Travels News
Pope Francis apologized to the people of Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan on Sunday for having to cancel his visit because of walking problems, and said he was hopeful his condition would improve. The Vatican announced on Thursday that the July 2-7 trip had been postponed indefinitely because of the 85-year-old pontiff’s knee …
Read more “Pope Apologizes for Having to Cancel Africa Trip”
Penny Taylor used her induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame to call for the release of her former WNBA Phoenix Mercury teammate Brittney Griner, noting it’s been 114 days since the seven-time WNBA All-Star was detained. “BG is our family,” Taylor said in asking President Biden’s help freeing Griner. “She’s yours too. The …
Read more “Penny Taylor Calls for Griner’s Release at Hall of Fame Induction”
In the outdoor gym on Venice Beach, the name given to an inviting stretch of sand on the majestic Dnieper River that courses through the capital of Ukraine, Serhiy Chornyi is working on his summer body, up-down-up-downing a chunky hunk of iron. The aim of his sweat and toil isn’t to impress the girls in …
Read more “Kyiv’s Bitter Summer: War, Guilt and Last Kisses”
Italian rescuers on Saturday found the bodies of seven people, including four Turkish and two Lebanese businessmen, who died when their helicopter crashed in a heavily forested, mountainous area in north-central Italy during a storm, authorities said. Colonel Alfonso Cipriano, who heads an air force rescue coordination unit that led the search since Thursday, said …
Read more “Italy Finds 7 Bodies at Scorched Crash Site of Helicopter”
The European Union should kick off accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania to finally fulfill its pledge to integrate the Western Balkans, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday on the second day of a tour to the region. Speaking in Skopje, Scholz said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine made it important for Europe …
Read more “German Chancellor Calls for EU to Open Accession Talks with North Macedonia and Albania”
The first highway bridge connecting China and Russia opened Friday, the first day of the 3-day Shangri-La Summit in Singapore. Construction of the bridge was completed two years back, but it remained unused because of the coronavirus pandemic. The timing of its opening is significant. Russia and China have come under severe criticism …
Read more “China, Russia Open Cross-Border Bridge Amid Sanctions, Criticism”
Britain’s plan to fly asylum seekers 6,000 kilometers to Rwanda faces a last-minute legal challenge. The first flight is scheduled to leave June 14, carrying up to 100 migrants. However, a group of non-governmental organizations and refugee campaigners have launched a legal case at the High Court in London to seek an injunction blocking the …
Read more “British Plan to Fly Asylum Seekers to Rwanda Faces Last-Minute Legal Challenge”
Armed with a bright smile and a fistful of campaign flyers, Sarah Legrain works her way through the Curial market in northeastern Paris’ 19th arrondissement, where shoppers banter and bargain in North African Arabic. She accepts a slice of watermelon from a vendor, and chats with a veiled Tunisian mother. A man in a white …
Read more “In France, New Far-Left Alliance Threatens to Upend Macron’s Second-Term Agenda”
A years-old piece of draft legislation that seeks to criminalize the spread of disinformation is moving toward a vote in the Turkish parliament. The bill is being met with deep concern by media rights groups across the country. If passed, the so-called “disinformation” law put forward by ruling majority parliamentarians would carry a sentence of …
Read more “Turkish Media Groups Voice Concern Over Draft Disinformation Bill”
Russia and China on Friday unveiled the first road bridge between the two countries as Moscow pivots to Asia amid its confrontation with the West over Ukraine. The kilometer-long bridge over the Amur River links the far eastern Russian city of Blagoveshchensk with Heihe in northern China. The construction of the bridge was completed two …
The European Central Bank will raise interest rates next month for the first time in 11 years and add another hike in September, catching up with other central banks worldwide as they pivot from supporting the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic to squelching soaring inflation. The surprise move Thursday marks a turning point after years …
Read more “Europe’s Central Bank to Hike Rates in July, 1st in 11 Years”
Finland and Sweden’s bid to join NATO remains in question ahead of the alliance’s summit this month. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is hardening his opposition on their joining, accusing the two countries of supporting terrorists. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …
Three foreign men have been sentenced to death by pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine who say the men fought for Ukrainian forces. The two British citizens and a Moroccan were found guilty by a court that is not internationally recognized in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic of fighting for Ukraine and of being mercenaries and …
Read more “UK, Moroccan Fighters Sentenced to Death in Ukraine’s Pro-Russian Donetsk”
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT. 4:00 a.m.: “We must use all our influence and leadership to protect freedom and ensure the defeat of tyranny.” — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a video address recorded for the …
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the battle for the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk is “one of the most difficult” of the war, while highlighting its importance in the key Donbas region. “In many ways, the fate of our Donbas is being decided there,” Zelenskyy said in a video address late Wednesday. Ukrainian forces were …
Read more “Zelenskyy: Sievierodonetsk Battle One of War’s Most Difficult”
King Philippe of Belgium, in a historic visit to Congo, said on Wednesday that his country’s rule over the vast central African country had inflicted pain and humiliation through a mixture of “paternalism, discrimination and racism.” In a speech outside Congo’s parliament, Philippe amplified remorse he first voiced two years ago over Belgium’s brutal colonial …
Read more “Belgian King Regrets Colonial ‘Humiliation’ in Landmark Congo Trip”
The risk of monkeypox becoming established in nonendemic nations is real, the WHO warned Wednesday, with more than 1,000 cases confirmed in such countries. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the U.N. health agency was not recommending mass vaccination against the virus and added that no deaths had been reported from the outbreaks. …
Read more “Monkeypox Outbreak Tops 1,000 Cases; WHO Warns of ‘Real’ Risk”
Increasingly isolated from their home country, residents fear being annexed by or even forced to fight for the Russians …
VOA’s Eastern Europe bureau chief Myroslava Gongadze discusses the situation in Ukraine with Ambassador Michael Carpenter, U.S. permanent representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The transcript has been edited for clarity: VOA: Thank you so much for this interview on this Russian invasion. The war has tested the international community, …
Read more “US Envoy: Ukraine War Has Brought ‘Sea Change’ in Views of Russia”
The family of RFE/RL freelance correspondent Andrey Kuznechyk say the journalist has been sentenced to six years in prison in Belarus on a charge of creating an extremist group. According to the relatives, the Mahilyou regional court in the country’s east took only a few hours to hear the case and hand down its verdict …
Read more “Belarus Hands RFE/RL Freelancer Kuznechyk 6-Year Prison Sentence, Relatives Say”
Millions of tons of grain remain trapped in Ukraine as Russia continues its aggression against the country and world wheat prices soar. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Ankara Wednesday with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu for talks focused on creating shipping corridors to allow Ukrainian grain exports to access world markets. But both …
Read more “Turkey-Russia Talks Make Little Progress on Ukraine Grain Shipments”
China and Russia were called to explain to the international community on Wednesday why they vetoed a Security Council resolution calling for new sanctions on North Korea for its recent string of prohibited long-range and ballistic missile tests. Wednesday was the first time the General Assembly implemented its April 25 resolution requiring any of …
A high-profile fraud trial of soccer’s once most powerful men was delayed Wednesday in Switzerland after one of the accused, Sepp Blatter, said he was too ill to testify. “The pain will come back, and I am having difficulty breathing,” said the 86-year-old in a whisper. Blatter, the former head of soccer’s world governing body, …
Read more “High Profile Soccer Trial Delayed Due to Illness”
British prosecutors said on Wednesday they had authorized charges to be brought against former Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein on two counts of indecent assault against a woman 26 years ago. “Charges have been authorized against Harvey Weinstein, 70, following a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation,” Rosemary Ainslie, …
Read more “UK Prosecutors Authorize Indecent Assault Charges Against Harvey Weinstein”