Month: March 2025

PARIS — An Ariane 6 rocket roared skyward with a French military reconnaissance satellite aboard Thursday in the first commercial flight for the European heavy-lift launcher. The rocket took off smoothly from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, quickly disappearing into thick clouds. Video images beamed back from the rocket showed the Earth’s beautiful colors …

Read more “Ariane 6 rocket roars skyward carrying French military satellite”

WASHINGTON — A top Trump administration official said Thursday he would travel to Saudi Arabia to meet with Ukrainian representatives for talks about a ceasefire to pause Russia’s invasion. “We’re now in discussions to coordinate a meeting with the Ukrainians in Riyadh, or even potentially Jeddah,” said Steve Witkoff, who serves as U.S. President Donald Trump’s …

Read more “US envoy to travel to Saudi Arabia for talks with Ukrainians”

European Union leaders vowed to ramp up funding for Ukraine and their own defense at a summit in Brussels on Thursday as they take steps to rearm in ways they haven’t since the end of the Cold War. The summit, also attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was the first for all 27 EU members …

Read more “EU leaders vow to ramp up funding to defend their countries, Ukraine”

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis, battling pneumonia in hospital for nearly three weeks, remained stable on Thursday and did not have any new episodes of respiratory crisis, the Vatican said.  In a sign of progress as the 88-year-old pontiff continues treatment, the pope’s doctors said they would not issue another medical bulletin until Saturday, “considering the …

Read more “Pope Francis stable, Vatican says; daily updates to stop”

About 20% of Ukraine’s territory — including thousands of villages and small towns — is controlled by Russia. Life changed dramatically for many Ukrainians after Russia’s invasion, and some places — like Bakhmut, Chasiv Yar and Vovchansk — were almost fully destroyed. Kateryna Besedina looks at how some Ukrainians are coping with the upheaval in …

Read more “What life is like for Ukrainians in Russian-occupied cities”

Berlin — A German court on Thursday convicted five people of plotting to overthrow the government in a far-right coup and kidnap the former health minister. The Koblenz Higher Regional Court sentenced the four ringleaders to prison sentences between five years and nine months to eight years. A fifth defendant received a sentence of two years …

Read more “5 convicted of plot to overthrow German government, kidnap health minister”

French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Thursday that France is sharing intelligence with Ukraine, a move that followed the United States saying it was cutting off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine. The move comes as European Union leaders gathered Thursday in Brussels, along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for a summit to discuss boosting defense spending and …

Read more “France provides military intelligence to Ukraine as US steps back”

UNITED NATIONS — Women’s rights regressed last year in a quarter of countries around the world, according to a report published by UN Women on Thursday, due to factors ranging from climate change to democratic backsliding. “The weakening of democratic institutions has gone hand in hand with backlash on gender equality,” the report said, adding that …

Read more “UN report finds women’s rights weakened in quarter of all countries”

The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) announced a new roadmap to peace following the call of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan for his group to disarm. The plan by DEM will include meetings in 101 cities in Turkey and Kurdish regions to discuss Ocalan’s call. DEM Party Deputy Co-Chair Ozturk Turkdogan said, …

Read more “VOA Kurdish: DEM Party speaks of roadmap to peace”

As European Union leaders prepare for emergency talks to ramp up military spending after the Trump administration suspended aid to Ukraine, several Russia experts say Moscow is trying to capitalize on fragmenting Western cohesion. Following last week’s televised Oval Office clash between U.S. and Ukrainian leaders, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov on Monday accused Europe …

Read more “Moscow aims to exploit US-Europe rift, experts warn”

Kazakhstan is cooperating with the United States on ensuring nuclear and biological security. As part of this cooperation, a laboratory for studying extremely dangerous infections has been built in Kazakhstan. This center is mainly engaged in medical and biological research. However, the Russian press continues to spread disinformation about the research.  Click here for the …

Read more “VOA Uzbek: Russia spreads disinformation on Kazakhstan-US scientific cooperation”

Russians are carefully watching U.S. President Donald Trump’s push for an end to the war in Ukraine after his heated encounter last week with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Elizabeth Cherneff narrates our report from Moscow. …

WARSAW, POLAND — South Korea and Poland signed a cooperation agreement on Wednesday as the democratic allies increasingly find themselves united by concerns about the global security situation despite the vast geographical distance between them.  Foreign ministers Cho Tae-yul of South Korea and Poland’s Radek Sikorski signed an action plan which outlines their relations in the …

Read more “South Korea, Poland sign deal to boost economic, defense cooperation”

You do not hear much from Russian civilians in international media as Russia’s government restricts foreign reporters working in the country. For VOA, Genia Dulot met with some Russian tourists visiting the Indian Ocean republic of Maldives to hear what they think about international sanctions and U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war …

Read more “Sanctions and war in Ukraine top Russian tourists’ concerns”

U.S. President Donald Trump said late Tuesday he received a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table to discuss ending Russia’s three-year war on Ukraine. “Wouldn’t that be beautiful?” Trump said in an address to the U.S. Congress. “It’s time to stop this madness. It’s time …

Read more “Trump says time to ‘stop this madness’ and negotiate Russia-Ukraine peace”

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis was resting Wednesday, the start of the solemn Lenten period leading up to Holy Week observances, after sleeping through the night with a ventilation mask as he undergoes hospital treatment for double pneumonia. In its latest update, the Vatican said that the pope rested well overnight, waking up shortly after 8 …

Read more “Pope resting after sleeping through night with ventilation mask as he battles pneumonia  “

BERLIN — Germany said on Tuesday it had halted new development aid to Rwanda and was reviewing its existing commitments in response to the African nation’s role in the conflict in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. The German development ministry said Berlin had informed Rwanda in advance of the move and urged it to withdraw support …

Read more “Germany stops new aid to Rwanda over DR Congo conflict”

The clinical condition of Pope Francis remained stable, the Vatican said Tuesday evening, and he was “alert, cooperative with therapies, and oriented.”   However, the statement also said that Francis’ prognosis “remains guarded,” which means he is not out of danger.    Francis, the leader of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics, has been in …

Read more “Vatican says Pope Francis’ prognosis ‘remains guarded’”

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a “pause” Monday to military aid shipments to Ukraine with immediate effect, which his administration said was aimed at forcing all sides to peace talks. As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, European leaders have said it is vital to continue weapons shipments to Kyiv — but there are doubts over …

Read more “Can Europe arm Ukraine now that US has halted military aid?”

Fourteen militia groups control two-thirds of the Central African Republic (C.A.R.) and parts of the capital city, Bangui. Russian military involvement has been stained with gross human rights violations, corruption and appropriation of natural resources. …

The Kremlin is planning to use current frictions between the United States and European countries on the war in Ukraine to sow lasting divisions between Washington and Europe, regional experts told VOA Russian.  Click here for the full story in Russian.    …