Month: February 2024

A new bill allowing authorities to confiscate the property of Russians convicted of deliberately spreading what is deemed as fake news about Russia’s armed forces could soon become law. If signed into law, it would also allow the state to seize the property of Russian emigres who criticize the war in Ukraine. Kateryna Besedina has the story, …

Read more “Russian Bill Targets Assets of People Who Spread ‘Fake News’ About Military”

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Oslo — Europe’s increased dependence on Norway’s oil and gas has made the country’s energy installations more at risk of attack, the head of one of the agencies charged with securing them told Reuters on Monday. Norway in 2022 overtook Russia as Europe’s biggest supplier of natural gas as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine upended decades-long energy …

Read more “Norway Has Overtaken Russia as Europe’s Top Gas Supplier”

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VATICAN CITY — Argentina’s President Javier Milei visited his compatriot Pope Francis in the Vatican on Monday, bearing pastries and gifts as he seeks to make up with the pontiff he had long dismissed and derided. Milei, a maverick right-wing libertarian, had heaped insults on Francis during his vote campaign, calling him an “imbecile who defends …

Read more “Pastries, Biscuits as Argentina’s Milei Makes Up With Pope Francis “

NICOSIA — Closer relations between Turkey and the European Union are contingent on Turkish engagement in solving the decades-old partition of Cyprus, the EU country’s president said on Monday. Turkey has been an official candidate to join the EU for decades, but accession talks have stalled in recent years over EU concerns about Ankara’s record on …

Read more “Closer Turkey-EU Relations Must Come Through Us, Says Cyprus “

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Budapest, Hungary — Antifascist activists gathered in Hungary’s capital Saturday to oppose an annual commemoration held by far-right groups, underscoring diplomatic tensions between Budapest and Rome over the detention of an Italian citizen in a Hungarian jail. Hundreds of activists marched through central Budapest alongside a heavy police presence and called for “freedom for every antifascist.” …

Read more “Antifascists in Hungary Oppose Annual Far-Right Event, Italian Activist Still Jailed”

ATHENS, Greece — Greece has announced new measures to protect locals from a deluge of mainly Chinese nationals purchasing homes and property in exchange for residency rights in the West — what is commonly known as a “Golden Visa” scheme. For many of China’s newly well-off citizens, the incentive to emigrate has been rising, feeding what …

Read more “Greece to Increase ‘Golden Visa’ Amount to $862,000”

ATHENS, Greece — More than 1,500 protesters gathered in central Athens on Sunday to oppose legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage in Greece. The bill is set for a vote in parliament in the coming days. Greece’s conservative government is sponsoring the bill, but it will require votes from center and left opposition parties to be …

Read more “Protesters Opposed to Same-Sex Marriage Bill Rally in Greek Capital”

Russia attacked Ukraine with another barrage of drones. This comes as additional U.S. funding for Kyiv’s efforts to defend itself faces hurdles in a divided U.S. Congress. As VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports, the two U.S. presidential front-runners have diametrically opposed views on Ukraine and NATO. …

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Sydney — With the death toll rising from missile and drone strikes almost two years after Russia invaded, Ukraine is urging Australia to share its world-leading approach to treating burn victims. Doctors say the number of Ukrainians dying from injuries caused by burns during Russia’s invasion is rising sharply and warn Ukraine’s medical system is struggling …

Read more “Ukraine Asks Australia for Specialists for Burn Victims “

London — King Charles III attended Sunday services for the first time since his cancer diagnosis, offering a cheerful wave as he walked out of the parish church that has regularly served as a place of worship for the royal family.  Charles and Queen Camilla went to St. Mary Magdalene Church, close to Sandringham House in …

Read more “UK’s King Charles III Attends Church for First Time Since Revealing He Has cancer”

Paris — Children of immigrants born in Mayotte, the French overseas territory situated between Madagascar and the African mainland, will no longer automatically become French citizens, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said late on Sunday.    “It will no longer be possible to become French if one is not the child of French parents,” Darmanin told journalists upon …

Read more “In Bid to Curb Immigration, France to Scrap Birthright Citizenship in Mayotte “

Vatican City, Holy See — Argentina’s top political and religious leaders — President Javier Milei and Pope Francis — met for the first time Sunday in Rome, amid the explosive economic situation in their native country.    The two men with sharply diverging views on how to eradicate the poverty gripping Argentina met briefly before and after a papal …

Read more “Argentina’s President, Pope Francis Meet Face to Face in Rome “

NEW YORK — Republican front-runner Donald Trump said Saturday that, as president, he warned NATO allies that he “would encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to countries that are “delinquent” as he ramped up his attacks on foreign aid and longstanding international alliances. Speaking at a rally in Conway, South Carolina, Trump recounted …

Read more “Trump: I Told NATO, Pay Bills or Russia Can ‘Do Whatever The Hell They Want’”

Helsinki, Finland — Two seasoned politicians face off in Finland’s presidential election on Sunday, with the president’s role having gained importance in light of the country’s NATO membership and rising tensions with neighboring Russia. Some 4.3 million voters will have to choose between former conservative Prime Minister Alexander Stubb and ex-Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, a Green …

Read more “Finland Elects President in New Geopolitical Landscape”