Travels News. Throughout history, people have transported new information through oral means. Having developed in China over centuries, newspapers became established in Europe during the early modern period. In the 20th century, radio and television became an important means of transmitting news. Whilst in the 21st, the internet has also begun to play a similar role
Greece’s Supreme Court has ordered an investigation into allegations that the country’s intelligence service was tapping the phones of nearly three dozen politicians, businessmen, and journalists. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has denied the allegations but the scandal, analysts say, may force him to resign as leader of the country’s center-right party. The scandal is being …
A German humanitarian group said its ship docked in southern Italy early Tuesday and disembarked 89 people rescued at sea, ending one migrant rescue saga as others continue under Italy’s new hard-right government. Mission Lifeline posted videos on social media of the 25-meter (80-foot) Rise Above freighter docking in Reggio Calabria and said the “odyssey …
Read more “German Aid Group: 89 Migrants Allowed to Disembark in Italy”
Chinese authorities behind a major trade expo in Shanghai pulled an opening ceremony address by the European Council president that was set to criticize Russia’s “illegal war” in Ukraine and call for reduced trade dependency on China, diplomats said. The pre-recorded video by Charles Michel was meant to be one of several from world leaders …
Read more “China Canceled EU Leader’s Video Address at Opening of Major Trade Expo”
Ukraine is boosting its ties with Southeast Asian nations, signing a key foreign relations pact with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) later this week in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba is expected to sign, in person, the so-called Instrument of Accession to the Treaty on Amity and Cooperation …
The captain of Humanity 1, a German charity rescue ship, was ordered to leave the port of Catania Sunday after 144 rescued migrants were allowed to disembark, but 35 people remained on board. The captain refused to leave. Italy allowed the ship carrying 179 migrants to enter the Sicilian port early Sunday, while rejecting safe …
Read more “Amnesty International: Italy Not Adhering to Law of the Sea “
Some former members of Afghanistan’s special forces who fled to Iran after the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan are now being recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine and for Iran in Yemen, two former senior Afghan security officials told VOA. The former Afghan army chief, General Haibatullah Alizai, said Tehran is using the vulnerability of …
Read more “Former US-Trained Afghan Commandos Recruited by Russia, Iran”
Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is visiting Moscow for talks expected to focus on economic and political issues. The two-day visit during which the Indian minister will meet his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry, Denis Manturov, will be the first by a senior Indian official to …
Read more “Indian Foreign Minister Heads to Russia for Talks Expected to Include Ukraine Conflict “
Britain announced Monday that a trade minister was heading to Taiwan for the first in-person talks since the coronavirus in a bid to strengthen ties with the island, a trip that sparked a rebuke from Beijing. Trade Policy Minister Greg Hands will co-host annual talks and meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen during his two-day …
Read more “UK Trade Minister Heads to Taiwan for Talks, Sparks China Rebuke”
The captain of a charity-run migrant rescue ship refused Italian orders to leave a Sicilian port Sunday after authorities refused to let 35 of the migrants on his ship disembark — part of directives by Italy’s new far-right-led government targeting foreign-flagged rescue ships. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s two-week-old government is refusing safe port to four …
Read more “Ship Refuses to Leave Italy Port Until All Migrants Are Off”
Several thousand ethnic Serbs rallied in Kosovo Sunday as a dispute over vehicle license plates heightened ongoing tensions between Serbia and its former province. The government’s decision to gradually ban Serbia-issued license plates has angered Kosovo Serbs, most of whom do not recognize Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence. Members of the ethnic Serb minority left …
Read more “Ethnic Serbs Rally in Kosovo After Leaving Jobs in Protest”
In Kherson, residents were without lights and water Sunday, as the city’s Russian-installed officials accused Ukraine of “sabotage” without evidence. The Kremlin-installed administration in Kherson said an airstrike, the “result of an attack organized” by Ukraine, damaged “three concrete poles of high-voltage power lines.” The authorities said energy specialists were working to “quickly” resolve the …
Read more “Kherson Region Without Water, Lights After Airstrike”
The mayor of Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv is warning residents that they must prepare for the worst this winter if Russia keeps striking the country’s energy infrastructure — that means there might not be any electricity, water or heat when temperatures fall below freezing. “We are doing everything to avoid this. But let’s be frank, …
Read more “Kyiv Prepares for a Winter With no Heat, Water or Power”
Britain’s Defense Ministry said Sunday in its daily intelligence report about Ukraine that there has been a “series of dismissals of senior Russian military commanders since the onset of the invasion in February 2022.” The report said, “These dismissals represent a pattern of blame against senior Russian military commanders for failures to achieve Russian objectives …
Read more “UK Reports Dismissals of Russian Commanders Since Ukraine Invasion”
The German version of the television show The Voice had a special guest Saturday on its final episode of the season. Rana Mansour, an Iranian American singer, performed the protest song For, (Baraye) a song dedicated to Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Iranian woman who died recently after being arrested by Iranian police. Amini was detained …
Read more “Iranian American Guest Performs on Germany’s ‘The Voice’”
European lawmaker Jordan Bardella replaced his mentor Marine Le Pen on Saturday at the helm of France’s leading far-right party and pledged to defend French civilization from perceived threats posed by immigration and work closely with far-right parties around Europe. Bardella, 27, won an internal party vote with 85% support, marking a symbolic changing of …
Read more “French Far-Right Party Elects New Leader to Replace Le Pen”
The Biden administration is privately encouraging Ukraine’s leaders to signal an openness to negotiate with Russia and drop their public refusal to engage in peace talks unless President Vladimir Putin is removed from power, The Washington Post reported Saturday. The paper quoted unnamed people familiar with the discussions as saying that the request by American …
Read more “US Privately Asks Ukraine to Show Russia It’s Open to Talks, Washington Post Reports”
Italy allowed a humanitarian rescue ship carrying 179 migrants to enter a Sicilian port and begin disembarking minors early Sunday, while refusing to respond to requests for safe harbor from three other ships carrying 900 more people in nearby waters. Italy’s new far-right-led government has closed its ports to rescue ships run by non-governmental groups …
Read more “German Rescue Ship Enters Sicilian Port, Disembarks Minors”
Crouching in his hidden lookout on the edge of a forest, a Ukrainian border guard scans the horizon to the border with Russia and Belarus just a few kilometers to the north. With the rain pouring down and the clouds low, there will be no Russian drones overflying his remote outpost in northern Ukraine, the …
Read more “‘Never Again’: Ukraine Bolsters Defenses Along Belarus-Russia Border”
Hundreds of environmental activists wearing white overalls stormed an area holding private jets at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and stopped aircraft from leaving for hours by sitting in front of their wheels Saturday. Military police moved in and were seen taking dozens of the protesters away in buses. More than 100 activists were arrested, national broadcaster …
Read more “Climate Activists Block Private Jets at Amsterdam Airport”
Two German-run migrant rescue ships carrying nearly 300 rescued people were waiting off the eastern coast of Sicily Saturday, one with permission to disembark its most vulnerable migrants while the other ship’s request for a safe port has gone unanswered despite “critical” conditions on board. The situation describes the chaos and uncertainty resulting from the …
Read more “1,100 Migrants in Limbo as Italy Shuts Ports to Rescue Ships”
Behind wire fences in southeast England, children wave their arms and chant “freedom” to grab the attention of people on the other side. A young girl throws a bottle with a message inside. “We need your help. Please help us,” the note reads. The children are among thousands of people being held in dangerously overcrowded …
Read more “Prison-Like Center Puts Focus on UK’s Response to Migrants”
John Kirby, the National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, spoke with VOA White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara on whether President Joe Biden is signaling his support for regime change in Iran, the latest on the Ukraine war, North Korean provocations ahead of Biden’s trip to Asia and whether the president will meet with …
Read more “White House Discusses Iran Protests, Ukraine War, North Korean Missiles, US-Saudi Ties”
As war chokes Europe, a small nation wedged beneath Russia is enjoying an unexpected economic boom. Georgia is on course to become one of the world’s fastest-growing economies this year following a dramatic influx of more than 100,000 Russians since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and Vladimir Putin’s mobilization drive to drum up war recruits. As …
Read more “From Russia With Cash: Georgia Booms as Russians Flee Putin’s War”
Iran’s foreign minister on Saturday acknowledged for the first time that his country has supplied Russia with drones, insisting the transfer came before Moscow’s war on Ukraine that has seen the Iranian-made drones divebombing Kyiv. The comments by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian come after months of confusing messaging from Iran about the weapons shipment, …
Read more “Iran Acknowledges Sending Drones to Russia for First Time”