Month: February 2025

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Tuesday that the U.K. would increase its defense spending by 2027 to bolster its security against the threat of Russian aggression exhibited by Moscow’s three-year war against Ukraine. Starmer told Parliament that defense spending would increase by $17 billion annually, boosting outlays from 2.3% of the United Kingdom’s economic …

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BERLIN — A trial began Tuesday in Germany for four alleged members of U.S.-designated terror group Hamas who are suspected of organizing weapons caches across Europe. The country’s top prosecutor accuses the men of membership in a foreign terrorist organization. It’s a pilot case for prosecutors, German news agency dpa reported. “For the first time in …

Read more “Trial begins in Germany for 4 alleged Hamas members”

After three years of relentless war, Ukraine is facing a mental health crisis, with hospitals overwhelmed by soldiers suffering from anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Doctors say the hidden wounds could linger for decades. Yan Boechat reports from Lviv in western Ukraine. …

The Church of England will seek to bring disciplinary proceedings against 10 clerics including former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, it said on Tuesday, implementing recommendations from an abuse report last year.  The CoE, central to 85 million Anglicans worldwide, has been in crisis over safeguarding the vulnerable since the November report, which said ex-leader …

Read more “Church of England eyes disciplining clergy over child abuse scandal “

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis, who is in critical condition in a hospital battling double pneumonia, rested well throughout the night, the Vatican said on Tuesday. The 88-year-old pope was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14. “The pope rested well all night,” the Vatican said in a one-sentence statement. On Monday, the Vatican said …

Read more “Pope Francis rested well all night, Vatican says”

BOGOTA, Colombia — An annual United Nations conference on biodiversity that ran out of time last year will resume its work Tuesday in Rome with money at the top of the agenda. That is, how to spend what’s been pledged so far — and how to raise a lot more to help preserve plant and animal …

Read more “Talks to protect Earth’s biodiversity resume with money topping the agenda”

Multiple regions of Ukraine came under aerial attack from Russian forces overnight, with officials in Kyiv and Sumy saying Tuesday there were injuries and damage to buildings. Mykola Kalashnyk, governor of the Kyiv region, said a 44-year-old woman was hospitalized as a result of the attacks, which also damaged several houses. Officials in Sumy said …

Read more “Russian aerial attacks hit Kyiv, Sumy”

President Donald Trump says he’s nearing a deal with Ukraine and Russia to end the war in Ukraine, after a packed day of meetings at the White House with France’s leader, Emmanuel Macron, where he urged Europe to take a bigger role, and Paris pushed for more assurances from Moscow. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from …

Read more “Trump hosts French leader to discuss Ukraine endgame”

LONDON — More than 1,000 musicians including Kate Bush and Cat Stevens on Tuesday released a silent album to protest proposed changes to Britain’s copyright laws which could allow tech firms to train artificial intelligence models using their work. Creative industries globally are grappling with the legal and ethical implications of AI models that can produce …

Read more “Musicians release silent album to protest UK’s AI copyright changes”

President Donald Trump said Monday he’s nearing a deal with Ukraine and with Russia to end the war in Ukraine after a packed day of meetings at the White House with French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump urged Europe to take a bigger role in funding, and Paris pushed for more assurances from Moscow. The U.S. …

Read more “Trump hosts French leader to discuss Ukraine endgame”

STATE DEPARTMENT — Three years into Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, China is closely monitoring U.S. President Donald Trump’s strategy to end the war, as Beijing calculates its moves to position itself as a strategic partner for Ukraine while maintaining a no‐limits partnership with Russia, according to experts and former officials.  This week, British Prime Minister Keir …

Read more “China eyes Trump’s Ukraine strategy, strengthens ties with Russia”

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who has ruled the republic since 2007, said he wants to remain in power for life. VOA Russian spoke to regional experts who believe that despite this being illegal according to Russian laws, Kadyrov will resist stepping down in 2026 when his term ends. Oleg Orlov from the Nobel Prize-winning Memorial …

Read more “VOA Russian: Chechen leader Kadyrov wants to rule for life”

VOA Russian spoke to independent analyst Jakub Janovsky who documents Russian military equipment losses in the war with Ukraine. He noted that Russia has lost 136 military planes and 151 helicopters in three years of the war, reducing its aviation fleet so Moscow now relies more on long-range missiles and drones. Janovsky also said Russia …

Read more “VOA Russian: Analyst notes Russia’s military equipment losses in war with Ukraine”

Dr. Nelson Castro, a close friend of Pope Francis and author of The Health of the Popes, told VOA that the pontiff’s health has worsened and his medical team is on high alert. Click here for the full story in Spanish. …

The U.N. General Assembly marked the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine by narrowly approving competing resolutions on ending the war, one drafted by Kyiv with the European Union, and a second from the United States. “Russia believed Ukraine would surrender. Russia believed we would fall in three days. Russia believed our government …

Read more “At UN, competing resolutions on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine approved”

Russia’s war on Ukraine hit the three-year mark Monday and the conflict is no more settled than it was when Moscow’s troops first stormed across the border of its neighbor. In the earliest days of fighting, Russian President Vladimir Putin had hoped to quickly overwhelm Kyiv’s forces and capture the one-time Soviet satellite state. But …

Read more “Russia’s 3-year-war on Ukraine still unresolved”

Russian forces have been shelling Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine almost daily since the start of their invasion three years ago. Despite the constant bombardment, local business owners continue working, and volunteers from all over the world are on hand to offer support.  Anna Kosstutschenko has the story. VOA footage and video editing by Pavel Suhodolskiy. …

Moscow — A Russian court on Monday upheld a three-year prison sentence for French researcher Laurent Vinatier, one of several Westerners jailed by Russia during the Ukraine offensive. France condemned the sentence as “arbitrary” and demanded Vinatier’s “immediate release,” after accusing Russia of taking Westerners hostage. Vinatier, who works for a Swiss conflict mediation NGO, was …

Read more “Russian court upholds French researcher’s jail sentence “

MARSEILLE, France — Two projectiles were thrown at the perimeter wall of Russia’s consulate in the southern French port city of Marseille on Monday, one of which exploded, a French security source said. It was not immediately clear if the projectiles cleared the wall. BFM TV said the projectiles were Molotov cocktails and that they landed …

Read more “Projectiles thrown at Russian consulate in France, one explodes, says security source”

ROME — Pope Francis was resting Monday morning after a quiet night, on the 10th day of his hospitalization for a complex lung infection that has provoked the early stages of kidney failure, the Vatican said. The one-line statement didn’t say if Francis, 88, had woken up. “The night passed well, the pope slept and is …

Read more “Pope resting on 10th day of hospitalization”

BERLIN — Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz will start trying to form a coalition government on Monday after his conservative bloc won a national election that saw far-right and far-left parties hoover up support from disaffected voters. Merz, who has no previous experience in office, is set to take charge with Europe’s largest economy ailing, …

Read more “Germany’s Merz faces tricky talks with potential coalition ally”

A resolution drafted by the United States and another drafted by Ukraine and backed by the European Union calling for an end to the war in Ukraine are set for votes Monday at the United Nations. The U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote on the Ukrainian resolution, followed by the U.S. resolution. The U.N. …

Read more “UN to vote on Russia-Ukraine war resolutions”