The Arctic is one of the coldest and least populated regions on Earth, much of it covered by ice. But in recent years it has become one of the most important sites of geopolitical tensions — and a key focus of American policy. Despite its inhospitability, land north of the Arctic Circle has long been …
ATHENS — Three Greek opposition parties vowed Friday to challenge the country’s center-right government with a censure motion over its handling of a deadly rail disaster nearly two years ago. The pledge was prompted by mounting public anger over delays in the inquiry and allegations of a cover-up that the government strongly denies. Fifty-seven people were …
Read more “Anger in Greece over rail disaster prompts opposition plan to challenge government”
INDJIJA, Serbia — Hundreds of striking students marched through the Serbian countryside Friday as they took their anti-graft protest toward the northern city of Novi Sad, where they plan to blockade three bridges over the River Danube this weekend. The bridge blockade planned for Saturday will mark three months since a huge concrete construction at the …
KYIV, UKRAINE — Russia launched a barrage of drones on Ukraine in an overnight attack on Friday, injuring four people and damaging a hospital and a grain warehouse in the southern Odesa region, officials said. Ukraine’s air defenses shot down 59 of 102 Russian drones, the air force said. It said that 37 drones were “lost,” …
Read more “Russian drones injure 4 in Ukraine’s south, Ukrainian officials say”
white house — Arms control advocates are hoping U.S. President Donald Trump’s fresh words of support for denuclearization will lead to talks with Russia and China on arms reduction. U.S. negotiations with the Russians and Chinese on denuclearization and eventual agreements are “very possible,” according to Trump, who addressed the World Economic Forum a week ago …
Read more “Trump support for denuclearization talks with Russia, China raises hopes ”
Arms control advocates are hoping U.S. President Donald Trump’s fresh words of support for denuclearization will lead to talks with Russia and China about nuclear arms reduction. VOA’s chief national correspondent, Steve Herman, reports from the White House in Washington. …
As U.S. President Donald Trump demands a large increase in defense spending by NATO allies, the spotlight has fallen on Spain, which spends the least on defense of all member states relative to the size of its economy. Spain is the eurozone’s fourth-biggest economy. The country spent an estimated $21.3 billion on defense last year, …
Read more “Spain well short of NATO defense target, as Trump demands huge additional spending”
NEW YORK — Dick Button was more than the most accomplished men’s figure skater in history. He was one of his sport’s greatest innovators and promoters. Button, winner of two Olympic gold medals and five consecutive world championships, died Thursday, said his son, Edward, who did not provide a cause. He was 95. As an entrepreneur …
Read more “Dick Button, Olympic great and voice of skating, dies at 95”
Visiting Spain this week, NATO’s secretary-general called for members to boost military spending in the face of the threat from Russia. Spain spends the least on defense relative to the size of its economy. And as Henry Ridgwell reports, US President Donald Trump has singled out Madrid for failing to meet the NATO target. Camera: …
Read more “Spain struggles to meet NATO defense target, as Trump demands huge additional spending”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned an early Thursday morning Russian drone strike that killed at least nine people as a “terrible tragedy.” The drone, which struck an apartment building in the city of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine, also injured 13 people, according to regional authorities. “This is a terrible tragedy, a terrible Russian crime. It …
Read more “Zelenskyy condemns Russian strike that killed 9 as ‘terrible tragedy’ “
Azerbaijan and Turkey are stepping up efforts to secure a land corridor between their countries through Armenia. Until now, Iran, a key ally of Armenia, has backed Yerevan’s opposition to what is known as the Zangezur corridor. With Iran weakened in the region, Ankara and Baku see an opportunity to secure a key strategic goal. …
Read more “Turkey, Azerbaijan step up efforts to create land corridor through Armenia”
As authorities investigate the fourth Baltic Sea cable-cutting incident in recent months, European leaders have expressed concern about the frequency of attacks involving civilian vessels and critical civilian infrastructure. The Vezhen, a Bulgarian-owned vessel, was detained this week in the Baltic Sea, suspected of dragging its anchor across the seafloor, severing a data cable between …
Read more “NATO, EU on high alert as undersea cable attacks escalate in Baltic”
Ukrainian officials said Thursday a Russian drone attack killed at least four people in the northeastern city of Sumy. The regional state administration in Sumy said a drone hit a high-rise residential building, and that the attack also injured nine people. Ukraine’s military said it shot down 37 of the 81 drones that Russian forces …
Read more “Russian drone attack kills 4 in Sumy, Ukraine says”
The Russian lawmaker attributed to Trump a quote from a deepfake video created by Ukrainian bloggers and shared on the Telegram messaging platform. …
PRAYAGRAJ, INDIA — At least 30 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at the world’s largest religious gathering early Wednesday, police said, as millions of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred waters during the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India. Police officer Vaibhav Krishna in Prayagraj city said another 60 injured were …
Read more “Police say at least 30 died in stampede at India’s Maha Kumbh festival”
Russian disinformation narratives about illicit organ harvesting and biological experiments in Ukraine have no basis in fact. Russia intentionally distorts Ukrainian law intended to support vital medical procedures. …
Nuuk, Greenland — The road south from Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, runs out at the tip of a blizzard-scoured peninsula stretching into the Labrador Sea. Icebergs drift beyond the sea ice toward the open ocean, carved off the glacier some 100 kilometers away at the head of the Nuup Kangerlua fjord. Locals call this spot “the edge …
Read more “Trump’s push for Greenland shakes up Arctic island’s politics”
BEIJING — Lunar New Year festivals and prayers marked the start of the Year of the Snake around Asia and farther afield on Wednesday — including in Moscow. Hundreds of people lined up in the hours before midnight at the Wong Tai Sin Taoist temple in Hong Kong in a bid to be among the first …
Read more “Year of the Snake is underway with Lunar New Year festivities”
BEIJING — Lunar New Year festivals and prayers marked the start of the Year of the Snake around Asia and farther afield on Wednesday — including in Moscow. Hundreds of people lined up in the hours before midnight at the Wong Tai Sin Taoist temple in Hong Kong in a bid to be among the first …
Read more “Year of the Snake underway with Lunar New Year festivities”
MOSCOW — The first Russian official delegation to visit Syria since the toppling of long-term Moscow ally Bashar al-Assad has arrived in Damascus, Russian news agencies reported on Tuesday. The visit comes with Moscow keen to secure the fate of two military bases there and after Russian President Vladimir Putin denied that Moscow had suffered a …
Read more “Russian diplomats make first Syria visit since Assad’s fall”
Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered government officials to report on the U.S. support programs whose funds are “currently suspended” under U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. “These are humanitarian programs,” Zelenskyy said in his daily address Tuesday. Nearly all of them were not channeled through Ukrainian government, he said. Instead, went “directly through our communities, …
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that America needs to take control of Greenland from Denmark for, in his words, “international security.” But as Henry Ridgwell reports from the Arctic island, the global attention is driving a desire among many native Greenlanders to determine their own political future. …
U.S. President Donald Trump has promised repeatedly to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. But some Ukrainians are skeptical Trump can do anything to make President Vladimir Putin pull back his troops. The problem, as some analysts see it, is that the demands of Ukraine and Russia cannot be reconciled. Lesia Bakalets report …
Read more “Ukrainians skeptical Trump can end war with Russia on acceptable terms”
Russian disinformation narratives about illicit organ harvesting and biological experiments in Ukraine have no basis in fact. Russia intentionally distorts Ukrainian law intended to support vital medical procedures. …