iran’s execution of protesters for the first time on Monday in his traditional New Year’s address to diplomats, and said the war in Ukraine was “a crime against God and humanity.” The pontiff made his remarks in a speech to diplomats accredited to the Vatican, his overview at the start of the …

Ukraine: Russian Missile Hits Market in Kharkiv Region 

Ukrainian officials said Monday a Russian missile hit a market in the Kharkiv region, killing one person and wounding several others. The officials said the missile struck the village of Shevchenkove, located about 75 kilometers from the city of Kharkiv. “We brutally condemn this act of terror,” Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova tweeted along with …