Travels News
The European Central Bank raised interest rates Thursday for the first time in 11 years by a larger-than-expected amount, joining steps already taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve and other major central banks to target stubbornly high inflation. The move raises new questions about whether the rush to make credit more expensive will plunge major …
Read more “Europe’s Central Bank Backs Larger-than-expected Rate Hike”
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi resigned Thursday after failing in his efforts to unite the fractious pieces of his unity government. President Sergio Mattarella’s office said in a statement the president had accepted Draghi’s resignation but asked him to stay on in a caretaker role. The development could mean Italy heads to a parliamentary election …
Ukraine reported Russian shelling Thursday on the city of Kharkiv killed at least two people and wounded 19 others. Regional governor Oleg Synegubov said the dead included one child, and that four people were in serious condition. Britain’s defense ministry said Thursday that Russian forces were continuing small-scale assaults along the front line in the …
Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have succumbed to his own mythmaking and hyperbole, unable to let go of his desire to conquer Ukraine, no matter what the costs, according to a public assessment by America’s top spymaster. CIA Director William Burns, the last U.S. official to meet with Putin before he ordered Russian forces …
Russia resumed the flow of natural gas through the Nord Stream pipeline to Europe on Thursday after a 10-day interruption for maintenance. Klaus Mueller, head of Germany’s energy regulator, tweeted that gas flows had reached 40% of capacity, the same level as before the shutdown. Russia’s state-owned Gazprom blamed the reduction on the absence of …
Read more “Russia Resumes Gas Deliveries Through Pipeline to Europe”
When Russian missiles struck a mall in the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk last month, the deadly attack sent ripples of disinformation across Europe. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the mall was “permanently closed” at the time of the strike and that its forces were targeting ammunition stores. Russia’s ambassador to Ireland responded to international criticism over …
Read more “Network of Fact-Checkers Unites to Stem Flow of Disinformation”
As Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska reminded the U.S. Congress of the human costs of Russia’s invasion of her country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow’s military aims were no longer confined only to the east of the country. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports. …
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 …
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”