France was hit by massive walkouts and protests Thursday against a government plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. The plan is shaping up as a test for French President Emmanuel Macron and for the labor unions that oppose it. Thousands of protesters had gathered at Paris’ iconic Place de la Republique …
From Lafayette Park in front of the White House to the streets of London, Toronto and many other cities around the world, activists have been staging small protests to condemn the Taliban’s repressive policies against women in Afghanistan and call for a stronger international response. While they attract a relatively small number of participants, the …
Read more “Muzzled in Afghanistan, Activists Protest Abroad “
Greta Thunberg called on the global energy industry and its financiers to end all fossil fuel investments on Thursday at a high-profile meeting in Davos with the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA). During a round-table discussion with Fatih Birol on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting, activists said they …
Read more “Greta Thunberg: Energy Firms Throwing People ‘Under the Bus’”
Workers striking in protest of France’s proposed pension overhauls disrupted transportation, schools and electricity supplies Thursday. President Emmanuel Macron’s government has proposed raising the retirement age for a full pension from 62 to 64, saying the move is necessary to keep the system solvent. Unions oppose the change and have suggested a tax on the …
Turkey has placed basketball player Enes Freedom on its terrorist wanted list. Freedom appears on what the Turkish Interior Ministry calls the “Grey List,” the lowest of its five-tier color-coded system, which offers a reward of up to about $26,600 (500,000 Turkish lira). It is not clear when Turkey added Freedom to the list, but …
Read more “Turkey Places Enes Freedom on Terrorist Wanted List”
The United States aims to break the dynamic of grinding warfare and near-frozen front lines in Ukraine with newly announced military capabilities it hopes will create momentum for Kyiv’s battle against Russian forces, a senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday. But Colin Kahl, the Pentagon’s top policy adviser, said the Pentagon still wasn’t prepared to …
Read more “Pentagon Looks to Give Ukraine Momentum in War, Without Tanks”
Environmental activist Greta Thunberg is set to meet International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol in Davos on Thursday, organizers of a fringe round-table event at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting told Reuters. Thunberg is to meet Birol along with fellow campaigners Helena Gualinga, Vanessa Nakate and Luisa Neubauer, the organizers said in a …
United States law enforcement officials said on Wednesday that they’ve arrested the Russian founder of a China-based cryptocurrency exchange, disrupting an online platform used by criminals on the darknet. Anatoly Legkodymov, 40, the majority owner of Hong Kong-registered Bitzlato, was taken into custody in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday evening and charged with conducting an unlicensed …
Read more “US Arrests Russian Founder of China-Based Crypto Exchange “
Germany will allow German-made tanks to be sent to Ukraine to help its defense against Russia if the United States agrees to send its own tanks, a German government source told Reuters. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stressed the stipulation several times in recent days behind closed doors, the person said, speaking on condition of …
Read more “Germany to Export Tanks to Ukraine If US Does the Same, Berlin Says”
The United States and Turkey on Wednesday looked to brush aside differences that have strained relations for years but were unable to report progress in resolving disagreements over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and NATO expansion that have soured ties between the allies. At a meeting in Washington, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and visiting Turkish …
Read more “NATO Allies US, Turkey Try to Mend Fences but Rifts Persist”
A French Irish citizen held in Iran since October 2022 and now on a dry hunger strike to protest his detention will survive no more than a few days unless he is freed, his sister said on Wednesday. Bernard Phelan, a Paris-based travel consultant and one of seven French nationals held by Iran, was arrested …
Read more “‘A Matter of Days’: Concern Grows Over French Irish Citizen Held in Iran”
Campaigners have welcomed a decision to remove the skeleton of an 18th century man with gigantism from public display at a London museum. The remains of Charles Byrne, who was 2.31 meters (7ft 7in), had been on show at the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England in central London. But the …
Read more “London Museum Withdraws ‘Irish Giant’ From Display”
Pope Francis is set travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan at the end of the month – a visit the pontiff had earlier been forced to postpone due to health issues. Pope Francis will visit the DRC from January 31 to February 3 and then spend two days in South …
Read more “Pope Francis Prepares for Long-Awaited Visit to Congo and South Sudan”
Ukraine says the West must speed up the delivery of weapons as its troops come under increasing pressure from invading Russian forces, ahead of a key meeting of the Ukraine Défense Contact Group of NATO allies in Ramstein, Germany on Friday. Dozens of civilians have been killed in recent days by Russian missiles. An attack …
Read more “US, Germany Pressured to Send Tanks to Ukraine After Britain Breaks Taboo”
South Africa plans to conduct joint military exercises with the Chinese and Russian navies off its east coast next month (February 17-26), despite the Kremlin’s ongoing war on Ukraine. The opposition Democratic Alliance has slammed the decision, saying it means that contrary to its “neutral” stance on Russia’s Ukraine war, South Africa’s ruling National Congress …
Read more “South Africa Criticized for Hosting Russian Warships Amid Ukraine War “
The world is in a “sorry state” because of myriad “interlinked” challenges including climate change and Russia’s war in Ukraine that are “piling up like cars in a chain reaction crash,” the U.N. chief said at the World Economic Forum’s meeting Wednesday. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered his gloomy message on the second day of …
Read more “At Davos, UN Chief Warns the World Is in a ‘Sorry State’”
A French nun who was believed to be the world’s oldest person has died a few weeks before her 119th birthday, the spokesperson for her nursing home in southern France said Wednesday. Lucile Randon, known as Sister André, was born in the town of Ales, southern France, on Feb. 11, 1904. She was also one …
Read more “World’s Oldest Known Person, French Nun, Dies at 118”
Turkey’s F-16 fighter jet request from the United States and the possibility of another operation by Turkish military in northern Syria are expected to top the agenda during talks in Washington when Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu meets Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday. Analysts say any F-16 deal would be tied to Turkey’s …
Read more “F-16 Deal Contingent on Turkey’s Support for NATO Expansion, Syria”
In his meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday at the White House, President Joe Biden appeared to have made no progress to get the Netherlands to support U.S. restrictions on exporting chip-making technology to China, a key part of Washington’s strategy in its rivalry against Beijing. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara …
Read more “No Progress on Netherlands Joining US Chip-Export Ban to China”
As the leaders of the United States and the Netherlands show a united front against the war in Ukraine, Moscow announces it will boost its military capabilities. But as VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports, Russia also leaves the door open for high-level talks with the CIA. …
When Russia invaded Ukraine, the military and private citizens started using Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink, which eventually became key to Ukraine’s resistance. From Kyiv, Myroslava Gongadze tells the story of one Ukrainian engineer who volunteers to support the technology and the soldiers who use it. …
President Joe Biden hosted Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday at the White House, where he urged the Netherlands to support new U.S. restrictions on exporting chip-making technology to China, a key part of Washington’s strategy in its rivalry against Beijing. During a brief appearance in front of reporters before their meeting, Biden said …
Read more “Biden Urges Netherlands to Back Restrictions on Exporting Chip Tech to China”
Climate activist Greta Thunberg was among climate activists detained during protests against the demolition of the coal village of Luetzerath on Tuesday, according to police. Thunberg was detained while protesting at the opencast coal mine of Garzweiler 2, some 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) from Luetzerath, where she sat with a group of protesters near the …
Read more “German Police Detain Greta Thunberg in German Coal Village Protests”
Russia’s war against Ukraine is increasingly targeting the civilian population and the country’s electricity infrastructure, in a bid analysts say seeks to break the will of the people. But huge power ships from Turkey could help to thwart Russia’s goal, as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …