Rome — Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute genocide, according to excerpts released Sunday from an upcoming new book ahead of the pontiff’s jubilee year. It’s the first time that Francis has openly urged for an investigation of genocide allegations over Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. …
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Artifacts and human remains taken by a Norwegian explorer and anthropologist in the late 1940s are being returned by a museum in Oslo to Chile’s remote territory of Easter Island in the mid-Pacific, the Kon-Tiki Museum said Wednesday. In 1947, explorer Thor Heyerdahl sailed on a log raft named Kon-Tiki from Peru to …
Read more “Norway’s Kon-Tiki Museum returns artifacts to Chile’s remote Easter Island”
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia on Sunday launched a massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine, described by officials as the largest over the past months, targeting energy infrastructure and killing civilians. The attack came as fears are mounting about Moscow’s intentions to devastate Ukraine’s power generation capacity ahead of winter. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that …
Brussels — Josep Borrell took a deep breath as the train rumbled across Ukraine at the end of his final visit after five tumultuous years as the EU’s foreign policy chief. “I feel a certain nostalgia,” the 77-year-old Spaniard said, hunching forward to be heard over the noise of the tracks. “We’ve been working closely with …
Read more “Josep Borrell wraps up tumultuous time as EU’s top diplomat”
VIENNA — Russia’s state-owned natural gas company Gazprom stopped supplies to Austria early Saturday, according to the Vienna-based utility OMV, after OMV said it would stop payments for the gas following an arbitration award. The official cutoff of supplies before dawn Saturday came after Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Friday held a hastily called news conference …
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MOSCOW — Russian forces have captured the villages of Makarivka and Hryhorivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday. Makarivka is located to the south of Velyka Novosilka while Hryhorivka, which Moscow calls by its previous name of Leninskoye, is situated to the west of the town of Selydove, captured by Russia last …
Read more “Russia captures 2 villages in eastern Ukraine, defense ministry says”
TBILISI, GEORGIA — Opposition protesters in Georgia’s breakaway province of Abkhazia have refused to cede control of key government buildings that demonstrators stormed to protest new measures allowing Russians to buy property in the area. Abkhazian President Aslan Bzhania announced Saturday that he would step down and hold early elections if demonstrators vacated the region’s parliament …
Read more “Protesters in Georgia’s separatist region refuse to give up government buildings”
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN — Hundreds of activists formed a human chain outside one of the main plenary halls at the United Nations climate summit on what is traditionally their biggest protest day during the two-week talks. The demonstration in Baku, Azerbaijan, will be echoed at sites around the world in a global “day of action” for climate …
Read more “Protesters gather at UN climate talks in ‘global day of action’”
ARLINGTON, TEXAS — Jake Paul beat boxing legend Mike Tyson by unanimous decision to win an intergenerational heavyweight battle in Texas on Friday that failed to live up to its enormous hype. The bout between the 27-year-old social media influencer-turned-prizefighter Paul and the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Tyson was streamed live on Netflix and played out …
WINCHESTER, England — In the half-light of dusk, Martin Edwards surveys the shadows of the ancient woodland from a high seat and waits. He sits still, watching with his thermal camera. Even the hares don’t seem to notice the deer stalker until he takes aim. The bang of his rifle pierces the stillness. He’s killed a …
Read more “Wild deer population boom has some in England promoting venison to consumers”
KYIV, Ukraine — At a secretive factory in Russia’s central grasslands, engineers are manufacturing hundreds of decoy drones meant to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses as they try to protect against a horrific new weapon, an Associated Press investigation has found. The plant at Russia’s Alabuga Special Economic Zone recently started churning out thermobaric drones alongside the decoys, …
Protesters stormed the parliament of the Russian-backed breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia on Friday and demanded the resignation of its leader over an unpopular investment agreement with Moscow. The self-styled president of the region, Aslan Bzhania, said he had no intention of stepping down or fleeing. He said talks were proceeding with opposition representatives. But …
Read more “Protesters demand resignation of leader in Russian-backed breakaway region of Georgia”
AMSTERDAM — Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof saved his governing coalition on Friday despite threats of an exodus by Cabinet members over the right-wing government’s response to violence against Israeli football fans last week. Junior Finance Minister Nora Achahbar unexpectedly quit the Cabinet on Friday to protest claims by some politicians that Dutch youths of Moroccan …
Read more “Dutch government survives dispute over Amsterdam violence”
washington — Reports that billionaire Elon Musk has held multiple calls with Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, should be investigated by the Pentagon and law enforcement agencies on national security grounds, two senior Democratic senators said in a letter seen by Reuters on Friday. Musk, who has been appointed to a senior government role by …
Since 2015, advocates for human rights in Russia have gathered in London every November to present the Magnitsky Human Rights Awards, which honor individuals who have shown great courage in fighting for human rights and opposing corruption. Past honorees have included the likes of Boris Nemtsov, Jamal Khashoggi and Maria Ressa. VOA’s Amy Kellogg has …
Read more “London awards ceremony honors victims of Russian oppression”
Top Republican members of the House of Representatives say lawmakers have begun discussions about Russia’s war in Ukraine in an effort to carry out President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to quickly end the conflict there. Lawmakers told VOA’s Ukrainian Service that they are optimistic that Trump can achieve his goal. Republican Representative Mike Waltz, who …
Read more “Republican lawmakers optimistic Trump can end Russia-Ukraine war”
washington — North Korean defectors say Pyongyang has likely kept the deployment of that nation’s soldiers to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine as a secret from its own people, including the soldiers’ own families, but the news will undoubtedly leak out, causing anxiety and pain. Western intelligence officials estimate that as many as 10,000 North …
Read more “Families of North Korean soldiers in Russia face fear, anxiety “
A German government spokesperson said that Chancellor Olaf Scholz held direct talks via telephone Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin during which he demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and that Russia show a willingness to negotiate a just and lasting peace. A statement from German government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said Scholz condemned …
Read more “Germany’s Scholz speaks with Putin, demands Russia withdraw from Ukraine”
GENEVA — Ukraine is heading into its third, most challenging winter since the war started nearly 1,000 days ago because “systematic attacks” by Russia have damaged and destroyed most of the country’s energy infrastructure, a senior U.N. official warned. “I am told that by now, 65% of Ukraine’s own energy production capacities has been destroyed,” Matthias …
Read more “Ukrainians face harsh winter as Russian attacks destroy energy infrastructure”
The Hague, Netherlands — The Dutch government needs “more time” to flesh out a strategy to fight anti-Semitism after last week’s violence between Israeli football fans and locals, the justice minister has said. “Because of the terrible events of November 7 and 8 and because I want to promote a fruitful debate in parliament, I have …
Read more “Dutch government says needs ‘more time’ for strategy on anti-Semitism “
Valencia, Spain — The head of Spain’s eastern Valencia region admitted Friday to “mistakes” in handing the country’s deadliest flood in decades that killed 216 people there. “I’m not going to deny mistakes,” Carlos Mazon told the regional parliament in an address, adding he was “not going to shirk any responsibility.” As the head of the …
Read more “Spanish regional leader admits ‘mistakes’ in handling deadly floods “
Kyiv, Ukraine — A massive Russian attack that set apartments alight and knocked out heating to thousands in Ukraine’s southern port city Odesa killed one person and wounded 10 others, authorities said Friday. The Thursday night strikes on the Black Sea city damaged residential buildings, the heating system, churches and educational institutions, according to Odesa Mayor …
Read more “1 dead, thousands without heat after Russian strike on Ukraine port city”
washington — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on his early November election victory. President Joe Biden has not hosted Erdogan at the White House though the two have met on sidelines of international summits and spoken by phone. Speaking to journalists accompanying his return …
Read more “Can Trump’s return to White House be an opportunity for enhancing US-Turkey ties?”
Italy’s flagship policy of holding migrants in detention centers in Albania for processing has hit a legal roadblock – as judges in Rome referred the case to the European Union’s Court of Justice, which could take months or years to make a ruling. Henry Ridgwell reports. …