Month: February 2018

A Belarusian vlogger has attracted the attention of the authorities after posting a video that pokes fun at President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. …

Students who survived one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history are returning to school Wednesday, as federal and state lawmakers continue to debate how to prevent young people from losing their lives in what they all agree should be the safe confines of the nation’s schools. There have been no classes at Marjory …

Read more “Students Return to Florida High School for First Time Since Mass Shooting”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday rebels in the eastern Ghouta area of Syria are blocking aid deliveries and preventing people from leaving during what Russia has called a daily “humanitarian pause” in its military operations. The Russian plan is meant to give a five-hour window for people to get help or get out …

Read more “Russia Accuses Syrian Rebels of Blocking Humanitarian Plan While Fighting Continues”

Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani has offered unconditional peace talks to the Taliban, as well as the chance of recognizing them as a legitimate political party and withdrawing their names from international sanctions lists, if they agreed to join a peace process and give up violence. Addressing the second Kabul Process conference Wednesday morning, Ghani said …

Read more “Ghani Offers Unconditional Talks, Legitimacy to Afghan Taliban”

A man the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) claims was behind an alleged attempt to smuggle nearly 400 kilograms of cocaine from Argentina to Moscow is claiming he is the victim of a set-up by U.S. intelligence and Argentinian police, Russian media report. …

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Moscow will continue to help Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government to defeat what he called the “terrorist threat.” …

Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev says he has offered four options to Greece in an effort to resolve a decades-old dispute over his country’s name. …

Family and friends of slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov unveiled a street sign renamed in his honor in front of the Russian Embassy in Washington D.C. on February 27. Members of the U.S. Congress and D.C. Council officials also attended the ceremony. (Reuters) …

The U.S. Africa Command says two al-Shabab militants have been killed and another injured in an airstrike in southern Somalia. AFRICOM says the airstrike occurred Monday in the vicinity of the town of Jilib, in the Middle Jubba region. It marked the fourth airstrike in Somalia by the U.S. forces so far this year. Previous …

Read more “US Says 2 Al-Shabab Militants Killed in Airstrike”

A look at the best news photos from around the world. …

Women in Iran have been allowed to attend a men’s sporting event in Tehran for the first time in years — and social media applauds. …

The southern African nation of Botswana has taken the unusual step of directly criticizing Congolese President Joseph Kabila, saying his refusal to hold long overdue elections is driving deadly violence and a growing humanitarian emergency in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Botswana’s Foreign Ministry declined VOA’s request to elaborate on the statement, saying the words …

Read more “Botswana Urges Congo’s Kabila to Step Down”

Hundreds of thousands of people who sought shelter in Cameroon after fleeing violence will go hungry unless funds are made available, the United Nations deputy emergencies chief said. Ursula Mueller said donors had provided just 5 percent of the $305 million needed for Cameroon this year. “Given the magnitude of the crisis of displaced people …

Read more “UN Warns of Hunger Among Refugees in Cameroon”

British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran was named the world’s best-selling artist of 2017 on Monday, thanks to his album “Divide” and singles “Shape of You” and “Perfect.” The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said that “Divide,” which was released in March 2017, went multi-platinum in 36 nations. Sheeran’s pop ballad “Shape of You” was …

Read more “Ed Sheeran Named Best-selling Global Artist of 2017”

The Trump Organization said Monday it has made good on the president’s promise to donate profits from foreign government spending at its hotels to the U.S. Treasury, but neither the company nor the government disclosed the amount or how it was calculated.   Watchdog groups seized on the lack of detail as another example of …

Read more “Trump Org. Donates Foreign Profits, But Won’t Say How Much”