Italy’s highest court on Thursday upheld the slander conviction of American defendant Amanda Knox in a case related to the sensationalized 2007 murder of her British roommate. Knox was convicted of slandering her former boss, Congolese bar owner Patrick Lumumba, by falsely accusing him of murdering Meredith Kercher. A 21-year-old exchange student, Kercher …
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Greenland’s mineral wealth is in the global spotlight after U.S. President Donald Trump said he wants to take control of the island from Denmark. But until now, Greenland’s mining industry has struggled to turn a profit. Could that be about to change? Henry Ridgwell reports from Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. …
Hu Ge, a Chinese actor who is well-known in China for dramas including Flowers, was recently confirmed to serve as the deputy director of the Central Propaganda Committee of the China Democratic League. He was invited to Taiwan in June 2024 to participate in a film exchange activity. Click here for the full story in …
Read more “VOA Mandarin: Chinese actor Hu Ge enters politics”
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday invited global businesses to manufacture their products in the U.S. and promised them lower taxes but warned if they choose to produce their goods elsewhere, they would have to pay tariffs to export them to the United States. “America is back and open for business,” Trump, in a …
Read more “Trump promises global businesses lower taxes for products made in US, tariffs if not”
With Belarus set to hold its presidential elections on Jan. 26, the European Parliament and many international experts have already condemned the vote, which they predict will be a sham. Lora Zaitsava has the story. Video editor: Anna Rice. …
LONDON — A British teenager who murdered three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event was jailed for at least 52 years on Thursday, for an atrocity prosecutors said was so violent it appeared he had tried to decapitate one of the victims. On Monday, Axel Rudakubana, 18, admitted carrying out the killings last July …
Read more “UK teenager jailed for at least 52 years for girls’ murders”
LOS ANGELES — Transgender cartel musical “Emilia Perez” topped this year’s Oscar nominations, earning 13 nods in an announcement on Thursday postponed by the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. French director Jacques Audiard’s Mexico-set musical, released by Netflix, shattered the record for the most Academy Award nominations for a non-English-language movie. It was followed by epic immigrant …
Read more “‘Emilia Perez’ tops Oscar nominations in fire-hit Hollywood”
London — Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS are facing fresh scrutiny from Britain’s competition watchdog, which announced investigations Thursday targeting the two tech giants’ mobile phone ecosystems under new powers to crack down on digital market abuses. The Competition and Markets Authority said it launched separate investigations to determine whether the mobile ecosystems controlled by Apple …
Read more “UK watchdog targets Apple, Google mobile ecosystems with new digital market powers”
Officials in southern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region said Thursday a Russian ballistic missile attack killed at least one person and injured 24 others. Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram that Russian drones also destroyed an energy facility and knocked out power to tens of thousands of people. In the Mykolaiv region, Governor Vitaliy Kim said …
Read more “Deadly Russian missile attack hits Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region”
A record 47% of the European Union’s electricity now comes from solar and other renewables, a report Thursday said, in yet another sign of the growing gap between the bloc’s push for clean energy and the new U.S. administration’s pursuit of more fossil fuels. Nearly three-quarters of the EU’s electricity doesn’t emit planet-warming gases into …
Nuuk, Greenland — A blizzard whips the Danish, Greenlandic and Faroe Islands flags above the Joint Arctic Command headquarters overlooking the harbor of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. The small military outpost staffed by around 80 personnel oversees Danish security for the vast Arctic island of some 2.1 million square kilometers. Greenland’s government is largely autonomous, …
Read more “Russia’s Arctic militarization behind Trump’s focus on Greenland”
washington — Last December, Georgia’s parliament chose Mikheil Kavelashvili, a close ally of ruling Georgian Dream party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, as the country’s new president. He replaced Salome Zourabichvili, who had won the presidency in 2018 in a popular vote. Zourabichvili was the country’s fifth president. Opposition parties and Zourabichvili contend that the country’s October 2024 …
U.S. President Donald Trump this week repeated his assertion that American control of Greenland is vital for “international security.” As Henry Ridgwell reports, Denmark, which owns the island, has admitted failing to invest in its security, amid growing threats from Russia and China. …
As U.S. President Donald Trump declared an energy emergency in the United States and signed a sweeping executive order to expand oil and gas drilling, VOA’s Russian Service spoke to experts who predict that if oil prices fall, the Russian budget may feel pressure that could make any further U.S. sanctions against Russia, touted by …
Read more “VOA Russian: Trump’s ‘drill, baby, drill’ may spell trouble for Russian budget”
LONDON — Prince Harry claimed a monumental victory Wednesday as Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids made an unprecedented apology for intruding in his life over decades and agreed to pay substantial damages to settle his privacy invasion lawsuit. News Group Newspapers offered a “full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by …
Read more “Murdoch’s UK tabloids apologize to Prince Harry, admit intruding on Diana”
U.S. President Donald Trump signaled the possibility of placing additional sanctions on Russia for its war in Ukraine. Asked about the prospect while speaking to reporters Tuesday, Trump responded, “Sounds likely.” Trump said his administration has been in talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and would be speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin “very soon.” …
Read more “ Trump expresses possibility of more sanctions against Russia for Ukraine war”
ANKARA, TURKEY — Turkey has detained nine people, including the owner of the hotel, in connection with a deadly fire that claimed the lives of 76 people and injured dozens at a ski resort in western Turkey, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said early Wednesday. Yerlikaya also reported that the bodies of 45 victims had been handed …
Read more “Turkey detains nine people over ski resort hotel fire that killed 76”
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would likely impose sanctions on Russia if its president, Vladimir Putin, refuses to negotiate about ending the war in Ukraine. Trump gave no details on possible additional sanctions. The United States has already sanctioned Russia heavily for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Trump said …
Read more “Trump says he would sanction Russia if Putin does not negotiate on Ukraine”
U.S. President Donald Trump pledged Tuesday to hit the European Union with tariffs, adding that a 10% duty on Chinese imports could also come as soon as February 1. Trump, who was speaking to reporters at the White House a day after being sworn in, cited the need to rectify the EU’s trade imbalances with …
Read more “Trump says EU ‘in for tariffs,’ warns of 10% rate on China”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s mid-January press conference “on the performance of Russian diplomacy in 2024” was filled with false and misleading claims, many previously debunked, highlighting the Kremlin’s broader disinformation tactics. Russia’s disinformation aims to legitimize its war, undermine NATO and erode Western support for Ukraine. By targeting domestic and international audiences — especially …
Read more “Lavrov echoes debunked Kremlin narratives to justify war, undermine NATO”
Six Kurdish journalists have been detained in Turkey, charged with being members of a “terrorist organization” with no word from their lawyers. Journalists and activists say opposition media outlets are being targeted more and more every day. Click here for the full story in Kurdish. …
Russian lawyer practice could face existential risks after the recent guilty verdict against three lawyers who had represented late opposition leader Alexey Navalny in court. VOA Russian spoke to legal experts who voice concern about the ability of Russian activists to get proper legal representation in the future after Navalny lawyers got up to 5½ years …
Read more “Navalny lawyers get jail time for doing their job”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that if a ceasefire deal were enacted with Russia, “at least 200,000 European peacekeepers” would need to be on the ground in Ukraine to defend the Eastern European country against a possible attack by Russia. Zelenskyy, speaking a day after Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency, said Europe …
Read more “Zelenskyy: Ukraine would need at least 200,000 peacekeepers for ceasefire”
Geneva — United Nations agencies say the imminent U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization and Paris climate agreement will have serious consequences for global health and efforts to slow down climate change. “The World Health Organization regrets the announcement that the United States of America intends to withdraw from the organization,” the WHO said Tuesday …
Read more “US withdrawals from WHO, Paris Agreement met with regret, calls for reversal”