Pope Francis said the need to reform the United Nations was “more than obvious” after the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war exposed its limits, in an extract of his new book published Sunday. The Argentine pontiff said Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine highlighted the need to ensure the current multilateral structure — especially the UN …
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Rocket fire inflicted new damage in Ukraine Sunday, with pro-Kremlin officials blaming Kyiv for an attack that hit the mayor’s office in separatist-controlled Donetsk, while Ukrainian authorities said Russian missiles hit a city across from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, wounding six people. The mayor’s building in Donetsk, part of the Ukrainian region Russia recently …
The new U.K. Treasury chief on Sunday insisted Prime Minister Liz Truss retains control of her government despite having to roll back her signature economic policies weeks into her premiership. Jeremy Hunt was drafted in to lead the Treasury after Truss sacked Kwasi Kwarteng amid rising pressure following the turbulent market reaction to the new …
Read more “New UK Treasury Chief Insists Truss Retains Control “
Three weeks into a refinery strike that has caused fuel shortages across the country, tens of thousands of protesters marched in Paris on Sunday, adding to a growing picture of defiance and anger about inflation. The demonstration against the rising cost of living on Sunday was called by the left-wing political opposition and led by …
Read more “Protesters March in Paris as French Refinery Strikes Continue”
Britain’s defense ministry has cast doubt on Russia’s ability to continue to produce weapons during its invasion of Ukraine. In an intelligence update posted to Twitter on Sunday, the ministry estimated that Russia fired more than 80 cruise missiles into Ukraine on Oct. 10, a move that Russian President Vladimir Putin said was in retaliation …
Read more “Britain Questions Russia’s Ability to Continue to Produce Munitions”
Malta on Sunday marked the fifth anniversary of the car bomb slaying of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia with calls for justice, just two days after two key suspects reversed course and pleaded guilty to murder on the first day of their trial. The archbishop of the small Mediterranean island nation, Charles Scicluna, celebrated a …
Read more “Malta Marks 5 Years Since Journalist Killed, Seeks Justice “
Elon Musk said Saturday his rocket company, SpaceX, would continue to fund its Starlink internet service in Ukraine, citing the need for “good deeds,” a day after he said it could no longer afford to do so. Musk tweeted: “the hell with it … even though starlink is still losing money & other companies are …
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Greek police have rescued a group of 92 illegal migrants who were discovered naked, and some with injuries, close to its northern border with Turkey, police said Saturday. The migrants, all men, were discovered close to the Evros river that marks the border between Greece and Turkey on Friday, Greek police said in a statement. …
Read more “Greek Police Find 92 Naked Migrants at Border with Turkey”
U.S. President Joe Biden says he thought British Prime Minister Liz Truss’ original economic plan was a mistake and that he wasn’t alone. Truss’ plan led to a steep dive in the value of the British pound. “I wasn’t the only one that thought it was a mistake,” Biden said to reporters during a stop …
Read more “Biden: UK Leader’s Original Economic Plan ‘Was a Mistake’”
Britain’s new Treasury chief Saturday acknowledged mistakes made by his predecessor and suggested that he may reverse much of Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss’ tax-cutting plans in order to bring stability to the country after weeks of economic and political turbulence. Jeremy Hunt, who was brought in Friday to replace Kwasi Kwarteng as Treasury chief …
Read more “New UK Treasury Chief: Mistakes Were Made, Tax Rises Coming”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Saturday called for reforms of the European Union to make it fit for the admission of new countries as well as more military autonomy of the 27-country bloc. Speaking at the Congress of the Party of European Socialists in Berlin, Scholz advocated for gradually abolishing the principle of unanimity for decisions …
Read more “German Chancellor Calls for EU Reforms, Military Autonomy”
Egypt’s energy minister says gas supplies in the Mediterranean region are probably sufficient to meet Europe’s need if investments are made to exploit gas fields in the area. Egyptian TV reported Saturday that Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades thanked Egypt for its efforts to jointly coordinate the exploitation of regional undersea natural gas resources by …
Read more “Egypt: East Med Can Meet Europe’s Gas Needs if Investments Made”
Beside an abandoned Russian military camp in eastern Ukraine, the body of a man lay decomposing in the grass — a civilian who had fallen victim to a tripwire land mine set by retreating Russian forces. Nearby, a group of Ukrainian deminers with the country’s territorial defense forces worked to clear the area of dozens …
Read more “Ukrainian Deminers Remove Deadly Threats to Civilians”
Two women have been charged with criminal damage after climate change protesters threw soup on Vincent van Gogh’s painting “Sunflowers” at London’s National Gallery, British police said Saturday. A video posted by the Just Stop Oil campaign group, which has been holding protests for the last two weeks in the British capital, showed two of …
Read more “UK Police Charge 2 Women After Soup Thrown at Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’”
Iran has once again rejected allegations that it has supplied Russia with weapons “to be used in the war in Ukraine”, its foreign ministry said Saturday. Kyiv and many of its Western allies have accused Moscow of using Iranian-made drones in attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks. The topic is expected to be discussed by …
Read more “Iran Denies Providing Russia With Weapons ‘To Be Used’ in Ukraine”
An explosion Friday inside a coal mine in northern Turkey killed at least 25 people, local officials announced as rescuers working through the night tried to bring dozens of others to the surface. The explosion occurred at 6:45 p.m. local time at the state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine in the town of Amasra, in …
Read more “Officials: 25 Dead, Many Trapped in Turkish Coal Mine Blast “
In the days since Dane Partridge was fatally wounded while serving as a volunteer soldier in Ukraine, his sister has found moments of comfort in surprising places: first, a misplaced baseball cap discovered in her laundry room, then in a photo of a battered pickup truck with only one tire intact. The 34-year-old Idaho man …
Read more “US Army Veteran Dies Fighting as Volunteer in Ukraine”
The United States will send $725 million in military assistance to Ukraine, the White House said Friday, the latest U.S. security package to help Kyiv and the first since Russia’s widespread missile attacks on Ukraine’s civilian population. U.S. officials said the aid package does not include significant new capabilities or counterair defenses. Instead, it focuses …
Read more “US Announces $725M More in Military Aid for Ukraine”
At a bookshop in Kyiv, 33-year-old Yulia Sydorenko was dumping an entire collection of old books — some gifts from childhood friends — that have recently lost their appeal. Why? They were written in Russian. “Since February 24, Russian books have no place in my house,” Sydorenko said, referring to the day Russian President Vladimir …
Read more “Appetite For ‘De-Russification’ Builds in Ukraine”
Editor’s note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this past week, as seen from the United Nations perch. UNGA declares Russian ‘annexation’ of Ukrainian territories invalid In its strongest show of support for Ukraine since Moscow’s February 24 invasion, the U.N. General Assembly voted 143-5 on a …
Elon Musk said Friday his rocket company SpaceX cannot indefinitely fund its Starlink internet service in Ukraine, which has helped the country’s civilians and military stay online during the war with Russia. Musk’s comment on Twitter came after a media report that SpaceX had asked the Pentagon to pay for the donations of Starlink. The …
Read more “Musk Says SpaceX Cannot Fund Ukraine’s Starlink Internet Indefinitely”
Turkey’s parliament has adopted a new law that carries prison terms of up to three years for spreading “disinformation” online. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its coalition partner, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), voted the law in Thursday, despite objections by opposition parties, European countries and rights advocates. Ankara said the bill …
Robbie Coltrane, the baby-faced comedian and character actor whose hundreds of roles included a crime-solving psychologist on the TV series “Cracker” and the gentle half-giant Hagrid in the “Harry Potter” movies, has died. He was 72. Coltrane’s agent, Belinda Wright, said he died Friday at a hospital in his native Scotland, and but did not …
Read more “Actor Robbie Coltrane, Harry Potter’s Hagrid, Dies at 72”
The town of Secaucus in the eastern U.S. state of New Jersey is stepping up to help the people of Ukraine. For VOA, Iryna Solomko spoke with the town’s mayor, Michael Gonelli, about the effort. Anna Rice narrates her story. …