worldwide news
Russia reported a record number of COVID-19 deaths Saturday for the fifth straight day as the country prepares for a week-long workplace shutdown and the reimposition of a partial lockdown in next week. A record high 1,075 coronavirus deaths were reported by Russia’s national coronavirus task force over the past 24 hours, the highest daily …
Read more “Russia Reports Record Number of COVID Deaths for 5th Straight Day”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday he had ordered the foreign ministry to declare 10 ambassadors from Western countries “persona non grata” for calling for the release of philanthropist Osman Kavala. Kavala has been in prison for four years, charged with financing nationwide protests in 2013 and with involvement in a failed coup in …
Read more “Turkey to Banish 10 Western Ambassadors, Erdogan Says”
Russian and Chinese warships held their first joint patrols in the Western part of the Pacific Ocean on October 17-23, Russia’s defense ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Moscow and Beijing, which staged naval cooperation drills in the Sea of Japan earlier in October, have cultivated closer military and diplomatic ties in recent years …
Read more “Russian, Chinese Warships Hold First Joint Patrols in the Pacific”
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin wrapped his trip to Europe Friday at the conclusion of the NATO defense ministerial in Brussels, with a focus on China and Afghanistan. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb reports. …
China wasn’t on the agenda at this week’s NATO defense ministers meeting, but by the time the gathering concluded, the secretary-general had said the military alliance needs to respond to the challenges presented by China’s rise. “We see the whole global balance of power is shifting because of the rise of China,” Jens Stoltenberg told …
The Lithuanian people along with democracy leaders from Belarus, Cuba and Myanmar have been awarded this year’s John McCain Freedom Award. The award ceremony was held in Washington, D.C., on October 19, as Alexey Gorbachev reports in this story narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Sergii Dogotar, Elena Matusovsky …
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth returned to work Friday following her first overnight stay at a hospital in years for what Buckingham Palace called “preliminary investigations.” According to the palace, the 95-year-old monarch spent Wednesday night in the private King Edward VII’s Hospital, undergoing tests after canceling an official trip to Northern Ireland to mark the 100th anniversary of its …
Read more “Queen Elizabeth Returns to Work After Hospital Stay”
A visit by a group of French senators to Taiwan earlier this month is just the latest sign that European countries are willing to engage with the East Asian democracy even at the risk of angering China, according to regional experts. The lawmakers from the Taiwan Friendship Group, led by Senator Alain Richard, arrived in …
Read more “French Lawmakers Reach Out to Taiwan Despite Risk of Angering Beijing”
Presidential ill health, police raids and corruption allegations, some involving caretaker Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, have thrown the Czech Republic into a surreal political crisis. The jarring turn of events could not have come at a worse time — the unnerved country is already in the grip of an acute energy crunch, like its European …
Read more “Czech Republic Trapped in Surreal Game of Thrones”
Queen Elizabeth II spent a night in the hospital for tests after being forced to cancel a visit to Northern Ireland this week, Buckingham Palace said Thursday. “Following medical advice to rest for a few days, The Queen attended hospital on Wednesday afternoon for some preliminary investigations, returning to Windsor Castle at lunchtime today, and remains …
Read more “Britain’s Queen Elizabeth Spends Night in Hospital for Tests”
Deep divisions over the European Union’s legal order and energy took an EU summit into late Thursday, with eastern member states Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic standing in defiance against Brussels. The rule of law issue was especially thorny, with the potential to shake the very foundations of the 27-nation bloc. The east-west divide …
Read more “EU Summit Leaves Legal Squabble with Poland Unresolved”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is resisting calls by some public health officials to implement new COVID-19 restrictions, despite a surge of new infections hitting the nation. The Health Ministry reported 52,000 new infections on Thursday, with a daily average the past week of more than 44,000 — a 16% increase from the previous week. The World Health Organization reported this week that Britain has among the highest number of daily new infections in the European …
Read more “Johnson: Britain Sticking to Its Plan, Despite COVID Surge”
A group of mixed-race women who were abducted as children by state officials in what was then Belgian Congo is suing the Belgian state for crimes against humanity. As Henry Ridgwell reports, the case comes as Belgium struggles to reconcile with its brutal colonial past. …
British authorities said Thursday that a British man has been charged in the fatal stabbing of lawmaker David Amess last week while he was meeting with constituents at a church. Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service said Ali Harbi Ali, a 25-year-old of Somali heritage, has been charged under the Terrorism Act. The death of the longtime lawmaker has stunned Britain and particularly its politicians, who have a tradition of being accessible to constituents. His murder has sparked high level conversations about how Britain protects its leaders and confronts …
Read more “Man Charged Under British Terrorism Law in Death of Lawmaker”
A week ago, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would be prepared to increase natural gas exports to help Europe with an energy crunch that has triggered soaring prices. But there are no signs he will make good on promise of relief, say energy experts. This week Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom appeared to have …
Read more “Europe’s Energy Crunch Set to Worsen as Russia Refrains From Boosting Gas Exports”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday relations between the alliance and Russia are at their lowest point since the Cold War ended. Stoltenberg made the comments as NATO defense ministers began two-day meetings in Brussels. Tensions have risen between Russia and NATO over recent weeks, as Russia announced Monday it was suspending its permanent …
Read more “NATO Chief Says Relations With Russia at Their Lowest Since Cold War”
As the European Parliament wrapped up a mission to Slovenia last Friday, Dutch MP Sophia in ‘t Veld cited concerns that public debate in the country is often hostile. Her comments came after Slovenia’s Prime Minister Janez Jansa criticized the European Parliament and made what some said were anti-Semitic remarks. The European delegation were in …
Read more “Slovenian PM Rattled by Low Marks on Rights, Press Freedom”
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Brussels for a meeting of NATO defense ministers Thursday and Friday to talk about security issues in Afghanistan, tensions with Russia and technology policy. “I’m here to help advance NATO’s military adaptation, and ensure the alliance is prepared for the challenges of the future,” Austin tweeted after arriving …
Read more “NATO Defense Ministers to Discuss Afghanistan, Russia Tensions”
German authorities on Wednesday detained two former soldiers who are alleged to have tried to form a mercenary group that would have intervened in the military conflict in Yemen. Federal prosecutors said the men, identified only as Arend-Adolf G. and Achim A. in keeping with Germany privacy laws, were detained in southern Germany. Both are …
Read more “Germany Detains Ex-soldiers for Allegedly Trying to Form Mercenary Group”
Czech police are investigating allegations that a senior aide to President Milos Zeman committed a crime by concealing the 77-year-old’s worsening health. Earlier this week, the speaker of the Senate, Milos Vystrcil, received a doctors report that Zeman was unable to perform his duties and unlikely to be able to do so soon. Zeman was hospitalized Oct. 10, the day after …
Read more “Czech Police Investigate Ailing President’s Aide”
Spanish government geologists on Wednesday said the Cumbre Vieja on the Spanish island of La Palma is continuing to violently erupt with no signs of stopping or even slowing down. The geologist took video of huge pyroclastic blocks floating along a river of lava flowing from the volcano’s northern zone. Meanwhile, video filmed by the Volcanology Institute of the Canaries (INVOLCAN) showed the lava flows moving into the town of La …
Read more “‘Rivers of Lava’ Still Flowing From La Palma Volcano”
An international Russia-hosted meeting Wednesday pressed the Taliban to form a “truly inclusive” government in Afghanistan and called for the United Nations to convene a donor conference as soon as possible to help avert a humanitarian catastrophe facing the war-torn country. The huddle, known as the Moscow format consultations on Afghanistan, was held with the …
Read more “Regional Powers Back Aid for Afghanistan, Press Taliban on Inclusivity”
Soaring cases of COVID-19 and related deaths have prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to approve a Cabinet proposal for a week-long workplace shutdown. Russia reported a record high 1,028 coronavirus deaths Wednesday over the past 24 hours, the highest daily death toll since the pandemic began, boosting the country’s death toll to 226,353, by far …
Read more “Putin Imposes Week-Long Workplace Shutdown to Combat COVID-19”
A French woman of African origin is leading a campaign to encourage more members of France’s African diaspora to register as bone marrow donors to potentially save lives. Elhame Lecoeur filed this report for VOA from Paris, narrated by Michael Lipin. Camera: Elhame Lecoeur Produced by: Marcus Harton …