Officials in Brussels said Friday the suspect in a stabbing attack on two police officers Thursday — killing one, wounding the other — had been on a terrorism watch list. Prosecutors’ spokesperson Eric van der Sypt told a news conference the two officers were attacked in their squad car as they sat at a red …
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A two-day peace forum opened Friday in Paris, aimed at offering a more hopeful note to a year marked by the war in Ukraine, skyrocketing hunger and prices, and the rising destruction from climate change. Latin America is also on the agenda. About 4,000 people including a raft of world leaders, humanitarians and business figures …
Read more “Paris Peace Forum Convenes, Looks for Solutions to Today’s Crises”
Leaving behind a better-than-expected Democratic performance in the November 8 Congressional elections, U.S. President Joe Biden heads to a whirlwind week of diplomacy with Southeast Asian and Indo-Pacific leaders amid an intensifying rivalry with China, Russia’s war on Ukraine, and increased provocations from North Korea. Here are the key points he’ll be dealing with during …
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Ukraine’s prosecutor general says the country is not considering negotiations with Russia to bring an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a BBC interview in Kyiv, Andriy Kostin said Moscow must be held responsible for its actions in Ukraine. Kostin, who wants to set up a special international tribunal, said he wants reparations that …
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“Russian strikes on power generation and transmission are having a disproportionate effect upon civilians in Ukraine, indiscriminately impacting critical functions such as health care and heating,” according to the British Defense Ministry’s daily report on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “The continued prioritization of critical national infrastructure over military targets strongly implies Russian intent to strike …
Read more “Russia’s Ukraine Strikes Affecting Health Care, Heating, British Say”
The U.S. Air Force chief of staff is warning that the U.S. military must “change” if it wants to stay ahead of China and Russia. “Our adversaries have continued to advance their capabilities at the same time we’ve been using some of the same capabilities we’ve been using for the past 30 years,” Gen. C.Q. …
Read more “US Air Force Chief of Staff to VOA: ‘We’ve Got to Change’”
China watchers are applauding the German embassy in Beijing for a subtle dig on social media that drew attention to China’s strict control over political messaging in the days before a high-profile visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. On Oct. 11, Patricia Flor, the first woman to lead Germany’s diplomatic mission in Beijing since the …
Read more “In China, German Embassy Uses Social Media to Promote Free Speech, Democracy”
Diverging views on Russia’s war in Ukraine are making it hard for the 21 economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum to agree on a joint communiqué ahead of next week’s meeting of leaders and senior officials in Bangkok, Thailand. “The primary sticking point for this year in APEC that’s been very challenging” has …
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The United States is working to ensure that U.S. sanctions are not impeding the flow of Russian food and fertilizer to developing countries during talks to renew a U.N.-brokered deal on food shipments from Ukraine that will expire Nov. 19. In an interview this week, the U.S. State Department’s top official on economic affairs, Ramin …
Read more “US Warns of Daunting Consequences if Ukraine Grain Deal Not Renewed”
Ukrainian forces have recaptured more than 40 towns in southern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday, as Russia announced it was pulling its troops from Kherson. “The number of Ukrainian flags returning to their rightful place in the framework of the ongoing defense operation is already dozens, 41 settlements were liberated,” Zelenskyy said in his …
Read more “Ukraine Says It Recaptured Dozens of Towns in Kherson Province”
Russia ordered its troops to abandon the Dnipro River’s west bank a few hours after Yevgen Gamiy had another lucky escape from incoming fire on its east. The Kremlin’s announced pullback from the city of Kherson and about half of its eponymous region appeared to mark a new low for President Vladimir Putin in the …
Read more “Wrong Bank: Dnipro River Separates Villagers From Ukraine’s Advance”
Human rights groups report Thursday that Iranian security forces have arrested two Spanish nationals in connection with ongoing nationwide protests in the country. The human rights news agency HRANA reports the Spanish nationals are still in detention, though little more is known about them. The most recent arrest was 24-year-old Ana Baneira, who HRANA says …
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France has resolved a dayslong spat with Italy’s right-wing government by agreeing to take in a ship carrying more than 200 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean Sea. The Ocean Viking is due to dock in the southern French port of Toulon on Friday — but relations with Rome remain bitter. For the 234 migrants aboard …
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Throughout the war in Ukraine, the nation of Belarus, under the authoritarian rule of President Alexander Lukashenko, has acted as a Russian ally. That relationship has led to problems for many Belarusians outside of the country. Maxim Moskalkov has the story. Videographer: Sandzhar Khamidov …
Indonesia, host of the G-20 summit has confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending the gathering of the world’s twenty largest economies in person, which starts on November 15 in Bali. Moscow will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Jodi Mahardi, a spokesperson for Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment …
Ukraine Thursday claimed the recapture of its southern town of Snihurivka from Russia, the last remaining town under Russian occupation in the Mykolaiv region and a strategic location leading to the city of Kherson. “Today, on November 10, Snihurivka was liberated by the forces of the 131st Separate Intelligence Battalion. Glory to Ukraine!” a soldier …
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Russia said Wednesday it will host a multilateral meeting scheduled for November 16 to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. Special Afghan envoys from China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are expected to attend the gathering of what is known as the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan. “The discussion to focus …
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U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv this week. She said she expressed to Zelenskyy the United States’ steadfast support of Ukraine, which Russia invaded on February 24. Thomas-Greenfield spoke with VOA Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze in Warsaw on Wednesday. The following interview has been …
Read more “VOA Interview: US Ambassador to UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield “
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, speaks with VOA Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze in Warsaw about her recent visit to Ukraine and her meeting with the nation’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. …
Russia’s defense minister said Wednesday that Moscow’s troops were retreating from the key southern Ukraine city of Kherson, although Ukrainian officials expressed skepticism that a full withdrawal was underway from the lone regional capital Russia had captured since it invaded in February. Such a withdrawal would be a major setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin. …
Read more “Russia Announces Retreat From Kherson; Ukraine Skeptical”
Even with the political control of Congress uncertain Wednesday after nationwide elections, key U.S. lawmakers are vowing continued arms and financial support for Ukraine as it fends off Russia’s invasion, now in its ninth month. Virginia Senator Mark Warner, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told VOA he is confident there will be continued Democratic …
Read more “Democrats, Republicans Say They Will Back Ukraine, Whoever Controls Congress”
A leading ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin met Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday on a trip to deepen trade and security cooperation, as Moscow looks to shore up its economy and bolster its war effort in Ukraine. Russian Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev’s visit was a sign of Iran’s growing importance as a …
Read more “Putin Ally Meets Iran Leader as Moscow Deepens Tehran Ties “
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday announced that France was ending its Barkhane anti-jihadist mission in Africa after over a decade, saying a new strategy would be worked out with African partners. The declaration came in a wide-ranging speech reviewing France’s strategy where the president also underlined the importance of its nuclear deterrent, as well …
Read more “Macron Ends France’s Africa Mission, Ponders New Strategy “
A 23-year-old man was arrested Wednesday after hurling eggs and vitriol at King Charles III and Camilla, the queen consort, as they walked in the northern England city of York. The incident happened as the king and his wife were entering York through Micklegate Bar, a medieval gateway where monarchs are traditionally welcomed to the …
Read more “Police Detain Man After Eggs Thrown at King Charles III”