Category: News

For more than a year, Russian-aligned troll factories overseeing thousands of social media accounts have been accused by Western countries and disinformation experts of spreading anti-vaccine messages in an aggressive campaign to spread conspiracy theories and cast doubt on Western coronavirus vaccines.  But the year-long offensive appears to have backfired.  Russian officials now worry that …

Read more “Russian Anti-Vaccine Disinformation Campaign Backfires”

The G-7 group of nations condemned what it called the Belarus government’s “orchestration of irregular migration across its borders” Thursday, as neighboring Poland reported new attempts to cross its border. “We call on the regime to cease immediately its aggressive and exploitative campaign in order to prevent further deaths and suffering,” the foreign ministers of …

Read more “G-7 Urges Belarus to End Migrant Crisis”

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said China’s hypersonic missile test over the summer drew “concerns” about Beijing’s growing capability, but he said he did not compare it to Russia’s launching of the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, in the 1950s. “Those are terms that I wouldn’t use, I don’t personally use,” Austin replied Wednesday …

Read more “US Defense Secretary: China’s Hypersonic Missile Test Drew ‘Concerns’”

Poland is dealing with a huge migrant crisis as thousands try to enter its territory from Belarus. Polish authorities have created an exclusion zone and do not allow volunteers to help migrants who reach European Union soil. Jamie Dettmer narrates this report by correspondent Ricardo Marquina from the Polish town of Michalowo near the border …

Read more “As Poland Holds Back Migrants at Belarus Border, Thousands Suffer”

Migrants in a makeshift camp on the western border of Belarus are being taken away by bus, a Polish government official was quoted as saying Wednesday. Thousands of migrants, primarily from the Middle East, have been stuck in the camp since Nov. 8. Most are escaping conflict and instability at home for opportunities in Germany …

Read more “Migrants in Belarusian Border Camp Reportedly Being Bussed Away “

Dozens of Armenian soldiers have been captured or gone missing following the latest clashes on the border with Azerbaijan, officials in Yerevan said on November 17. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said on the morning of November 17 that seven of its soldiers were killed and 10 others wounded in renewed fighting on the shared border …

Read more “Armenia, Azerbaijan Report Casualties After Renewed Fighting on Border”

The World Health Organization says Europe is once again the epicenter of the pandemic. As Henry Ridgwell reports, the latest wave of infections is casting a shadow over recent signs that European economies were rebounding. …

Turkish authorities arrested businessman Samir Handal, a suspect “of great interest” in the July assassination of Haiti’s president, according to Haitian Foreign Minister Claude Joseph.  The Monday arrest is the latest in a globe-trotting effort to round up Jovenel Moïse’s killers as Haiti contends with political instability, fuel shortages, gang violence and hunger made worse …

Read more “Turkey Arrests Businessman Suspected in Haitian President’s Assassination “

Polish forces at the border with Belarus used water cannons and tear gas Tuesday against stone-throwing migrants, as Warsaw accused Belarusian authorities of giving smoke grenades and other weapons to those trying to cross the frontier.  The events marked an escalation in the crisis on the European Union’s eastern border, where the West has accused …

Read more “Poland Uses Water Cannons Against Migrants at Belarus Border”

Threats by the leader of the Serb-majority Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, to break his mini-state away from Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country shakily balanced between Croats, Bosniaks and Serbs, is adding to growing regional and international dismay at unfolding developments in the Balkans. Dodik’s threats combined with a major rearmament program by neighboring Serbia are …

Read more “Balkan Fears Grow as Western Countries Mull Sanctions”

The US Naval Station at Rota in the south of Spain has often been the target of protests by anti-war activists and environmentalists. But ever since the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged Spain’s tourism industry, it has been a vastly different scenario. Jon Spier narrates this report by Alfonso Beato in Rota. Producer: Rob Raffaele. …

Polish border forces on Wednesday said they were attacked with stones by migrants at the border with Belarus and responded by using water cannons against them. The Border Guard agency posted video on Twitter showing a water cannon being directed across the border at a group of migrants in a makeshift camp in freezing temperatures. …

Read more “Polish Forces Use Water Cannons on Migrants Who Threw Stones”

Russian officials on Tuesday rejected accusations that they endangered astronauts aboard the International Space Station by conducting a weapons test that created more than 1,500 pieces of space junk. U.S. officials on Monday accused Russia of destroying an old satellite with a missile in what they called a reckless and irresponsible strike. The debris could …

Read more “Russia Rejects Accusations that Anti-satellite Missile Endangers ISS Astronauts”

Greece and U.S. tech giant Microsoft have teamed up to digitally revive one of the ancient world’s most sacrosanct sites: the birthplace of the Olympic Games. The ambitious project uses technology to immerse viewers in the world of ancient Olympia.  The collaboration between Microsoft and the Greek Culture Ministry will allow millions of visitors to immerse themselves in an experience that organizers say brings history to life.  At a recent news conference in Olympia, the birthplace of the …

Read more “Greek Birthplace of Olympic Games to be Digitally Preserved”

Belarus appeared to be moving Monday to de-escalate a long-running standoff with Poland and the European Union. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said he is preparing to start repatriating around 4,000 asylum-seekers camped out in freezing temperatures at the border with Poland. “Active work is underway in this area, to convince people —please, return home,” Lukashenko …

Read more “Minsk Blinks Ahead of EU Sanctions, But Crisis Not Over, Warn Diplomats”

Germany’s capital, Berlin, joined several German states Monday in limiting access to restaurants, cinemas, museums and concert venues to only people who have been vaccinated or recently recovered, as new COVID-19 cases continue to surge.  The country’s infectious disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute, reported Monday that the country’s number of new cases per …

Read more “Germany Implements New COVID-19 Restrictions as Cases Surge”

The British government Monday announced Monday an expansion of the nation’s COVID-19 booster shot program to people ages 40 and up, to fight off a potential winter surge of the deadly disease. Until now, only British residents ages 50 and up, those clinically vulnerable because of underlying conditions, and frontline health workers were eligible for …

Read more “Britain Expands COVID-19 Booster Availability to Ages 40-49 “

Police in Britain said Monday an explosion in a taxi outside a hospital in the city of Liverpool is being treated as a terrorist incident. Authorities told reporters that the passenger in the taxi was carrying an improvised explosive device and asked to be taken to the Liverpool Women’s Hospital, but that a motive or …

Read more “British Police Treating Taxi Blast as ‘Terrorist Incident’”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised an agreement by nearly 200 countries to boost efforts to combat climate change, while expressing disappointment the result of a U.N. climate conference was not stronger.  “We can lobby, we can cajole, we can encourage, but we cannot force sovereign nations to do what they do not wish to do,” Johnson said at a …

Read more “Johnson Says Climate Deal ‘Death Knell for Coal Power’”

Bulgaria’s new centrist political party was seen winning parliamentary elections on Sunday, according to four exit polls, increasing chances of an end to a political deadlock in the European Union’s poorest member state. Political wrangling prevented opponents of former Premier Boyko Borissov from building a government after the previous two elections in April and July. …

Read more “New Anti-graft Centrist Party Seen Winning Bulgaria’s Election”

British police arrested three men under terrorism laws Sunday after a car exploded outside a hospital in Liverpool, killing one man and injuring another. Counter-terrorism police said the three men, whose ages ranged from 21 to 29, were detained in the Kensington area of the northwest England city under the Terrorism Act. Police also cordoned …

Read more “Three Arrested Over Car Explosion Outside Liverpool Hospital”

Poland, Lithuania and Latvia are considering asking NATO to hold emergency talks as they struggle to manage a tense migration standoff on their borders with Belarus, the Polish prime minister said Sunday. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he and his two Baltic counterparts are discussing whether to ask for such talks under the NATO treaty, …

Read more “Polish PM Mulls Asking NATO to Hold Talks Amid Border Crisis”

ith the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference, or COP 26, now over, countries are looking to begin funding a global counterattack on rising temperatures on Earth. Meanwhile, scientists in Denmark are searching for clues to our warming planet’s future by studying ice from the past. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more …

More than 600 migrants, many of them Egyptians, arrived in southern Italy over the past 24 hours, officials said on Sunday, defying stormy winter seas in search of a better life in Europe.  Italy has seen a sharp increase in boat migrants in recent weeks and the latest mass arrivals will put further pressure on …

Read more “More Than 600 Migrants Reach Italy by Sea from North Africa “