Month: October 2021

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is heading to Europe this weekend to meet with leaders in Georgia, Ukraine and Romania and to participate in a NATO defense ministers meeting in Belgium.    “The Department of Defense steadfastly supports its European Allies and partners in the face of Russia’s destabilizing actions in the critical Black Sea …

Read more “US Defense Secretary Heads to Europe to Focus on Black Sea Stability, NATO “

Eighteen journalists, nearly all of whom work for Kurdish media outlets, stood trial at hearings across Turkey this week.  Lawyers and media rights groups say the trials show how Turkey’s laws on terrorism and protests can be used to detain or harass journalists.  Nearly all those in court this week face accusations of belonging to …

Read more “Turkish Media Face 18 Trials in One Week”

A British member of parliament died Friday after being stabbed several times at a church, while he was visiting constituents in his home district in southeastern Britain, officials said. David Amess, 69, was a member of the Conservative Party and represented Southend West in Essex, England.  “All our hearts are full of shock and sadness …

Read more “British MP David Amess Killed in Stabbing”

A man suspected of killing five people with a bow and arrow and other weapons in Norway was in the care of health professionals  Friday, police said. Investigators have named the suspect as Espen Andersen Braathen, a 37-year-old Danish citizen who has lived for most of his life in Kongsberg, where the attacks took place …

Read more “Norway Bow-and-Arrow Attack Suspect Transferred to Health Services”

A labor union representing hotel maids in Spain, many of them migrants, is preparing to launch a new reservation app that, along with service and amenities, rates hotels on how they treat their workers. Jon Spier narrates this report by Alfonso Beato in Barcelona. …

It wasn’t the deal they were hoping to be offered. Instead of agreeing on a timetable for aspiring Balkan countries to join the European Union, the bloc’s 27 member states offered warm words at a summit in Slovenia last week, some pandemic recovery cash and a commitment to cut mobile-phone roaming charges for Balkan nationals …

Read more “Stalled EU Membership for Western Balkans Prompts Fears of Democratic Backsliding”

Russia is attempting to expand its influence in Southeast Asia through meetings and plans with Association of Southeast Asian Nations members, say analysts, but appears not to have the military or financial power to become a larger player in the region.  The effort includes Russian adoption of a five-year roadmap focused on trade and investment …

Read more “Russia Tries to Boost Asia Ties to Counter Indo-Pacific Alliances”

The United States and Greece upgraded an existing Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement on Thursday, a move seen as elevating bilateral ties in defense and overall relations. The amendment to the MDCA was signed by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and visiting Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias in Washington as part of the third round …

Read more “US, Greece Enhance Ties with China, Turkey in the Background”

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin heads to Europe next week for talks with allies concerned about Russia and what the NATO military alliance will focus on now that the withdrawal from Afghanistan is complete. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb reports. …

Turkey hosted leaders of Afghanistan’s Taliban government for the first time Thursday, repeating its advice to the Islamist group on the need to form an inclusive government in the war-torn South Asian nation and to ensure Afghan female participation in education as well as public life.    After Thursday’s meeting with the visitors, Foreign Minister …

Read more “Turkey Presses Taliban for Female Education and Inclusive Afghan Government “

A 4.5-magnitude earthquake struck the Spanish island of La Palma overnight Thursday, officials said, the strongest recorded since the island’s Cumbre Vieja volcano began erupting last month.  Spain’s National Geographic Institute reports the earthquake was one of as many as 100 that shook the island in the past 24 hours. Earthquakes have been a regular …

Read more “La Palma Records Strong Earthquake as Volcano Eruption Continues”

The consortium of journalists behind the Pegasus Project investigation into malware from Israel-based NSO Group won the top European Union journalism prize Thursday. The group provided further evidence that the malware was used to spy on journalists, human rights activists and political dissidents. The European Parliament said in a statement that the “unprecedented leak of more than 50,000 …

Read more “Consortium Behind Pegasus Project Wins EU Journalism Prize”

Police in Norway Thursday said a bow-and-arrow attack that claimed the lives of five people in the town of Kongsberg appears to be an act of terror. At news conference, regional Police Chief Ole Bredrup Saeverud told reporters the attack was carried out by a 37-year-old Danish national and Muslim convert who was known to …

Read more “Norway Police: Bow and Arrow Attack Appears to Be Act of Terror”

U.S. President Joe Biden plans to meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican later this month, the White House said Thursday.  “They will discuss working together on efforts grounded in respect for fundamental human dignity, including ending the COVID-19 pandemic, tackling the climate crisis, and caring for the poor,” the White House said in a …

Read more “Biden to Meet With Pope, Attend Climate Talks in Europe”

Russian health officials Thursday reported a record number of COVID-19 deaths – 986 – for the third consecutive day, while also reporting a record 31,299 new confirmed infections. The number of new cases breaks a record set last December, and marks the first time Russia has officially reported more than 30,000 cases in a single …

Read more “Russia Sets COVID-19 Death Record for 3rd Straight Day”

France has threatened to retaliate against Britain in yet another post-Brexit dispute, this time over fishing rights in what the British call the English Channel and the French refer to as La Manche, the narrow arm of the Atlantic Ocean separating England’s southern coast from the northern shores of France. French government spokesman Gabriel Attal …

Read more “Paris Threatens Retaliation in an Explosive Anglo-French Fishing Dispute”

Turkey’s president has brushed aside criticism of the country’s press freedom record, telling a U.S. broadcaster the country is “incomparably free.” But his comments on CBS came in the same month that several journalists were fighting lawsuits. One of those — journalist and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) representative Erol Onderoglu– was back in court on …

Read more “Erdogan Says Media Are ‘Incomparably Free,’ But Turkish Journalists Disagree”

A man armed with a bow and arrows killed five people and wounded two others on Wednesday in southeastern Norway, police said, adding that they had arrested the suspect.  The motive for the attack, which took place in several locations in the center of Kongsberg, was not yet known, but police said terrorism could not …

Read more “Five Killed, Two Hurt in Norway Bow-and-Arrow Attack; Suspect Arrested”

The chief of the World Health Organization on Wednesday honored the late Henrietta Lacks, an American woman whose cancer cells were taken without her knowledge during the 1950s and ended up providing the foundation for vast scientific breakthroughs, including research about the coronavirus.    The recognition from WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus came more than …

Read more “WHO Honors Henrietta Lacks, Woman Whose Cells Served Science”

Human rights activist Julienne Lusenge of the Democratic Republic of Congo was recently proclaimed the winner of the 2021 Aurora Humanitarian Prize for her work with wartime victims of sexual violence. She was one of five humanitarian finalists who were up for the award, often referred to as the Nobel prize for humanitarian work. The …

Read more “Congolese Human Rights Advocate Wins Award for Work with Female Victims of Wartime Sexual Abuse”

Syrian government forces backed by Russia have recently ramped up attacks against Idlib, the last rebel enclave. A Turkish military force stands in the way of Syrian troops that are poised to seize Idlib, a move Ankara fears could result in millions of refugees fleeing to Turkey. For VOA, Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul …

Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk said Tuesday it had started to divert vessels away from Britain’s biggest container port because of congestion, the latest fallout from multiple crises hitting the United Kingdom.  The country is suffering runaway energy prices, shortages of goods, fuel delivery issues and a worsening long-term shortage of lorry drivers, with post-Brexit immigration …

Read more “Shipping Giant Diverts Vessels From Crisis-Hit UK”

Members of the G-20 group of industrialized nations have pledged billions of dollars in aid to prevent a catastrophe in Afghanistan, following an emergency meeting Tuesday. Henry Ridgwell reports. …

Friends and colleagues of Jonathan Mirsky, an American journalist known as one of the sharpest observers of China, are reflecting fondly on his legacy ahead of his funeral in London Wednesday, one month short of his 89th birthday. Mirsky, who died in September, was a prolific writer, with hundreds of bylines inked in major publications …

Read more “Journalist Jonathan Mirsky Remembered as Sharp Observer of China”