Category: News

SYDNEY — The Asian Development Bank holds its annual meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia, next week, with discussions on climate change and the world’s aging population high on the agenda. The four-day summit, starting Thursday, marks the first time that the ADB’s 68 members have gathered for a meeting in Georgia, which joined the multilateral development bank …

Read more “Georgia to host development summit; climate change, aging on agenda”

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched a barrage of missiles against Ukraine overnight, in attacks that appeared to target the country’s energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, Russia said its air defense systems had intercepted more than 60 Ukrainian drones over the southern Krasnodar region. Ukraine’s air force said Saturday that Russia had launched 34 missiles against Ukraine overnight, of …

Read more “Russia renews attacks on Ukrainian energy sector”

Lausanne, Switzerland — The head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, has backed the World Anti-Doping Agency in a row over its handling of positive drug tests by 23 Chinese swimmers. “We have full confidence in WADA and the regulations and that WADA have followed their regulations,” Bach told AFP in an exclusive interview Friday …

Read more “Olympic chief backs world doping body over positive Chinese tests”

KIGALI, Rwanda — Rwanda says it’s ready to receive migrants from the United Kingdom after British Parliament this week approved a long-stalled and controversial bill seeking to stem the tide of people crossing the English Channel in small boats by deporting some of them to the East African country. There is even a place ready and …

Read more “Rwanda’s genocide survivor housing now ready for migrants from Britain”

LONDON — Britain’s King Charles III will return to public duties next week for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer as he makes good progress following treatment and a period of recuperation, Buckingham Palace said on Friday. In February, the palace revealed that the 75-year-old king had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of …

Read more “King Charles to resume public duties after cancer diagnosis”

Washington — British officials formally charged two men Friday with spying on behalf of China in the latest in a series of European arrests of suspected Chinese intelligence agents. The two men, Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, were charged with violations of the Official Secrets Act by “providing prejudicial information to a foreign state, China” between …

Read more “British officials charge 2 with spying for China”

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced a military aid package for Ukraine valued at up to $6 billion. Analysts say the aid is desperately needed to help Ukraine regain the upper hand after months of having to ration ammunition. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has details. …

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ANKARA — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s planned meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, set for May 9 at the White House, has been postponed because of changes in the Turkish leader’s schedule, a Turkish official said on Friday.  A new date will soon be set, the official said, requesting anonymity.  The White House had not formally …

Read more “Planned Biden-Erdogan meeting at White House postponed, Turkish official says”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington is “fully prepared” to impose sanctions over China’s support for Russia’s defense industry. His comments came Friday, following a meeting in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping. More from VOA’s Bill Gallo in Seoul, South Korea. …

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WASHINGTON — Ukraine has sidelined U.S.-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks for now in its fight against Russia, in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press. The U.S. agreed to send 31 Abrams to Ukraine in …

Read more “Ukraine pulls US-provided Abrams tanks from front lines over Russian drone threats”

Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on Friday that Russia’s capture of a major nuclear power plant threatened a radiation catastrophe, as the country marked the anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in southern Ukraine in the first days of its 2022 invasion. Both …

Read more “Zelenskyy blasts Russian nuclear risks on Chernobyl anniversary”

Thirty-eight years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, hundreds of people work to dismantle the long-defunct power plant and control the contaminated exclusion zone, a 30-kilometer area surrounding it. Lesia Bakalets has the story of a man who lived through the tragedy and still works there. …

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BRUSSELS — Chinese security equipment company Nuctech’s Dutch and Polish offices were raided by EU competition regulators, the company said on Wednesday, as the European Commission cracks down on companies receiving unfair state subsidies which put EU peers at a disadvantage. The European Commission has launched four investigations against Chinese companies since its foreign subsidies regulation …

Read more “China’s Nuctech raided in EU over foreign subsidies concerns”

new york — Russia blocked a U.N. Security Council resolution Wednesday reaffirming the need to prevent a nuclear arms race in outer space. The measure was proposed jointly by the United States, a nuclear power, and Japan, the only nation ever to be attacked with nuclear bombs. “We have only begun to understand the catastrophic ramifications …

Read more “Russia blocks UN resolution on peaceful use of outer space”

BARCELONA, Spain — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez denied corruption allegations against his wife but said he will consider resigning after the launch Wednesday of a judicial investigation into accusations by a right-wing legal platform that she used her position to influence business deals. Sánchez said in a letter posted on his X account that while …

Read more “Spain’s prime minister says he will consider resigning after wife is targeted by judicial probe”

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London — A breakdown in the international rule of law is being accelerated through rapid advancement in technology and artificial intelligence, which risks a “supercharging” of human rights violations, according to an annual report, by Amnesty International, published April 24.  “The international rules-based order is on the brink of collapse. The violations of international law have …

Read more “Amnesty: Global rule of law on brink of collapse, fueled by AI”

A breakdown in the international rule of law is being accelerated through rapid advancement in technology and artificial intelligence, which risks a “supercharging” of human rights violations. That’s according to the new annual report by rights group Amnesty International. Henry Ridgwell has more. …

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