Month: September 2017

Ukrainian authorities say three children have been killed in a fire at a youth camp in Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa. …

A U.S.-backed force fighting Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria has accused Russian jets of bombing its fighters in the Deir al-Zor Province, the last major IS stronghold in the war-torn country. …

London police say they are “chasing down suspects” in their investigation to determine who is responsible for the rush-hour bomb attack on a city subway. Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said police have the remnants of the improvised explosive device that was partially detonated Friday morning on a subway car at the Parsons Green station. Images …

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Fans of the American hip hop group the Insane Clown Posse will march on Washington Saturday in protest of their designation as a street gang by the federal government. On Saturday, the Insane Clown Posse (ICP), along with thousands of their diehard fans — who refer to themselves as “Juggalos” — will gather near the …

Read more “US Hip Hop Fans March on Washington to Protest Gang Designation”

The semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government on Friday upheld a plan to hold a referendum for independence from Iraq on Sept. 25, after calls for postponing the ballot from regional and Western powers. VOA’s Heather Murdock has this report from Irbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq. …

The first charges against Russian athletes suspected of having been part of a doping ring at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi may soon be issued by the International Olympic Committee, the head of a committee investigation said on September 15. …

Ukraine’s prosecutor-general has said that former pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych’s justice minister has been detained over allegations that he participated in an illegal “coup d’etat” in 2010. …

China and Russia have rejected a call from the United States to take more “direct actions” to deter North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests, and said it is up to Washington to defuse the threat through negotiations. …

The German Marshall Fund says it has documented Russian interference in the elections or political affairs of at least 27 countries since 2004, ranging from disinformation campaigns on Facebook, Twitter and other social media to cyber attacks.   The Helsinki Commission held a hearing Thursday on Capitol Hill focusing on what it called the “scourge” …

Read more “At Forum, Experts Slam Russian ‘Disinformation’ Campaigns Aimed at West”

An unregistered nationalist group in Russia’s Republic of Bashkortostan has announced a rally to demand the reinstatement of mandatory Bashkir-language classes at all schools in the republic. …

After a 20-year mission, including two extensions, the spacecraft Cassini is preparing to make a final “death dive” Friday into the planet Saturn. Scientists and engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory expect the spacecraft to plunge into the planet at 11:55 GMT. NASA said their decision to end the life of the spacecraft in this …

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NATO has called for a global response to North Korea’s latest missile launch. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday on Twitter, “North Korea’s missile launch is another reckless breach of U.N. resolutions — a major threat to international peace and security which demands a global response.” Earlier Friday, North Korea launched another missile over …

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President Vladimir Putin plans to visit Russia’s Leningrad region on September 18 to watch Zapad 2017, Russia’s joint military exercises with Belarus. …

Faiq Amirli, the financial director of the Azerbaijani opposition daily Azadliq (Liberty), has walked free after an appeals court replaced his prison term with a suspended sentence. …

The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Thursday welcoming recent efforts to bring opposing sides together on the conflict in Libya, which Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is calling ripe for mediation to end the chaos and restore peace. The resolution extends the U.N. political mission in the country until September 15, 2018, with a mandate …

Read more “UN Promotes Mediation to End Libya Chaos”