IOC: Palestinian athletes to be invited to Paris Olympics

Lausanne, France — Between six and eight Palestinian athletes are expected to compete at the Paris Olympics, with some set to be invited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) even if they fail to qualify, its head, Thomas Bach, said. Bach told AFP on Friday that qualification events for the Paris Games, which start July 26, …

Iran Risks Further Backlash for Death Sentence of Dissident Rapper, Says German MP

Washington — Iran’s handing of a death sentence this week to dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi has drawn outrage from the Islamic republic’s domestic and international critics, including a German lawmaker who says Tehran risks fueling the backlash if it moves toward executing the artist. In an interview for the Friday edition of VOA’s Flashpoint Global Crises …

King Charles to resume public duties after cancer diagnosis

LONDON — Britain’s King Charles III will return to public duties next week for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer as he makes good progress following treatment and a period of recuperation, Buckingham Palace said on Friday. In February, the palace revealed that the 75-year-old king had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of …

British officials charge 2 with spying for China

Washington — British officials formally charged two men Friday with spying on behalf of China in the latest in a series of European arrests of suspected Chinese intelligence agents. The two men, Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, were charged with violations of the Official Secrets Act by “providing prejudicial information to a foreign state, China” between …

Planned Biden-Erdogan meeting at White House postponed, Turkish official says

ANKARA — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s planned meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, set for May 9 at the White House, has been postponed because of changes in the Turkish leader’s schedule, a Turkish official said on Friday.  A new date will soon be set, the official said, requesting anonymity.  The White House had not formally …

Ukraine pulls US-provided Abrams tanks from front lines over Russian drone threats

WASHINGTON — Ukraine has sidelined U.S.-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks for now in its fight against Russia, in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press. The U.S. agreed to send 31 Abrams to Ukraine in …

Zelenskyy blasts Russian nuclear risks on Chernobyl anniversary

Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on Friday that Russia’s capture of a major nuclear power plant threatened a radiation catastrophe, as the country marked the anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in southern Ukraine in the first days of its 2022 invasion. Both …

Old style dresses help Namibian women look ahead

Victorian dress was forcibly imposed on Namibia’s indigenous ǂNūkhoe women by German colonizers in the late 1800s. Despite the origins, these styles persist today as a symbol of resilience. Lee Garises reports from Windhoek, Namibia. Camera: Jesaya Abraham …

China’s Nuctech raided in EU over foreign subsidies concerns

BRUSSELS — Chinese security equipment company Nuctech’s Dutch and Polish offices were raided by EU competition regulators, the company said on Wednesday, as the European Commission cracks down on companies receiving unfair state subsidies which put EU peers at a disadvantage. The European Commission has launched four investigations against Chinese companies since its foreign subsidies regulation …

Russia blocks UN resolution on peaceful use of outer space

new york — Russia blocked a U.N. Security Council resolution Wednesday reaffirming the need to prevent a nuclear arms race in outer space. The measure was proposed jointly by the United States, a nuclear power, and Japan, the only nation ever to be attacked with nuclear bombs. “We have only begun to understand the catastrophic ramifications …

Spain’s prime minister says he will consider resigning after wife is targeted by judicial probe

BARCELONA, Spain — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez denied corruption allegations against his wife but said he will consider resigning after the launch Wednesday of a judicial investigation into accusations by a right-wing legal platform that she used her position to influence business deals. Sánchez said in a letter posted on his X account that while …

Amnesty: Global rule of law on brink of collapse, fueled by AI

London — A breakdown in the international rule of law is being accelerated through rapid advancement in technology and artificial intelligence, which risks a “supercharging” of human rights violations, according to an annual report, by Amnesty International, published April 24.  “The international rules-based order is on the brink of collapse. The violations of international law have …