worldwide news
madrid — Thousands of supporters and members of Spain’s Socialist party rallied outside the party’s national headquarters in Madrid on Saturday to show support for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and urge him not to step down. Sanchez stunned Spain when he announced Wednesday that he was canceling his itinerary while he considers whether to resign after …
Read more “Thousands rally in Madrid to urge Spanish PM not to resign”
london — Former U.S. President Donald Trump said he is ready to renew a right-wing alliance with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban if he wins the presidential election in November. The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee made the comments in an address to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Europe, which was held in Budapest …
Read more “At conservative conference, Orban, Trump revive right-wing alliance”
LONDON — Two Russian journalists were arrested by their government on extremism charges and ordered by courts there on Saturday to remain in custody pending investigation and trial on accusations of working for a group founded by the late Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny. Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin both denied the charges. They will be …
Read more “2 Russian journalists jailed for alleged work for Navalny group”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump says he is ready to renew a right-wing alliance with Hungary’s Viktor Orban if he wins the election in November. The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee made the comments in an address to the CPAC conservative conference in Budapest. As Henry Ridgwell reports, analysts say Orban seeks a global conservative …
Read more “Trump, Orban seek leadership of global conservative movement at right-wing conference”
MOSCOW — A Moscow court has detained another suspect as an accomplice in the attack by gunmen on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed 144 people in March, the Moscow City Courts Telegram channel said Saturday. Dzhumokhon Kurbonov, a citizen of Tajikistan, is accused of providing the attackers with means of communication and financing. The …
Read more “New suspect arrested in Russia concert hall attack that killed 144”
ISLAMABAD — Germany’s ambassador to Pakistan faced backlash on social media Saturday for asking pro-Palestinian demonstrators to leave a human rights conference instead of “shouting” and interrupting his speech. Alfred Grannas was speaking on civil rights at the live-streamed event in the eastern city of Lahore when a young man rose from his seat and spoke …
Read more “Demonstrators in Pakistan disrupt German ambassador’s speech”
LONDON — British troops may be tasked with delivering aid to Gaza from an offshore pier now under construction by the U.S. military, the BBC reported Saturday. U.K. government officials declined to comment on the report. According to the BBC, the British government is considering deploying troops to drive the trucks that will carry aid from …
Read more “British troops may deliver Gaza aid, BBC report says”
SYDNEY — The Asian Development Bank holds its annual meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia, next week, with discussions on climate change and the world’s aging population high on the agenda. The four-day summit, starting Thursday, marks the first time that the ADB’s 68 members have gathered for a meeting in Georgia, which joined the multilateral development bank …
Read more “Georgia to host development summit; climate change, aging on agenda”
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched a barrage of missiles against Ukraine overnight, in attacks that appeared to target the country’s energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, Russia said its air defense systems had intercepted more than 60 Ukrainian drones over the southern Krasnodar region. Ukraine’s air force said Saturday that Russia had launched 34 missiles against Ukraine overnight, of …
Read more “Russia renews attacks on Ukrainian energy sector”
Lausanne, Switzerland — The head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, has backed the World Anti-Doping Agency in a row over its handling of positive drug tests by 23 Chinese swimmers. “We have full confidence in WADA and the regulations and that WADA have followed their regulations,” Bach told AFP in an exclusive interview Friday …
Read more “Olympic chief backs world doping body over positive Chinese tests”
KIGALI, Rwanda — Rwanda says it’s ready to receive migrants from the United Kingdom after British Parliament this week approved a long-stalled and controversial bill seeking to stem the tide of people crossing the English Channel in small boats by deporting some of them to the East African country. There is even a place ready and …
Read more “Rwanda’s genocide survivor housing now ready for migrants from Britain”
LONDON — Britain’s King Charles III will return to public duties next week for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer as he makes good progress following treatment and a period of recuperation, Buckingham Palace said on Friday. In February, the palace revealed that the 75-year-old king had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of …
Read more “King Charles to resume public duties after cancer diagnosis”
Washington — British officials formally charged two men Friday with spying on behalf of China in the latest in a series of European arrests of suspected Chinese intelligence agents. The two men, Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, were charged with violations of the Official Secrets Act by “providing prejudicial information to a foreign state, China” between …
Read more “British officials charge 2 with spying for China”
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced a military aid package for Ukraine valued at up to $6 billion. Analysts say the aid is desperately needed to help Ukraine regain the upper hand after months of having to ration ammunition. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has details. …
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ANKARA — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s planned meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, set for May 9 at the White House, has been postponed because of changes in the Turkish leader’s schedule, a Turkish official said on Friday. A new date will soon be set, the official said, requesting anonymity. The White House had not formally …
Read more “Planned Biden-Erdogan meeting at White House postponed, Turkish official says”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington is “fully prepared” to impose sanctions over China’s support for Russia’s defense industry. His comments came Friday, following a meeting in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping. More from VOA’s Bill Gallo in Seoul, South Korea. …
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WASHINGTON — Ukraine has sidelined U.S.-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks for now in its fight against Russia, in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press. The U.S. agreed to send 31 Abrams to Ukraine in …
Read more “Ukraine pulls US-provided Abrams tanks from front lines over Russian drone threats”
Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on Friday that Russia’s capture of a major nuclear power plant threatened a radiation catastrophe, as the country marked the anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in southern Ukraine in the first days of its 2022 invasion. Both …
Read more “Zelenskyy blasts Russian nuclear risks on Chernobyl anniversary”
Thirty-eight years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, hundreds of people work to dismantle the long-defunct power plant and control the contaminated exclusion zone, a 30-kilometer area surrounding it. Lesia Bakalets has the story of a man who lived through the tragedy and still works there. …
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BRUSSELS — Chinese security equipment company Nuctech’s Dutch and Polish offices were raided by EU competition regulators, the company said on Wednesday, as the European Commission cracks down on companies receiving unfair state subsidies which put EU peers at a disadvantage. The European Commission has launched four investigations against Chinese companies since its foreign subsidies regulation …
Read more “China’s Nuctech raided in EU over foreign subsidies concerns”