Author: Worldman

The Biden administration continues to push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and de-escalation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. In Europe, the administration has revealed intelligence that North Korean troops are being trained in Russia to help its war efforts. VOA White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara spoke with White House …

Read more “White House pushes for de-escalation in Mideast, warns North Korea for aiding Russia”

kazan, russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin told BRICS leaders on Thursday that the Middle East was on the brink of a full-scale war after a sharp rise in tension between Israel and Iran, though the Kremlin chief also faced calls to end the war in Ukraine. The BRICS summit, attended by more than 20 leaders …

Read more “Putin tells BRICS leaders that Middle East on brink of full-scale war”

Kazan, Russia — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday condemned the 15-nation U.N. Security Council for failing to tackle the Middle East conflict.    “The fire of war is still raging in the Palestinian Gaza Strip and Lebanese cities,” Pezeshkian told leaders from emerging economies at the BRICS summit in Russia.    “And international institutions … …

Read more “Iran’s Pezeshkian slams UN failure to ‘extinguish’ regional crisis”

Tbilisi, Georgia — With Georgia set to hold parliamentary elections Saturday, Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi’s main thoroughfare, was filled with buses and minibuses Wednesday evening, transporting supporters of the ruling Georgian Dream party from across the country. The rally drew an estimated 150,000 people, largely composed of regional government employees. Rally attendees interviewed by Voice of America’s …

Read more “Georgia’s parliamentary vote poses choice between West, East”

CHISINAU, Moldova — Moldova’s pro-European president said on Thursday that mass bribery had affected a presidential election and a referendum on joining the European Union. However, Maia Sandu vowed to press on with a Nov. 3 runoff vote to win a second term, instead of ordering a new election. Sandu issued her pledge, saying it was …

Read more “Moldovan president says bribery affected election, pledges run-off vote”

Paris — A Lebanon donors’ conference in Paris on Thursday has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for the war-battered country — but ending the conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah that has devastated the country seems unlikely anytime soon. The pledges rolled in at the Paris conference. Early on, both Germany and …

Read more “Paris donors conference raises millions in humanitarian aid for Lebanon”

NEW DELHI — While U.S. officials express the view that the BRICS grouping meeting in the Russian city of Kazan is not evolving into a geopolitical rival, analysts say BRICS members are working on issues that could further decouple them from Western influences. Among the topics discussed between members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa …

Read more “BRICS meeting highlights geopolitical aspirations, rivalries with West”

WASHINGTON — There is new evidence China, Iran and Russia are aggressively expanding their efforts to influence American voters to potentially sway the result of the upcoming U.S. elections. Two threat intelligence reports Wednesday, one from software giant Microsoft and the other from the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, detail growing activity by cyber actors linked to …

Read more “New evidence China, Russia and Iran targeting US elections”

Strasbourg, France — The EU parliament awarded the bloc’s top rights Sakharov prize on Thursday to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and her ally, former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. They won the prestigious award for their fight for democracy under President Nicolas Maduro’s iron-fisted rule. Machado, 57, played a key role in Venezuela’s presidential …

Read more “Venezuelan opposition figures win EU’s top rights Sakharov prize”

APIA, SAMOA — The leaders of the Commonwealth group of nations will meet at a welcome banquet in Samoa in the South Pacific on Thursday, with climate change and reparations for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade on the agenda of summit discussions. Leaders and officials from 56 countries with roots in Britain’s empire, as …

Read more “Commonwealth nations to discuss slavery reparations, climate change”

VIPPEROD, Denmark — European scientists have developed an artificial intelligence algorithm capable of interpreting pig sounds, aiming to create a tool that can help farmers improve animal welfare. The algorithm could potentially alert farmers to negative emotions in pigs, thereby improving their well-being, according to Elodie Mandel-Briefer, a behavioral biologist at University of Copenhagen who is …

Read more “AI decodes oinks and grunts to keep pigs happy in Danish study”

Officials in Ukraine’s capital said Thursday that Russia attacked the region with about a dozen aerial drones overnight. Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said Ukraine’s air defenses shot down all of the drones and that there were no reports of casualties or damage. In the Mykolaiv region in southern Ukraine, Governor …

Read more “Russian drones target Kyiv region”

The president of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has announced the establishment of the Red Family Fund to honor humanitarian aid workers who have died in the line of duty. Kate Forbes told the organization’s general assembly in Geneva that aid workers find themselves working under “increasingly difficult” conditions …

Read more “Humanitarian aid workers face ‘increasingly difficult’ conditions  “

WASHINGTON — Gathered Wednesday at a summit in the Russian city of Kazan, the members of BRICS adopted a joint declaration calling for the creation of an independent payment system based on their national currencies, a move in response to what they regard as illegal sanctions that are damaging the global economy. BRICS member countries, which …

Read more “China backs Russia-proposed BRICS payment system”

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials are becoming increasingly concerned about the emerging partnership among China, Russia, Iran and North Korea – a bloc being talked about by some in Washington as a new “axis of evil.” Those worries got a major boost on Wednesday with confirmation by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a trip to Rome …

Read more “Analysis: China, Russia, North Korea and Iran described as new ‘Axis of Evil’ by some”

The United States said there is evidence that North Korean troops are in Russia, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv had learned that two North Korean military units were training in Russia for potential combat in Ukraine. VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb reports. …

Ankara — Assailants set off explosives and opened fire in an attack Wednesday on the premises of the Turkish state-run aerospace and defense company TUSAS, killing four people and wounding several, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. At least two of the attackers died, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. “We have four martyrs. We have 14 …

Read more “Attack targeting Turkish defense company leaves 4 dead, 14 wounded”

Washington — Ukraine will receive $50 billion in loans, backed by frozen Russian assets, from Group of Seven allies, the White House said Wednesday. Distribution of the money will begin by year’s end, according to American officials who said the United States is providing $20 billion of the total. Leaders of the wealthy democracies agreed earlier …

Read more “G7 allies move ahead with $50 billion loan for Ukraine backed by frozen Russian funds”

Athens — Wildfire-plagued Greece has suffered its worst year in terms of climate conditions in four decades in 2024, its prime minister told parliament on Wednesday. The already sun-baked Mediterranean region has been designated by scientists as a climate change “hotspot”, with warming higher than the global average, according to United Nations reports.  Greece has been …

Read more “Greek PM deplores worst climate conditions in 4 decades”

London — Britain’s prime minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday played down allegations made by Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump’s team of “blatant foreign interference” by his Labour Party in the U.S. election, saying it was normal for its volunteers to campaign.    Starmer also insisted that he maintained “a good relationship” with Trump, having met him …

Read more “Britain Prime Minister Starmer plays down Trump team claims of interference “

The European Union’s next foreign policy chief has told lawmakers that strengthening security must be a priority, warning that Europe must be prepared as Russia and “partly China” exploit the continent’s open societies. “European security is deeply personal to me as a native of a country that has long told others that Russia’s imperialistic dream …

Read more “Incoming EU foreign policy chief Kallas warns against Russia and China”

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday it destroyed 14 Ukrainian aerial drones in areas along the Ukraine-Russia border as well as four uncrewed Ukrainian boats in the Black Sea. The ministry said Russian air defenses destroyed 10 drones over Russia-occupied Crimea, and another four over the Rostov region. Russian forces carried out a second consecutive night …

Read more “Russia, Ukraine trade drone attacks”

Ukraine’s prosecutor general announced his resignation Tuesday amid charges that his office provided exemptions to the military draft for government officials.   “Many shameful facts of abuse have been established within the system of the prosecutor’s offices of Ukraine,” Andriy Kostin said in a statement.   Kostin’s resignation followed a meeting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr …

Read more “Ukraine’s prosecutor general resigns following draft-dodging scandal”

WASHINGTON — Efforts by U.S. adversaries to divide Americans and sow growing distrust in the upcoming presidential election have already begun to intensify, according to senior U.S. intelligence officials, who warn some countries appear to be leaning toward additional measures to spark election-related violence. The latest declassified assessment, issued Tuesday by the Office of the Director …

Read more “US warns ramped-up election influence efforts aim to stoke violence”