Moscow, Russia — A helicopter with 22 people aboard, most of them tourists, has gone missing in Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula in the far east, regional authorities said Saturday. “Today at about 1615 (0415 GMT) communication was lost with a Mi-8 helicopter … which had 22 people on board, 19 passengers and three crew members,” Kamchatka Governor …
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Madrid/Washington — They are known as “illegals” — spies who operate under the guise of normal jobs. Since Russia lost many of its valuable spy assets when dozens of diplomats were expelled from Western countries after the invasion of Ukraine, these civilian agents have become essential. Experts in Russian intelligence told VOA that this was the …
KYIV, Ukraine — When the air raid siren bellows in the dead of night, the women in arms rush to duty. Barely two months since joining the mobile air-defense unit, 27-year-old Angelina has perfected the drill to a tee: Combat gear fitted, anti-aircraft machine gun in place, she cruised behind the wheel of a pickup, singing …
Read more “With men at front lines, women watch Ukraine’s night sky for Russian drones”
Berlin — The German army on Friday vacated an air base in junta-run Niger and flew its final troops home, completing a withdrawal from the restive Sahel nation. At the end of May, Germany and Niger reached an interim agreement allowing the German military to continue operating its airbase in the capital, Niamey, until the end …
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KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian air defenses shot down 24 out of 52 drones launched by Russia during overnight attacks on eight regions across Ukraine, the air force said Saturday. It said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that 25 Shahed drones had fallen on their own and three others had flown toward Russia and …
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BERLIN — Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region is legitimate and covered by Kyiv’s right to self-defense, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told German weekly Welt am Sonntag in his first reaction to the advance into Russian territory. “Ukraine has a right to defend itself. And according to international law, this right does not stop at the …
Read more “Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region is legitimate, says NATO’s Stoltenberg”
CAIRO — It was another day of war in Gaza, another day of what 19-year-old Palestinian TikTok star Medo Halimy called his “Tent Life.” As he often did in videos documenting life’s mundane absurdities in the enclave, Halimy on Monday walked to his local internet cafe — rather, a tent with Wi-Fi where displaced Palestinians can …
Read more “Palestinian TikTok star dies in Israeli airstrike”
london — Russia has accused the European Union of “theft” after the bloc transferred the first tranche of profits from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine to boost its military capabilities in the face of Moscow’s invasion. The G7 group of leading industrialized nations plans a similar scheme. However, there are concerns that the asset schemes could …
Read more “Moscow accuses Europe of ‘theft’ as frozen Russian assets fund Ukraine defense “
Russia on Thursday accused the European Union of “theft” after the bloc transferred the first tranche of profits from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine to boost Kyiv’s military capabilities. But some fear Western states could cut their own aid, as Henry Ridgwell reports. Camera: Henry Ridgwell. …
islamabad — A group of 28 asylum-seekers were repatriated to Afghanistan from Germany on Friday after being deported for criminal convictions. The deportees, on board a chartered flight, arrived in the capital of Kabul, where Taliban authorities promptly detained them for investigation and blocked journalists’ access to the airport, according to witnesses. The Taliban did not …
Read more “Germany repatriates first group of Afghan refugees since Taliban takeover”
Media rights are at risk in Georgia as the country once seen as a safe haven for journalists implements a new law. For VOA News, Liam Scott has the story. Camera: Cristina Caicedo Smit, Krystof Maixner, Martin Bubenik, Michael Eckels …
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Kyiv, Ukraine — A Russian attack overnight damaged a factory in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Sumy, killing a 48-year-old woman and injuring at least eight people, local authorities said on Friday. The airstrike caused a fire, prompting regional authorities to ask residents to stay inside and close the windows. Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s office said that the …
Read more “Russia’s attack kills 1, injures 8 in Ukraine’s Sumy, authorities say”
Moscow — A Russian news editor in Siberia was sentenced to eight years in prison Friday for publishing critical material on Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, which has been accompanied in Russia by a massive crackdown on dissent. Sergei Mikhailov, a journalist and editor in the mountainous Altai region, was arrested in the first weeks of the …
Read more “Russian editor sentenced to 8 years for criticizing Ukraine campaign”
Russian shelling has destroyed 50% of Ukraine’s electricity generation capacity since late March, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. To make up for the power shortage, the country has turned to U.S. energy giant Westinghouse for help developing next-generation nuclear reactor units. Tetiana Kukurika has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Videographer: Sergiy Rybchynski …
FRANKFURT/TALLINN — Inflation in the euro zone fell to its lowest level in three years in August, setting the stage for a further cut in the European Central Bank’s interest rates next month despite an Olympics-driven surge in the price of services. The ECB has started winding down a two-year campaign against high inflation that followed …
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KINGSTON, New York — On a residential block in upstate New York, college students dug and sifted backyard dirt as part of an archeological exploration this summer of a centuries-old cemetery for African Americans. Now covered with green lawns in the city of Kingston, this spot in 1750 was part of a burial ground for people …
Read more “NY nonprofit reclaims centuries-old cemetery for enslaved people”
The arrest in France last Saturday of Pavel Durov, the billionaire boss of the social media platform Telegram, is reverberating around the world as Russia urges France not to turn the investigation into ‘political persecution.’ Durov is under formal investigation over alleged illegal activities on Telegram, as Henry Ridgwell reports. …
Berlin — Germany’s coalition government on Thursday agreed to tighten security and asylum policies following a deadly stabbing attack linked to the Islamic State militant group which has fueled far-right opposition and criticism of Berlin’s migration policies approach. Three people were killed and eight wounded in the attack which took place during a festival in Solingen …
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London — Russia on Thursday warned France not to turn the investigation of Pavel Durov, the boss of Telegram, into a “political persecution” after the billionaire 39-year-old CEO was put under formal investigation relating to activities on his social media platform. Moscow has implied there are political motivations behind the arrest of Durov, who was detained …
Read more “Alleging illegal content, France charges Telegram boss; Russia gives warning”
Baltic countries are moving to protect NATO’s eastern flank in the face of Russian aggression. The Baltic defense line — a new fortification system along their borders with Russia and Belarus — is meant to shield NATO allies from potential attacks. VOA’s Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze reports from the Latvia-Russia border. VOA footage …
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LONDON — Britain has revived its attempt to give police wider powers to impose conditions on street protests, a decision that a civil rights group said showed a worrying disregard for the rule of law. The group, Liberty, successfully challenged the changes to public order laws made by the country’s previous Conservative government. London’s High Court …
Read more “Britain resumes bid for tougher police powers over street protests”