Category: News

London — The U.S., Britain and Australia are set to begin talks on bringing new members into their AUKUS security pact as Washington pushes for Japan to be involved as a deterrent against China, the Financial Times reported. The countries’ defense ministers will announce discussions Monday on “Pillar Two” of the pact, which commits the members …

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Moscow — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit China on Monday and Tuesday to discuss the war in Ukraine and the deepening partnership between Moscow and Beijing. Talks between Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who extended the invitation to the Russian minister, will include bilateral cooperation as well as “hot topics,” such as …

Read more “Russia’s Lavrov to visit China to discuss Ukraine war”

Moscow — Flood waters were rising in two cities in Russia’s Ural mountains on Sunday after Europe’s third longest river burst through a dam, flooding at least 6,000 homes and forcing thousands of people to flee with just their pets and a few belongings.  A string of Russian regions in the Ural Mountains and Siberia, alongside …

Read more “Record flood waters rise in Russia’s Urals, forcing thousands to flee”

Strasbourg, France — Europe’s top rights court will on Tuesday issue unprecedented verdicts in three separate cases on the responsibility of states in the face of global warming, rulings that could force governments to adopt more ambitious climate policies. The European Court of Human Rights, part of the 46-member Council of Europe, will rule on whether …

Read more “Top Europe rights court to issue landmark climate verdicts”

UNITED NATIONS — The United States and its Western allies are feuding with Russia over its diamond production, but they joined forces Wednesday to keep supporting the Kimberley Process, which aims to eliminate the trade in “blood diamonds” that helped fuel devastating conflicts in Africa. At a U.N. General Assembly meeting, its 193 member nations adopted …

Read more “Russia and West join forces to tackle trade in ‘blood diamonds’”

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WARSAW — Poles vote in local elections on Sunday, selecting thousands of councilors and mayors who will play a key role in allocating billions in European Union funds and giving an early indication of their satisfaction with the government of Donald Tusk. Tusk’s appointment as prime minister in December marked a turning point for the largest …

Read more “Poland holds local elections in test for Tusk”

ROME — An international campaign to ban surrogacy received a strong endorsement Friday from the Vatican, with a top official calling for a broad-based alliance to stop the “commercialization of life.” A Vatican-affiliated university hosted a two-day conference promoting an international treaty to outlaw surrogacy, be it commercial arrangements or so-called altruistic ones. It’s based on …

Read more “Surrogacy debate comes to a head in Rome”

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london — Airline passengers in parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland faced travel disruptions Saturday due to flight cancellations as a storm swept across both countries and left thousands of Irish homes with power outages.  The disruption caused by Storm Kathleen, named by the Irish Meteorological Service and the 11th named storm of the 2023-24 …

Read more “Travel disrupted in UK, power outages in Ireland due to storm”

LONDON — A journalist for an independent Iranian media outlet in London stabbed outside his home last week has returned to work, saying “the show must go on.” Pouria Zeraati, a presenter for Iran International, needed hospital treatment for leg wounds suffered in the March 29 attack. The 36-year-old said the stabbing was a “warning shot.” …

Read more “‘Show must go on’ for Iranian journalist stabbed in London”

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The now-aging hippies who took over a derelict naval base in Copenhagen more than 50 years ago and turned it into a freewheeling community known as Christiania want to boot out criminals who control the community’s lucrative market for hashish by ripping up the cobblestone street where it openly changes hands.  Over the …

Read more “Copenhagen’s hippie oasis wants to rebuild without illegal hashish market”

Moscow, Russia — Russia said Saturday it had evacuated 4,500 people in the Orenburg region, in the southern Urals near Kazakhstan, because of flooding after a dam burst.    Emergency services had been working through the night after a dam burst in the city of Orsk, near the border with Kazakhstan.       The press …

Read more “Russia evacuates more than 4,400 people after dam bursts”

BUDAPEST, Hungary — A rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban mobilized tens of thousands of supporters in Hungary’s capital Saturday, outlining a plan to unite the country and bring an end to the populist leader’s 14-year hold on power. At the center of the demonstration, the latest in a recent series of protests against …

Read more “Challenger to Hungary’s Orban announces new political alternative”

BUCHAREST, Romania — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned of threats posed by right-wing populists Saturday as he addressed a gathering of center-left European parties ahead of elections for the European Parliament in June.  Scholz arrived in Romania’s capital Bucharest for a conference of the Party of European Socialists, part of the Socialists and Democrats group, the …

Read more “Germany’s Scholz warns of rise of right-wing populists ahead of EU elections”

PENTAGON — Russian microchip company AO PKK Milandr continued to provide microchips to the Russian armed forces at least several months after Russia invaded Ukraine, despite public denials by company director Alexey Novoselov of any connection with Russia’s military. A formal letter obtained by VOA dated February 10, 2023, shows a sale request for 4,080 military …

Read more “Exclusive: Russian company supplies military with microchips despite denials”

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Climate activist Greta Thunberg was among dozens of people detained Saturday by police in The Hague as they removed protesters who were partially blocking a road in the Dutch city. Thunberg was seen flashing a victory sign as she sat in a bus used by police to take detained demonstrators from the …

Read more “Activist Greta Thunberg detained at climate demonstration in The Hague”

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washington — In recent weeks, the United States, Britain and the European Union have issued the strictest regulations yet on the use and development of artificial intelligence, setting a precedent for other countries. This month, the United States and the U.K. signed a memorandum of understanding allowing for the two countries to partner in the development …

Read more “US, Europe, Issue Strictest Rules Yet on AI”

NANTES, France — Dieudonne Boutrin is a descendant of people enslaved in the Caribbean. Pierre Guillon de Prince’s ancestors, from Nantes, were ship-owners transporting those enslaved. Although contrasting, their families’ histories are linked. They met in 2021 in Nantes, which was France’s largest port for transatlantic slavery, and have since been working together to raise awareness …

Read more “Descendants of enslaved, enslavers ‘break silence’ around France’s past”

paris — The universe is still expanding at an accelerating rate, but it may have slowed down recently compared with a few billion years ago, early results from the most precise measurement of its evolution yet suggested Thursday. The preliminary findings are far from confirmed, but if they hold up, it would further deepen the mystery …

Read more “Universe’s expansion might be slowing, findings indicate”

Washington — Ukrainian officials are cultivating closer ties with India, pursuing mutual economic benefits while hoping to nudge the Asian giant away from its historic close ties with Kyiv’s war enemy, Russia. Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba visited India on March 28-29, the first visit of a top Ukrainian diplomat to the country in seven …

Read more “Kuleba visits New Delhi: Can India help bring peace to Ukraine?”

Following Thursday’s meetings in Brussels, NATO’s 32 member states are getting to work on an expanded role in providing military aid to Ukraine. At the session marking the 75th anniversary of the alliance, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg pledged NATO’s support for Ukraine, now and for the long haul. Myroslava Gongadze visits a Ukrainian air base …

Read more “Pilots: NATO military aid updates, strengthens Ukrainian air force”

washington — A Serbian journalist is being harassed and threatened after a fake video circulated online in which he appears to make an offhand comment praising a war criminal.  Dinko Gruhonjic, a media professor and a journalist for the local news website Autonomija, had participated in a regional festival in Dubrovnik, Croatia, last year.   Then …

Read more “In Serbia, attacks on credibility of journalists undermine media”