“My granduncle — cousin of my grandfather — was a Catholic priest who was put in the labor camp when the communist regime barbarically tried to destroy all the monasteries,” said Miriam Lexmann, one of dozens of legislators from around the world who gathered in Rome last weekend on the sidelines of the G-20 summit. …
Read more “Soviet-Era Memories Shape European Lawmakers’ View of China and Taiwan “
China and Russia are set to introduce a joint resolution to the United Nations Security Council calling for an end to a host of economic sanctions on the isolated regime. Among the sanctions the two countries want lifted are a ban on North Koreans working overseas and sending home their earnings, exporting seafood and textiles and ending …
Read more “China, Russia Urges UN Security Council to Lift Economic Sanctions on N. Korea ”
CIA Director William Burns is making a rare visit to Moscow to discuss U.S.-Russia relations, the latest in a series of high-level contacts that show both sides want to keep talking despite mutual distrust and a long list of disputes. A U.S. Embassy spokesperson said Burns was leading a delegation of senior U.S. officials to …
Read more “CIA Director Makes Rare Trip to Moscow for Talks on Russia-US Ties “
Human rights activists are expressing surprise at the failure of Israel and Switzerland to participate in a joint statement criticizing China’s treatment of its Uyghur minority. France delivered the statement on behalf of 43 countries at the United Nations last month. The two countries “have signed previous statements, especially Switzerland, which has always joined collective …
Read more “Why Israel and Switzerland Stayed Silent on Uyghur Human Rights in China”
President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced a sweeping U.S. plan to reduce methane emissions, as leaders from more than 100 nations met for a second day of talks at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. “What we’re going to do between now and 2030 is going to impact significantly what we’ll — whether we’ll …
Read more “Biden Sets Sights on Methane Reduction Plan at Global Climate Summit”
Wealthy Russians didn’t delay their escape. Ahead of the imposition this week of new nationwide pandemic restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus, they headed to Turkey, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Or to Black Sea resorts, such as Sochi, which was anticipating an influx this week of 100,000 tourists from northern …
Read more “Russia Grappling With Soaring COVID Cases Amid Vaccine Hesitancy”
Russia is increasing pressure on independent Russian media by legislating the systematic labeling of many of them as “foreign agents,” a category that in Russia is historically associated with the idea of “enemies of the state.” Jon Spier narrates this report from VOA’s Moscow bureau. …
Philanthropist Bill Gates says the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will donate $315 million to help small farmers around the world grow crops that will adapt to climate change. In an interview with VOA from Glasgow where he is attending the U.N. Climate Change Conference, Gates said the money will go to a seed consortium …
Read more “Bill Gates Vows to Donate $315 Million to Seed Programs for Small Farmers”
Russia’s Black Sea naval forces practiced destroying enemy targets on Tuesday as Moscow bristled at the presence of two U.S. warships in the area. President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russian forces could observe the USS Mount Whitney navy command ship “through binoculars or in the crosshairs of its … defense systems” and complained …
Read more “Russia Holds Black Sea Navy Drills With Eye on US Ships “
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejected accusations French President Emmanuel Macron made about a scrapped $37 billion submarine deal. Macron has recently said Morrison lied when abandoning the submarine deal before Australia joined a new security pact with the United Kingdom and the United States known by its acronym AUKUS. The AUKUS alliance and Australia’s cancelation of a lucrative defense contract in favor of U.S.-built nuclear submarines caught Paris off guard. France felt betrayed. In protest, France temporarily …
Read more “Australia Rejects French Claims of AUKUS Deal Deception”
Hopes are already fading that the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow will result in any new deal for a significant cut in global greenhouse gas emissions, after China and Russia declined to attend the conference and India’s pledges fell short of expectations. The summit got under way Monday as dozens of world leaders addressed the …
Read more “Hope Eroding as COP26 Climate Pledges Fall Short”
U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday announced a range of American commitments aimed at curbing global warming, as leaders from more than 100 countries gathered in Glasgow for the U.N. Climate Change Conference. “The United States will be able to meet the ambitious target I set at the Leaders Summit on climate back in April, …
Read more “Biden Opens Climate Talks with Set of New US Climate Commitments”
For months, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his aides have been raising expectations for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, which they are hosting in Glasgow. But heading into the two-week gathering they have been sounding far less confident. In Rome at the G-20 summit Saturday, Johnson said the …
Read more “Success at COP26 Will Be ‘Touch and Go’ say British Officials”
Barclays chief executive Jes Staley is leaving the bank after a dispute with British financial regulators over how he described his ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Staley will be replaced as CEO by Barclays’ head of global markets C.S. Venkatakrishnan, who on Monday pledged to continue his predecessor’s strategy. Staley’s shock departure comes …
G-20 leaders concluded their two-day summit in Rome on Sunday with an agreement to work to reach carbon neutrality ‘by around mid-century’ and pledged to end financing for coal plants abroad. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara as this report from Rome. …
Prime Minister Zoran Zaev announced his resignation late Sunday following the heavy defeat of his governing Social Democratic Union in North Macedonia’s local elections. “The responsibility for this outcome is mine and I’m resigning as prime minister and as leader of the Social Democratic Union,” Zaev said at a news conference at party headquarters. Zaev …