Month: January 2023

The return of basic military training in Russia’s secondary schools highlights an increasingly militarized atmosphere in Russia, the British Defense Ministry said Sunday in its daily intelligence update on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The training for secondary schools becomes mandatory in September. Russia announced similar mandatory training for university students in December. The return of …

Read more “UK: Military Training in Russian Schools Evokes Soviet Days”

Environmentalists protested over the weekend at the building site of a new airport in Albania’s south meant to boost tourism but which they say will endanger sanctuaries for some 200 bird species including flamingos and pelicans. The picturesque Vjose-Narte lagoon close to Albania’s Adriatic seaside is a crucial stop for flocks of birds in their …

Read more “Environmentalists Protest Airport Project Near Albanian Bird Sanctuary”

France’s prime minister on Sunday ruled out backtracking on a plan to raise the retirement age as unions prepared for another day of mass protests against the contested reform. An increase in the minimum retirement age to 64 from the current 62 is part of a flagship reform package pushed by President Emmanuel Macron to …

Read more “French PM Says No Dice on Pension Age as Strikes Loom “

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has fired the chairman of the Conservative Party. Sunak removed Nadhim Zahawi on Sunday, following an investigation into Zahawi’s personal taxes. The prime minister said in a letter to Zahawi that “it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the Ministerial Code.” Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser …

Read more “ UK Prime Minister Fires Conservative Party Chair”

 Pope Francis starts a trip on Tuesday to two fragile African nations often forgotten by the world, where protracted conflicts have left millions of refugees and displaced people grappling with hunger. The Jan. 31-Feb 5 visit to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan, takes the 86-year-old pope to places where Catholics make up …

Read more “Pope Francis to Visit Two Fragile African Nations: DR Congo and South Sudan “

The warm glow of Svalbard Kirke’s lights gleams on the snow-covered mountain slope from where the church stands like a beacon over this remote Norwegian Arctic village, cloaked in the polar night’s constant darkness. A century after it was founded to minister to the coal miners who settled Longyearbyen, the Lutheran house of faith is …

Read more “Church Helps Mining Community Evolve in Dark, Warming Arctic”

A Russian missile strike on a city in the eastern region of Donetsk killed at least three people Saturday as Ukrainian forces engaged Russian troops in ferocious battles in several hot spots in the east, where Moscow has been pressing its offensive with increased urgency amid Western pledges of modern tank deliveries for Kyiv. Ukrainian …

Read more “Russian Strike Kills 3; Zelenskyy Seeks Long-Range Missiles”

Thousands of demonstrators rallied in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, on Saturday in support of the ruling junta, days after France confirmed its special forces there would withdraw, according to an AFP journalist at the rally. Packing Nation Square in central Ouagadougou, protesters held signs bearing slogans including “Down with imperialism,” “Down with French policy in …

Read more “Burkina Rally Celebrate Word That French Troops Will Leave”

Families and friends of a growing number of Europeans imprisoned in Iran gathered in Paris Saturday to call for their release.  The French government this week denounced the plight of seven French citizens held in Iranian prisons, calling the detentions “unjustifiable and unacceptable.”  Iran has detained a number of foreigners and dual nationals over the …

Read more “Paris Rallies Demand Freedom for Europeans in Iran”

A secret supply of Bulgarian-made ammunition made its way to Ukraine as early as last April and continues to arrive today. It is not widely known that in the first months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, the urgently needed military supplies from Bulgaria were arriving in a clandestine operation through a network of …

Read more “Former Bulgarian PM Shares Details of Secret Deliveries of Bulgarian Ammo to Ukraine”

Italy’s prime minister held talks in Libya Saturday with officials from the country’s west-based government focusing on energy and migration, top issues for Italy and the European Union. During the visit, the two countries’ oil companies signed a gas deal worth $8 billion — the largest single investment in Libya’s energy sector in more than …

Read more “Italy, Libya Sign $8B Gas Deal as PM Meloni Visits Tripoli”

Sweden’s foreign ministry Saturday warned Swedes in Turkey to avoid crowds and demonstrations following protests there over the burning of the Quran by a far-right politician in Stockholm last week. Turkey has suspended talks with Sweden and Finland on their applications to join NATO after the protest at which Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish …

Read more “Sweden Tells Citizens: Avoid Crowds in Turkey After Quran Burning”

ormer army chief Petr Pavel won the Czech Republic’s presidential election on Saturday after a campaign featuring strong backing for NATO and the European Union and support for aid to Ukraine. Pavel, a 61-year-old retired general running for office for the first time, was set to win more than 58% of the vote with nearly …

Read more “Ex-General Wins Czech Presidential Election”

The British Defense Ministry said Saturday that Russia “highly likely” suffered more than 300 casualties in a New Year’s Day strike on its troops in Ukraine at Makiivka near Donetsk City. The ministry said it believes that “the majority were likely killed or missing, rather than wounded.” The ministry noted that while its Russian counterpart …

Read more “UK: Russia Likely Undercounts New Year’s Day Strike Casualties”

Editor’s note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this week, as seen from the United Nations’ perch. UN deputy chief says Taliban’s desire for recognition is bargaining chip on rights U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said Wednesday that the international community’s best leverage to persuade the Taliban …

Read more “UN Weekly Roundup: Jan. 21-27, 2023 ”

Ukraine said Russian missile strikes killed at least 10 Ukrainian civilians Friday as fierce fighting continued in the east of the country. Twenty others were wounded. Ukrainian officials say most of the casualties from the missile strikes occurred in towns in the country’s east and south that are near Russian artillery units. They follow Russian …

Read more “Ukraine: Latest Russian Missile Strikes Kill at Least 10”

The United Nations held a solemn ceremony Friday to mark the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust, plus the Roma, disabled people and countless others who died at the hands of Nazi Germany. It began with a lullaby composed by Gideon Klein, who perished in a …

Read more “UN Chief Leads Ceremony to Remember Holocaust Victims”

As the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden seeks to secure NATO enlargement with the accession of Sweden and Finland, it is dealing with requests by Turkey and Greece to purchase fighter jets, the latter being less controversial and more likely to be approved. Analysts speaking to VOA said the outcome of the proposed sale …

Read more “US Weighs Turkey, Greece Jet Sales Amid NATO Expansion”

Turkey summoned the Danish ambassador and accused Denmark of endorsing a “hate crime” after an anti-Islam activist on Friday burned two copies of Islam’s holy book, the Quran, in a solitary protest in Copenhagen.  Rasmus Paludan, a far-right activist who holds both Danish and Swedish citizenship, had already infuriated Turkey by staging a Quran-burning protest …

Read more “Turkey Summons Danish Envoy Over Quran-burning Protest “

As countries around the world prepare to send high-tech weapons to Ukraine, remnants of the Russian occupation of some villages reveal how low-tech the war can also be. VOA’s Heather Murdock reports from the Kherson Oblast in Ukraine. Videographer: Yan Boechat …

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell visited South Africa on Friday, urging Pretoria to use its ties with Russia to convince Moscow to stop its war on Ukraine.  Borrell’s trip to South Africa is the latest in a whirlwind week that has seen visits by both Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. …

Read more “EU’s Borrell Urges South Africa to Get Russia to End Ukraine War”

A Finnish court on Friday said two journalists at Finland’s largest daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat were found guilty of revealing classified defense intelligence, in a rare criminal trial restricting press freedom in the Nordic country. Helsinki district court said it had sentenced Tuomo Pietilainen, the lead writer of a 2017 report entitled “Finland’s most secret …

Read more “Finnish Journalists Found Guilty of Revealing State Secrets”

January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day.  The date was chosen because it marks the day in 1945 that Auschwitz, Nazi Germany’s largest concentration and death camp, was liberated by Soviet troops, revealing the horrors within.  The United Nations is commemorating the day with an event that will be livestreamed.   According to History.com, Soviet troops …

Read more “Jan. 27 Is International Holocaust Remembrance Day”

Ukraine is urging Australia to increase its military aid ahead of a visit to Europe next week by Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Defense Minister Richard Marles. Australia, the largest non-NATO contributor to Ukraine’s war effort, has supplied missiles and Bushmaster armored personnel carriers. They have a special ‘V’-shaped floor designed to spread …

Read more “Australia Urged to Boost Military Assistance to Ukraine”