BELGRADE — Angry protesters on Sunday left red handprints at the entrances of government buildings in the Serbian capital to demand the arrest of officials, two days after a concrete canopy collapsed at a railway station, killing 14 people and injuring three. Police formed a cordon outside the seat of the Ministry of Construction and Infrastructure …
VALENCIA, Spain — A crowd of angry survivors of Spain’s floods tossed mud and shouted insults at Spain’s King Felipe VI and government officials when they made their first visit to one of the hardest hit towns on Sunday. Government officials accompanied the monarch who tried to talk to locals while others shouted at him in …
Read more “A crowd of Spain’s flood survivors toss mud and shout insults at King Felipe VI “
Berlin — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will hold meetings with his top two ministers to try to find common ground after they put forward contradictory plans to fix the nation’s ailing economy, a government source told Reuters on Sunday. A document leaked by Christian Lindner’s finance ministry raised eyebrows in Berlin last week, with its push …
Read more “Germany’s Scholz summons top ministers over rival plans to fix economy “
Nairobi — Turkey on Sunday said it was committed to deepening relations with Africa, which it and called on to back diplomatic support for Palestinians, as it held its latest African summit in Djibouti. Turkey has invested heavily across Africa in recent years, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan carrying out 50 visits to 31 countries …
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — To be a parent in the Ukrainian front-line city of Zaporizhzhia means weighing your child’s life against the Russian weapons within striking distance. Most rain death in an instant: the drones, the ballistic missiles, the glide bombs, the artillery shells. But Russian soldiers control another weapon they have never deployed, with the potential …
Read more “Ukrainian front-line school system goes underground to protect against bombs, radiation”
CHISINAU, Moldova — Moldovans are casting votes in a decisive presidential runoff Sunday that pits pro-Western incumbent Maia Sandu against a Russia-friendly opponent, as ongoing claims of voter fraud and intimidation threaten democracy in the European Union candidate country. In the first round held October 20, Sandu obtained 42% of the ballot but failed to win …
Read more “Moldovan runoff election starts amid fraud and intimidation claims”
MOSCOW — Kyiv called on Moscow on Sunday to provide a list of Ukrainian prisoners of war ready for a swap after Russia accused Ukraine of sabotaging the exchange process. In requesting the list of Ukrainians from his Russian counterpart, Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets wrote on his Telegram messaging channel: “We are always ready …
Read more “Russia, Ukraine accuse each other of obstructing prisoner swaps”
washington — Mariana Katzarova, United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Russia, reported Tuesday on the human rights situation in Russia at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, describing torture as Moscow’s main tool of repression. In an interview with VOA, Katzarova detailed how the Russian government has turned brutality into the new norm …
Read more “VOA Interview: UN special rapporteur details Russia’s state-sanctioned torture”
MIAMI, FLORIDA — A storm system will likely bring heavy rain to the Azores islands over the weekend, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Saturday. Subtropical Storm Patty is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 2.5 to 5 centimeters (1 to 2 inches) across the archipelago through Sunday. The Hurricane Center said swells generated by …
Read more “Patty to dump rain on the Azores; Tropical Storm Lane to weaken”
ATHENS, GREECE — Greek anti-terror investigators have arrested a man in connection with a deadly explosion in Athens, police said Saturday, warning of “a new generation of terrorists” at work. Thursday’s blast in an apartment in the capital, which killed a man and seriously injured a woman, is suspected to have been caused by the accidental …
Read more “Greek anti-terror police arrest man after deadly Athens blast”
MOSCOW — A court in Russia’s far east said on Friday it had convicted Robert Shonov, a former U.S. consular employee, of illegally and covertly cooperating with the U.S. government to harm Russia’s national security and had jailed him for nearly five years. Russia’s FSB security service detained Shonov, a Russian national, in Vladivostok in May …
Read more “Russia jails ex-US consular employee on security charges”
LONDON — Kemi Badenoch became the Conservatives’ new leader and the first Black woman to a head a major British political party, after winning a leadership contest Saturday on a promise to return the party to its founding principles. Badenoch, 44, replaces former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and has pledged to lead the party through a …
Read more “New leader of British Conservatives is first Black woman in the role”
VALENCIA, SPAIN — Spain will deploy 10,000 more troops and police officers to the eastern Valencia region devastated by floods that have killed 211 people, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday. Sanchez said in a televised address that he accepted the regional leader’s request for 5,000 more troops and informed him of a further deployment …
Read more “Spain to send 10,000 more troops, police to flood-hit region”
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia unleashed an overnight drone attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv that lasted into late morning and wounded at least one person, city officials said on Saturday. Debris from downed drones struck six city districts, wounding a police officer, damaging residential buildings and starting fires, according to city military administrator Serhiy Popko. Mayor …
A 22-year-old Russian man considered a political prisoner by activists has died in a penal colony in Belarus, human rights group Viasna said Friday. The rights group said it confirmed the death of Dmitry Shletgauer, who was recently transferred to a penal colony in Mogilev in eastern Belarus. Viasna said Shletgauer had been at the …
Read more “Russian political prisoner dies in Belarus penal colony, rights group says”
When the U.S. Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on three companies belonging to Denis Postovoy on Wednesday, it was yet another move to break up what U.S. authorities say was an international scheme to violate sanctions. A month earlier, on September 16, law enforcement officials arrested the 44-year-old Russian national in Sarasota, Florida. He was …
Read more “Before US sanctions violations arrest, Russian businessman faced charge in Hong Kong”
istanbul — Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday sued the main opposition leader and Istanbul’s powerful mayor over allegedly slanderous remarks made at a protest rally a day earlier, the Anadolu news agency reported. Filed on Friday, the two separate lawsuits targeted Ozgur Ozel, head of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem …
Read more “Erdogan sues opposition chief, Istanbul mayor for slander”
Moldova’s Constitutional Court on Thursday validated the results of last month’s referendum, formally recognizing the country’s decision to join the European Union. The “yes” result, however, was an incredibly close one, much closer than polls had predicted, and the road toward EU membership for Moldova is not expected to be smooth either. Supporters of the …
Read more “What’s at stake in Moldova’s weekend run-off election?”
When the U.S. Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on three companies belonging to Denis Postovoy on Wednesday, it was yet another move to break up what U.S. authorities say was an international scheme to violate sanctions. A month earlier, on September 16, law enforcement officials arrested the 44-year-old Russian national in Sarasota, Florida. He was …
Read more “Before US sanctions violations arrest, Russian businessman faced charges in Hong Kong”
BELGRADE, SERBIA — Eight people were killed and two hospitalized on Friday when the roof of a railway station in the Serbian town of Novi Sad collapsed, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said in a televised statement. Local television stations showed emergency services at the scene, including medical staff who were preparing stretchers nearby. Two large diggers …
Read more “Eight die in Serbian railway station roof collapse”
CHIVA, SPAIN — The death toll from historic flash floods in Spain climbed to least 205 people Friday, with many more believed to be missing, as the initial shock gave way to anger, frustration and a wave of solidarity. Spanish emergency authorities said 202 of the victims were in the Valencia region, and officials warned that …
Read more “Spanish floods’ death toll climbs to 205; shock turns to anger, frustration”
The United States is watching growing cooperation between Russia and China in the Arctic closely and some of their recent military collaboration in the region sends “concerning signals”, the U.S. Arctic ambassador said. Russia and China have stepped up military cooperation in the Arctic while deepening overall ties in recent years that include China supplying …
Read more “US envoy sees some ‘concerning signals’ in Russia-China military cooperation in Arctic”
TOKYO — Japan and the European Union announced a sweeping new security and defense partnership in Tokyo on Friday. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell hailed it as a historic and “very timely” step. Borrell and his Japanese counterpart, Takeshi Iwaya, unveiled the pact to develop cooperation on joint military drills, the exchange of information related …
Europe is bracing for former President Donald Trump’s potential return to power — even as his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, remains a mostly unknown quantity. Many Europeans believe much is at stake in the nail-biting U.S. elections: from NATO and the transatlantic alliance to Russia’s war on Ukraine, trade relations and the future …