Category: News

brussels — The European Union on Monday officially launched its mission to protect maritime traffic in the Red Sea, which has been disrupted by Houthi rebel attacks, the European Commission president said. Several countries have expressed their intention to participate in this mission, called Aspides (“shield” in ancient Greek), including Belgium, Italy, Germany and France. Spain …

Read more “EU Launches Mission to Protect Maritime Traffic in Red Sea”

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Norway says it will transfer tax funds to the Palestinian Authority that have been frozen for months because of a dispute with Israel.  Under interim peace agreements dating back to the early 1990s, Israel collects taxes and customs on behalf of the PA, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank and also …

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GENEVA — Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Yevheniia Filipenko, warned Monday that “Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine two years ago poses a major threat to multilateralism and the U.N. Charter,” which upholds the rule of law and fundamental freedoms around the world.  Ahead of this grim anniversary, Filipenko told journalists that …

Read more “Ukraine Ambassador: Russian Aggression Against Ukraine Threatens Sovereignty of Other Nations”

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PRAGUE — Hundreds of Czech farmers drove their tractors into downtown Prague on Monday, disrupting traffic outside the Agriculture Ministry, as they joined protests against high energy costs, stifling bureaucracy and the European Union’s Green Deal. Farmers across Europe have taken to the streets this year, including in Poland, France, Germany, Spain and Italy, to fight …

Read more “Tractors roll into downtown Prague as Czech farmers Join Protests”

Miami, Florida — Lionel Messi and Inter Miami get the new Major League Soccer season under way on Wednesday with pressure on the Argentine star to deliver trophies for his club and more eyeballs on the league. The World Cup winner joined Inter from Paris Saint Germain in mid-July, the biggest name ever to move to …

Read more “Miami Expects Trophies From Messi’s First Full Season in Major League Soccer”

LONDON — Alexei Navalny was asked four years ago what he’d tell Russians if he were killed for challenging President Vladimir Putin. “You’re not allowed to give up,” he told a documentary maker. “If they decide to kill me, it means we are incredibly strong and we need to use this power.” Russia’s prison agency announced …

Read more “Russian Opposition Just Lost Its Brightest Star. What’s Next?”

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Beijing — China’s foreign minister has told his Ukrainian counterpart that Beijing does not sell lethal weapons to Russia for its war against Ukraine, a statement said Sunday. Wang Yi told Dmytro Kuleba during a meeting on the sidelines of a major security conference in Munich on Saturday that China “does not take any advantage of …

Read more “China Tells Ukraine It ‘Does Not Sell Lethal Weapons’ to Russia”

Cordoba, Spain — China has agreed to lift a ban on imports of Spanish beef, the foreign ministers of both nations said Sunday after talks. Since 2000, Beijing has imposed a ban on the European Union from exporting beef products due to the emergence of several cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or “mad cow” disease, in …

Read more “China Agrees to Lift Ban on Spanish Beef Imports”

Russian authorities are detaining people mourning the death of opposition leader Alexey Navalny. He died in custody at an Arctic Circle penal colony late last week. Western leaders blame Russia. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more. …

London — Hollywood stars descended on London on Sunday for the annual BAFTA Film Awards, where U.S. historical drama “Oppenheimer,” one of the highest-grossing films of 2023, leads nominations for Britain’s top movie honors.  The three-hour epic about the making of the atomic bomb during World War Two has 13 nods, including for the night’s top …

Read more “And the Winner Is… London Rolls Out Red Carpet for BAFTA Film Awards “

Berlin — A labor union in Germany has called on ground staff for Lufthansa to walk off the job at seven airports on Tuesday following a similar strike earlier this month. The Ver.di union said Sunday that the one-day strike will affect the airports in Frankfurt and Munich, Lufthansa’s two main hubs, as well as Berlin, …

Read more “German Labor Union Calls on Lufthansa Staff to Strike Tuesday “

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BUDAPEST — A bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators made an official visit to Hungary’s capital Sunday and called on the nationalist government to immediately approve Sweden’s request to join NATO.  Hungary is the only one of NATO’s 31 existing members not to have ratified Sweden’s bid. The Hungarian government faces mounting pressure to act after delaying …

Read more “Hungary’s Government Declines Offer to Meet US Senators Seeking Approval for Sweden’s NATO Bid “

Istanbul — Authorities in Turkey detained Sunday the director of the company managing a gold mine where a massive landslide in the country’s east left nine workers missing, local media said. A huge landslide engulfed Tuesday the Anagold Madencilik company’s Copler mine in the town of Ilic in Turkey’s mountainous Erzincan province, trapping the workers under …

Read more “Turkey Detains Company Director as Part of Inquiry Into Gold Mine Landslide that Left 9 Missing “

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LONDON — For anyone with even a passing acquaintance with London, the city’s Tube map is as iconic as the red buses or the black cabs. But for the past few years, there’s been something not quite right about the map originally designed by Harry Beck in 1933 — a collection of orange train lines, mostly …

Read more “London’s Iconic Underground Map Getting an Update”

The Hague, Netherlands — The U.N.’s top court will from Monday hold hearings on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967, with an unprecedented 52 countries expected to give evidence. Nations including the United States, Russia, and China will address judges in a weeklong session at the Peace Palace in The Hague, …

Read more “UN Court to Weigh Consequences of Israel Occupation”

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