Month: March 2024

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Berlin — A prominent European far-right figure was prevented from giving a speech at an event in Switzerland and thrown out of the region where it was taking place. Martin Sellner of the Identitarian Movement said in a video posted on social media network X, formerly Twitter, that he had been invited by a local group, …

Read more “European Far-Right Firebrand Prevented From Speaking at Swiss Event”

Istanbul — Around 50 people including an AFP journalist were detained by police Sunday in Istanbul on the sidelines of the Kurdish New Year celebrations, witnesses said.   AFP video journalist Eylul Yasar was preparing to film the celebrations of the Kurdish New Year when she was arrested at a checkpoint, journalists and lawyers at the …

Read more “AFP Journalist Among 50 Detained at Kurdish Event in Turkey”

For as long as the U.S. and its Western allies have been sending military assistance to Ukraine, Moscow has accused the West of using Ukraine to fight a proxy war against Russia. But, as Maxim Adams reports, the reality is much more complicated. VOA footage and video editing by Elena Matusovsky. …

An outpouring of international protests marked the third and final day of voting in Russia’s presidential elections, as supporters of the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny heeded on of his last calls to action. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more. …

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Madrid — Hundreds of farmers paraded through the Spanish capital on foot and by tractor on Sunday in the latest protest over the crisis facing the agricultural sector. The farmers marched from the Ministry of Ecological Transition to the Ministry of Agriculture after the European Union proposed legislative changes to drastically ease the environmental rules of …

Read more “Spanish Farmers Stage Fresh Protests in Madrid “

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Athens — Greece is facing increasing illegal immigration as the Gaza crisis continues. The trend has Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and senior European Union officials heading to Egypt Sunday to sign an aid package worth just over $8 billion intended to help ease migration. A surge in illegal migration has seen numbers entering Greece swell by …

Read more “Greece Alarmed by Rising Tides of Migrants “

Cairo — The European Union on Sunday announced a $8 billion aid package for cash-strapped Egypt amid concerns that economic pressure and conflicts and chaos in neighboring countries could drive more migrants to European shores. The deal is scheduled to be signed during a visit by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and the leaders …

Read more “European Union Announces $8 Billion Package of Aid for Egypt”

BELGOROD, Russia — Air raid sirens wail almost daily in the southern Russian city of Belgorod, sending people rushing for cover and reminding residents the full-scale war in neighboring Ukraine is a reality for them too. Compared with the destruction across much of Ukraine, Russia’s vast territory has been largely unscathed. Belgorod, 40 kilometers (25 miles) …

Read more “Belgorod, City Where War in Ukraine Came to Russia, Perseveres”

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Warsaw, Poland — A Russian-Belarusian rock band that denounces Moscow’s Ukraine invasion returned to the stage this week, voicing defiance after being detained in Thailand in January and threatened with deportation to Russia.  The band, Bi-2, formed in the 1980s in Belarus when it was part of the Soviet Union, left Russia in protest over the …

Read more “Russian-Belarusian Band Returns to Stage After Detention in Thailand”

COPENHAGEN — A volcano in Iceland on Saturday erupted for the fourth time since December, the country’s meteorological office said, spewing bright orange lava into the air in sharp contrast against the dark night sky. Livestreams from the area showed fountains of molten rock soaring from fissures in the ground after authorities had warned for weeks …

Read more “Iceland Volcano Erupts Again; No Flight Disruptions”

HELSINKI — Latvia’s state security service has started criminal proceedings against an European Parliament lawmaker and a citizen of the Baltic country who is suspected of cooperating with Russian intelligence and security services, according to Latvian media reports Saturday.  Latvian media outlets reported that the security service, known by the abbreviation VDD, has been investigating the …

Read more “Latvia Starts Criminal Case Against EU Lawmaker Suspected of Russian Espionage “

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BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Israel on Saturday to allow humanitarian aid access to Gaza on a larger scale, ahead of a two-day trip to the Middle East.  Scholz will travel to the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba on Saturday to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah on Sunday before flying to Israel to …

Read more “Germany Calls for More Aid to Gaza as Scholz Heads to Israel”

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian shelling of the Russian city of Belgorod, close to the border with Ukraine, killed two people, Russian officials said Saturday.   A man and a woman died in the attack and three other people were wounded, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. It was the latest in exchanges of long-range missile …

Read more “Russian Officials Say Ukrainian Shelling Kills 2 in Border City”

TALLINN, Estonia — Alexey Navalny’s team is used to working independently. The most potent foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin was frequently absent for long stretches after being arrested, assaulted, poisoned, or imprisoned.  But when Navalny died suddenly in February at age 47 in a remote Arctic prison, his team was left with a monumental challenge: …

Read more “Navalny’s Allies Continue Fight to Undermine Putin’s Grip on Power”