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A senior U.S. envoy expressed strong concern Thursday about the activities of the Russian private military contractor Wagner Group and its alleged attempts to recruit soldiers in Serbia and elsewhere in the world. U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet said he voiced these concerns during talks in Belgrade with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. “We have …
Read more “US Envoy Says Russian Wagner Group’s Activities Must End”
Iranian state media published a video on Thursday that they said showed British Iranian national Alireza Akbari, who is facing the death penalty for spying, played a role in the 2020 assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist. The video was aired a day after state media said a death sentence had been given to Akbari, …
Read more “Iran Media Say British Iranian Facing Execution Had Ties to Scientist’s Killing “
Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister said Thursday that Kyiv will pursue adoption of a resolution in the U.N. General Assembly that would enshrine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s 10-point peace formula. “The Ukrainian leadership decided that the priority number one that will be considered in February is the resolution dedicated to the peace formula,” Emine Dzhaparova told reporters …
Read more “Ukraine Will Seek International Backing for Its Peace Formula at UN “
China criticized a defense pact signed Wednesday between Britain and Japan that could see troops deployed on each other’s territory. Both London and Tokyo have described China as a “challenge” in the Asia-Pacific region. “The Asia-Pacific is a pacesetter for peace and development, not a wrestling ground for geopolitical games. China is a partner for …
A Turkish court has convicted the head of Turkey’s Medical Association of terrorism propaganda, as rights groups warn of an intensifying legal crackdown on civil society ahead of elections this year. For VOA, Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …
German police Thursday continued efforts to clear hundreds of climate protesters occupying the western village of Luetzerath to prevent the demolition of the town for the expansion of a coal mine. Police began moving in Tuesday after a regional German court Monday rejected the last legal effort by the protesters to stop the demolition of …
Read more “German Police Remove Climate Protesters From Abandoned Village”
Britain and Japan signed a defense agreement Wednesday that could see troops deployed on each other’s territory. As Henry Ridgwell reports, it’s a sign of growing concerns over China’s military power. …
The foreign ministers of Germany and France have arrived in Ethiopia to support a November peace deal between federal and Tigray authorities to end two years of brutal war. Annalena Baerbock and Catherine Colonna met Thursday with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as part of their diplomatic outreach. The November deal has seen steady progress with …
Read more “German, French Foreign Ministers in Ethiopia to Support Tigray Peace”
The past year has seen a litany of human rights crises across the world, from Ukraine to China to Afghanistan, Human Rights Watch says in its latest annual report, released Thursday. The authors also say, however, that new champions of human rights have emerged. Henry Ridgwell reports. …
Police in riot gear began evicting climate activists Wednesday from a condemned village in western Germany that is due to be demolished for the expansion of a coal mine. Some stones and fireworks were thrown as officers entered the tiny hamlet of Luetzerath, which has become a flashpoint of debate over the country’s climate efforts, …
Read more “Police Start Clearing German Village Condemned for Coal Mine”
A town in France has decided to hide from public view a sign noting its brief connection to the former supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The sign, which includes a portrait of Khomeini, stands on private land in Neauphle-Le-Chateau, outside of Paris, but it is visible from the street. Khomeini stayed there for …
Read more “French Town to Block Sign Showing Link to Iran’s Khomeini”
The past year has seen human rights crises worsening around the world, from Ukraine to China to Afghanistan, Human Rights Watch said in its latest annual report, released Thursday. But new voices of leadership for championing human rights have emerged, according to the report. World Report 2023 looks at the state of human rights in …
Read more “Ukraine Conflict Among Litany of Global Abuses, Human Rights Watch Says”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the battle for Soledar in eastern Ukraine is a “very fluid,” “dynamic fight,” amid reports that the city had fallen to the Russians. “At this point, we can’t corroborate that reporting,” Austin said in joint press briefing with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their Japanese counterparts at …
Read more “Both Sides Claim Victory in ‘Fluid’ Struggle for Soledar”
A Madrid court ordered two Spanish women who married Islamic State fighters remanded in custody Wednesday on terror-related charges after they were flown back from Syrian detention camps with 13 children, legal documents showed. They arrived at the Torrejon de Ardoz Air Base near Madrid late Monday nearly two months after the Spanish government agreed …
Read more “Two Repatriated IS Wives Jailed on Arrival Back in Spain”
Russia said Wednesday that it will send an empty spacecraft to the International Space Station next month to bring home three astronauts whose planned return vehicle was damaged by a strike from a tiny meteorite. The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, made the announcement after examining the flight worthiness of the Soyuz MS-22 crew capsule at …
Read more “Russia to Send Spacecraft to Space Station to Bring Home Crew”
Russia’s top military officer was put in charge of troops fighting in Ukraine on Wednesday, a move that appears to reflect the Kremlin’s dissatisfaction with the current leadership and flaws in the military’s performance. Russia’s Defense Ministry said that General Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, was named …
Read more “Top Russian Military Officer Put in Charge of Troops Fighting in Ukraine”
The crackle of gunfire and roar of armored vehicles reverberated around sleepy west Ukrainian towns near the Belarusian border on Wednesday as Kyiv’s forces trained for the threat of a fresh assault across a new front in the north. Ukraine fears Russia could build up forces on the territory of its ally Belarus before striking …
Read more “Ukraine Stages War Games Near Belarus Amid Talk of Russian Assault”
The leaders of Britain and Japan signed a defense agreement Wednesday that could see troops deployed to each other’s countries. The two countries are strengthening military ties amid growing concern about China’s increasing military assertiveness and designs toward Taiwan, which it considers a renegade province. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida …
Read more “UK, Japan Sign Defense Deal Amid Rising Concern About China”
Iran has sentenced a former senior defense official to death after convicting him on charges of spying for Britain, state-linked media reported Wednesday. The judiciary said Ali Reza Akbari, who was deputy defense minister until 2001, was a “key spy” for British intelligence, the semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported. It said Iranian intelligence unmasked the …
Read more “Iran Sentences Ex-Official to Death Over Alleged UK Spying “
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian shells have been a part of daily life in the city of Odesa. But a determined set of locals is fighting back, from hairdressers to police officers who are part of a territorial defense effort. Anna Kosstutschenko reports. Camera: Pavel Suhodolskiy …
Fishing boats arrive back at Idenau, a coastal village near Cameroon’s western border with Nigeria. Authorities say there are several hundred fishers in Idenau and most of their catch is exported to neighboring states like Nigeria as well as to Europe. But fishing authorities say many of the fishers operating in Cameroon’s waters in the …
Read more “Cameroon Fishers Urge Stop to Gulf of Guinea Poachers to Reverse EU Ban”
As Russia’s war on Ukraine approaches its one-year anniversary, Moscow is increasingly suspected of manipulating its official death toll, diminishing its own losses and exaggerating Ukraine’s. Russia’s defense minister said last September that 5,937 Russian troops had been killed in the war. In November, U.S. officials estimated that Moscow’s casualties were “well over 100,000 Russian …
Read more “VOA Interview: What to Know About Russia’s Manipulated War Statistics”
Authorities in France say an attacker armed with a knife wounded six people Wednesday morning at a busy train station in Paris. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters police shot the attacker, who was “between life and death” after being taken to a hospital. The attack happened at the Gare du Nord station, one of …
Australian Cardinal George Pell, a leading Roman Catholic conservative and former top Vatican official who in 2020 was acquitted of sexual abuse allegations, died Tuesday at the age of 81, his private secretary said. Father Joseph Hamilton told Reuters that Pell died in Rome on Tuesday night. Archbishop Peter Comensoli, the archbishop of Melbourne, said …
Read more “Australian Cardinal George Pell, Acquitted of Child Sexual Assault, Dead at 81”