BARRIO DE LA TORRE, Spain — Survivors of the worst natural disaster to hit Spain this century awoke to scenes of devastation on Thursday after villages were wiped out by monstrous flash floods that claimed at least 95 lives. The death toll could rise as search efforts continue with an unknown number of people still missing. …
Read more “Spain searches for bodies after flood of the century kills at least 95”
Vienna — Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico begins a six-day visit to China Thursday that includes a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and stops in the central city of Hefei and Shanghai to attend the opening ceremony for this year’s China International Import Expo. Analysts say China is hoping to use the visit to strengthen …
Read more “Slovak PM Fico visits China in attempt for a pro-Beijing diplomatic turn”
The governor of northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region said Thursday one person was dead and 29 others injured after a Russian missile strike on a residential building. Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram the person killed in the late Wednesday attack was 11 years old. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian attack hit a nine-story building, …
Read more “Ukraine says Russian attack killed 1, injured dozens in Kharkiv”
Pentagon and United Nations — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart, Kim Yong-hyun, urged North Korea on Wednesday to withdraw from Russia an estimated 10,000 troops, which both countries believe are headed to fight alongside Russia in its war in Ukraine. “They’re doing this because [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has lost a …
Read more “Pentagon, South Korea urge North Korea to withdraw troops from Russia”
State prosecutors in the country of Georgia said Wednesday that they had initiated an investigation into Saturday’s parliamentary election amid claims that the vote was rigged. The Georgian Dream ruling party won the election with 54% of the vote, according to the electoral commission, a figure that would give the party a clear majority …
There are growing fears that Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of aging oil tankers, which it uses to bypass the Western price cap, poses an environmental threat. A new report from the Kyiv School of Economics warns that an oil spill is “only a matter of time” and urges the international community to do more to …
Read more “Fears of major oil spills as Russia grows its aging ‘shadow fleet’”
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart Kim Yong-hyun exchanged views during talks on Wednesday on the approximately 10,000 North Korean forces now deployed to Russia to fight Ukraine. VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb has the story. Kim Lewis contributed. …
taipei, taiwan — China and Russia are deepening cooperation in Antarctica in a trend that analysts say could undermine marine conservation efforts and disrupt the long-standing status quo in the resource-rich region. China and Russia were accused of collaborating to block key proposals that would establish new marine protected areas and revise the krill fishery management …
Read more “China-Russia cooperation blocks Antarctic conservation proposals”
WASHINGTON — Reports that billionaire Elon Musk has been talking on a consistent basis with Russian President Vladimir Putin are still reverberating among current and former U.S. officials, almost a week after news of the conversations first surfaced. Musk, who owns electric car maker Tesla and the X social media platform, also owns SpaceX, a commercial …
Read more “Concerns about Elon Musk, Russia’s Putin not fading yet”
LONDON — Britain has detected its first case of new mpox variant clade Ib, the country’s health security agency (UKHSA) said Wednesday, adding that the risk to the population remained low. The clade Ib variant is a new form of the virus that was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) in …
Read more “Britain identifies its first case of new mpox variant”
WASHINGTON — The United States on Wednesday imposed curbs on hundreds of targets in fresh action against Russia, taking aim at sanctions circumvention in a signal that the U.S. is committed to countering evasion. The action, taken by the U.S. Treasury and State departments, imposed sanctions on nearly 400 entities and people from over a dozen …
Read more “US cracks down on Russia’s sanctions evasion in fresh action”
An Azerbaijani journalist with VOA’s sister outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on Wednesday marked five months since he was detained in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, on charges his employer rejects. Farid Mehralizada, an economist and journalist for RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service, Radio Azadliq, was abducted in Baku by unidentified men on May 30 and has been in …
Read more “RFE/RL journalist marks 5 months jailed in Azerbaijan”
China’s response to Russia’s growing influence over North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong Un, likely combines “exasperation” and “panic” as Beijing appears to be losing control over its client state, according to former U.S. policy and intelligence officials. They noted that the explicit security partnership between China’s two neighbors —Russia and North Korea — …
Read more “US experts see Pyongyang’s Russia gambit as no-win situation for China”
London — Thousands of Russians, including soldiers, have fled their country to seek asylum in the West since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, although only a fraction of asylum applications has been approved. However, in a landmark case, France has allowed several Russian army deserters to enter the country to seek refugee status. Anti-war activists hope …
Beijing — Beijing said Wednesday it had lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organization over the European Union’s decision to impose hefty tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars. The extra taxes of up to 35% were announced Tuesday after an EU probe found Chinese state subsidies were undercutting European automakers, but the move has faced opposition …
Read more “Beijing files WTO complaint over EU’s new taxes on Chinese EVs “
BARCELONA, Spain — At least 51 people have died in Spain’s eastern region of Valencia after flash floods swept away cars, turned village streets into rivers and disrupted rail lines and highways in the worst natural disaster to hit the European nation in recent memory. Emergency services in the eastern region of Valencia confirmed the death …
Read more “Spanish authorities report at least 51 dead from devastating flash floods “
TBILISI, Georgia — For some Georgians who supported the ruling Georgian Dream party in Saturday’s disputed parliamentary election, the aspiration to go West toward the European Union had to be balanced by the brutal reality of the need to keep the peace with Russia. The opposition and foreign observers had cast the election as a watershed …
Read more “In Georgia, some voters balanced EU hopes with the fear of war with Russia”
Officials in Ukraine’s capital said Wednesday a Russian drone attack left at least nine people injured. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram an 11-year-old girl was among those hurt when debris from a downed drone hit an apartment building. Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said air defenses destroyed Russian drones …
A significant fire remains ongoing at BAE Systems’ shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, northwest England, that builds Britain’s new generation of nuclear submarines, but there was no nuclear risk from the incident, police said on Wednesday. UK’s Cumbria police said in a statement that two people had been taken to a hospital after suffering from suspected smoke …
Read more “No nuclear risk from fire at submarine yard in northwest England, police say”
WASHINGTON — As Ukraine braces to face North Korean troops who are believed to be in the Russian border region of Kursk, analysts say China should be concerned about stronger pressure and responses from NATO, which sees Beijing as an enabler of Pyongyang and a supporter of Russia’s war against Ukraine. South Korea’s National Intelligence Agency …
Read more “North Korea’s troop deployment to Ukraine could test Beijing-Pyongyang ties”
The outcome of the U.S. election and the possible changes in Washington’s foreign policy are of special significance to the 3 million American expatriates eligible to vote in next week’s U.S. presidential elections. In few places is that outcome more tangible than in Ukraine, where a few thousand Americans have, for various reasons, chosen to …
Read more “For expats in Ukraine, election back in US hits home”
Every October, events are held worldwide to mark a Day of Remembrance for the victims of purges in the former Soviet Union. With growing restrictions on memorial ceremonies in Russia, opposition activists see events abroad as more crucial than ever. Natasha Mozgovaya has the story from Seattle. …
Thousands of Russians, including soldiers, have sought asylum in the West since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — though only a fraction of their applications have been approved. This month, however, France allowed several Russian army deserters to enter the country to seek refugee status. Henry Ridgwell reports. …
washington — Investigations into the death in Russian custody of Viktoria Roshchyna are being hampered by Moscow’s refusal to return the body of the 27-year-old Ukrainian journalist. Ukraine earlier this month announced that Roshchyna had died in Russian custody on September 19. She had been due to be returned as part of a prisoner release. Petro …
Read more “Russia’s refusal to return body of Ukrainian journalist slows death investigation”