Category: News

Britain drew closer to selecting a new prime minister Wednesday after Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak were chosen as finalists by Conservative party lawmakers. Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt finished out of the running in third place in the voting to replace Boris Johnson. Both Truss and Sunak have played key …

Read more “Boris Johnson’s Potential Replacements Announced After Last Parliament Meeting”

For weeks Natalya Zadoyanova had lost contact with her younger brother Dmitriy, who was trapped in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. Russian forces had bombed the orphanage where he worked, and he was huddling with dozens of others in the freezing basement of a building without doors and windows. When she next heard …

Read more “Ukrainian Refugees Forced to Escape to Enemy Soil in Russia”

A new study shines a light on the health risks, challenges, and barriers faced daily by millions of refugees and migrants who suffer from poor health because they lack access to the health care available to others in their host countries. The World Health Organization has just published its first world report on the health …

Read more “WHO: Millions of Refugees, Migrants Suffer Ill Health for Lack of Care”

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The European Union is preparing for the possibility that Russia will stop delivering natural gas needed by many member states to heat homes, generate electricity and power factories. In a statement Wednesday, the EU Commission asked countries to voluntary reduce their consumption and to grant the EU the power to impose reductions in case of …

Read more “EU Urges Reducing Gas Use Amid Russian Cutoff Threat”

Nearly 500 firefighters and over 100 fire engines have been deployed to fight a massive wildfire threatening several mountainside suburbs of Athens. The fire has been raging since Tuesday at the foot of Mount Pentelli, located about 26 kilometers north of the Greek capital. The fire has been fueled by strong gale-force winds that have …

Read more “Firefighters Battling Major Wildfire on Outskirts of Athens “

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia was ready to facilitate Ukrainian grain shipments from ports along the Black Sea, but that he wants Western countries to lift their sanctions against Russian grain exports.  Putin spoke in Iran after meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about a proposed plan to resume the Ukrainian …

Read more “Putin Open to Ukraine Grain Deal, Wants Russian Sanctions Dropped”

U.S. lawmakers are set to hear Wednesday from Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska as she delivers remarks on Capitol Hill.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ahead of the address that Zelenska would be speaking on behalf of all Ukrainian mothers and women.  “And I really believe that it will be heard by those on whom …

Read more “Ukrainian First Lady to Address US Lawmakers”

The United States on Tuesday placed Russia on lists of countries engaged in a “policy or pattern” of human trafficking and forced labor or whose security forces or government-backed armed groups recruit or use child soldiers. The U.S. State Department included the lists in its annual human trafficking report, which for the first time featured …

Read more “US Places Russia on Human Trafficking, Child Soldier Lists”

Azerbaijan on Tuesday began the process of returning its people to land recaptured from Armenian separatists in what Baku calls “The Great Return” following a 2020 war over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh. The oil-rich country has vowed to repopulate lands recaptured in the six-week war with its arch-foe and Caucasus neighbor Armenia that killed more than 6,500 …

Read more “Azerbaijan Starts Return of People to Recaptured Areas”

A swath of Europe is battling soaring temperatures, wildfires and a severe drought, with a new report predicting the parched conditions will shrink crop yields — including in agricultural heavyweight France — at a time when Russia’s blockade of grain from Ukraine is already hurting consumers. On Tuesday, youngsters took a water break in Paris, …

Read more “Blistering Drought Hits Europe’s Food Production  “

Britain is under a heat warning – reportedly stretching from London in the south to Leeds and Manchester in the north – as the mercury climbs to record levels amid an intense heat wave plaguing Europe.  Some reports say the temperature climbed to 40.2 Celsius (104 F) in Britain on Tuesday, with other media reporting …

Read more “Britain Feels the Heat Amid Record High Temperatures”

The World Meteorological Organization, WMO, warns heatwaves, raging wildfires and record-breaking temperatures are becoming normal because of climate change. Meteorologists say the scorching heatwave sweeping Europe is likely to last well into the middle of next week, smashing more temperature records as it continues. They warn the time between heatwaves is becoming shorter, noting the …

Read more “Heatwaves Becoming Normal Amid Climate Change as Europe Continues Sweltering”

With a worldwide food crisis looming as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Iran’s capital, Tehran, with their sights set on reaching an agreement on resuming the flow of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. Jonathan Spier narrates this VOA report …

Read more “Inflation, Threat of Food Shortages, Push Putin to the Table”

A Dutch court sentenced two men to five years in prison Monday after convicting them of attempted murder and arson for throwing a Molotov cocktail into a journalist’s home in a late-night attack last year. The court said the two men, identified by Dutch media as Tjeerd P. and Jaimy W. in line with privacy …

Read more “Dutch Court Jails 2 Men for 5 Years for Attack on Reporter “

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived Tuesday in the Iranian capital, Tehran, where he was due to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and discuss an agreement to resume grain exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters Monday there has been incremental progress with the negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey …

Read more “Putin, Erdogan to Discuss Ukrainian Grain Export Deal”

Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska is set to meet with U.S. first lady Jill Biden at the White House on Tuesday.  The two last met during Biden’s unannounced visit to western Ukraine in May when they visited a school and joined children who were making Mother’s Day gifts.  Zelenska on Monday met with U.S. Secretary …

Read more “US, Ukrainian First Ladies to Meet in Washington”

Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Tehran on Tuesday for a meeting with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the first trip by the Kremlin chief outside Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.  Putin casts the West’s attempt to cripple Russia’s economy with the most severe sanctions in recent history as a declaration of economic war and …

Read more “Putin Visits Iran for First Trip Outside Russia Since Ukraine War”

EU officials warned against shrinking European Union support for Ukraine, as the bloc’s foreign ministers agreed Monday to earmark half-a-billion more dollars in military aid to Kyiv and consider banning imports of Russian gold.  European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned against what he called “democratic fatigue” which Russia would try to exploit. “European societies …

Read more “Brussels Warns Against EU Fatigue Over Ukraine War”

Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday as she began a series of high-profile appearances in Washington that will include a session with U.S. counterpart Jill Biden. Blue and yellow Ukrainian flags flew alongside American ones on Pennsylvania Avenue as Zelenska headed for her first announced event in …

Read more “Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s First Lady, on High-Profile US Trip”

Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who shot to prominence for interrupting a live TV broadcast to denounce Russia’s military action in Ukraine, said Monday she had been released after a few hours in custody. “I am at home. Everything is fine,” she wrote on Facebook overnight. “Now I know it’s better to leave home with my …

Read more “Russian Journalist Released After Brief Detention”

At the Tehran summit Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wanted to overcome Iranian and Russian objections to Turkey’s military operation in Syria. The meeting also comes as Erdogan seeks to finalize a deal to allow for the export of trapped Ukrainian grain. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

Millions of people in Britain stayed home or sought shade Monday during the country’s first-ever extreme heat warning, as hot, dry weather that has scorched mainland Europe for the past week moved north, disrupting travel, health care and schools. The red heat alert covers a big chunk of England and is due to last through …

Read more “Millions Swelter as UK Endures Its First Extreme Heat Warning”

When Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, many ordinary Ukrainians started helping their military, even if they did not join the fight. Kateryna Markova has the story. Camera – Viktor Petrovych. …