Month: March 2024

BARCELONA, Spain — A Spanish court decided Wednesday that Brazilian soccer star Dani Alves could leave prison if he pays a bail of one million euros ($1.1 million) and hands over his passports while awaiting the appeal of his conviction for raping a woman in Barcelona. Alves was found guilty of having raped the woman in …

Read more “Spanish Court Grants Bail to Soccer Star Dani Alves While Appealing Rape Conviction “

LONDON — Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who made history as his country’s first gay and first biracial leader, announced Wednesday that he will step down within weeks once a successor is chosen. Varadkar announced Wednesday he is quitting immediately as head of the center-right Fine Gael party, part of Ireland’s coalition government. He’ll be replaced …

Read more “Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar to Step Down”

Taipei, Taiwan — Hong Kong’s adoption of a second national security law Tuesday is being criticized by foreign governments, while some business figures say the law will hasten foreign businesses’ departure from the city. The United Nations, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union expressed concern about the ambiguous language in the law …

Read more “West Eyes New Measures After Passage of Hong Kong Security Law”

WASHINGTON — Russia’s war in Ukraine — portrayed by top U.S. officials as posing a danger to the United States itself — still trails China when it comes to long-term threats to America’s security, according to a top Pentagon official. The warning from Ely Ratner, the Defense Department’s assistant secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs, comes in …

Read more “China, Not Russia, Still Tops List of Threats to US”

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin says the United States remains determined to provide Ukraine with the resources to fight Russian aggression, even as the U.S. Congress has failed to pass supplemental aid for Ukraine. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb traveled to Ramstein Air Base in Germany with the secretary. …

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London — A recent series of Ukrainian drone and missile strikes targeting Russian oil refineries has significantly hurt Moscow’s processing capacity, according to analysts. The strikes, which come as Kyiv and its allies aim to deprive Russia of a main source of revenue for funding its invasion of Ukraine, have reduced Moscow’s overall oil processing capacity …

Read more “Ukrainian Drone Strikes Hit Russia’s Oil Revenues”

The independent election watchdog group Golos called last week’s Russian balloting an “imitation” of an election. President Vladimir Putin won his reelection bid in a campaign that was never in doubt. Kateryna Besedina has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. VOA footage by Artyom Kokhan. …

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be allowed to take part in the traditional parade at the opening ceremony at the Paris Olympics, the IOC said Tuesday. The opening ceremony on July 26 will see thousands of athletes travel on boats down the River Seine for several kilometers toward the Eiffel Tower, instead …

Read more “IOC Excludes Russian and Belarusian Athletes From Taking Part in the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony”

Turkey says it is preparing to bring its first nuclear power plant online this year. It’s a Russian-built reactor and there are already plans for construction of a second plant with the assistance of Russia. As Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, Turkey may also turn to China to build a third nuclear facility. …

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Ramstein, Germany   — Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin says the United States remains determined to provide Ukraine with the resources it needs to fight Russian aggression, even as a U.S. Congress has yet to approve new funding for Ukraine. “The United States will not let Ukraine fail. This coalition will not let Ukraine fail, and the …

Read more “Austin: US, Free World ‘Will Not Let Ukraine Fail’ “

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Jung Pak, the U.S. Senior Official for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, told VOA on Monday that there have been at least 10 instances where North Korean missiles have been used on the battlefield in Ukraine. Pak told VOA’s Nike Ching that the U.S. still assesses North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is not …

Read more “US Says NKorea Shipped 10,000 Containers of Munitions to Russia”

Ramstein, Germany — Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is in Germany to build upon the international community’s military support for Ukraine, even as the U.S. Congress has yet to approve additional funding for Kyiv. This is Austin’s first international trip since he was hospitalized on Jan. 1 due to complications from surgery to treat his prostate …

Read more “Austin Hosts First In-Person Ukraine Defense Contact Group of 2024”

STATE DEPARTMENT — The United States disclosed Monday that North Korea has dispatched at least 10,000 containers loaded with military munitions to Russia in support of its war in Ukraine. This number surpasses the 7,000 containers estimated by the South Korean defense chief earlier in the day. Jung Pak, the U.S. Senior Official for the Democratic …

Read more “VOA Interview | US Says NKorea Shipped 10,000 Containers of Munitions to Russia”

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washington — The European Parliament has adopted a media freedom act designed to protect journalists and their work from political and economic interference. The idea for the European Media Freedom Act was introduced in 2022 after the EU raised concerns about media pluralism in countries such as Hungary and Poland. The act is focused on independence, …

Read more “EU Adopts Act to Safeguard Media”

WASHINGTON — The United States and Japan on Monday proposed a U.N. Security Council resolution stressing that nations should comply with a treaty that bars putting nuclear weapons in space, a message that appeared aimed at Russia.  Washington believes Moscow is developing a space-based anti-satellite nuclear weapon whose detonation could cause havoc by disrupting everything from …

Read more “US, Japan Urge Nations Not to Deploy Nuclear Weapons in Orbit”

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In Seattle, there were no polling stations for Russian citizens to join the worldwide movement known as “Noon Against Putin,” a symbolic protest of the re-election of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Instead, they commemorated opposition leader Alexey Navalny and wrote letters to the growing list of political prisoners in Russia. Natasha Mozgovaya has the story. …

Read more “Russian Opposition Activists in Seattle Remember Navalny as Putin Claims Victory”

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