worldwide news
An Iranian appeals court has upheld a verdict sentencing an Iranian-British woman long held in Tehran to another year in prison, her lawyer said Saturday. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has already served a five-year prison sentence in the Islamic Republic. Her lawyer, Hojjat Kermani, told the Associated Press that the appeals court upheld a verdict issued earlier …
Read more “Court Upholds New One-Year Sentence for Iranian-British Woman”
When Vaclav Havel nearly died of a ruptured intestine as Czech president in 1998, doctors provided daily updates on his condition. Nearly a quarter of a century later, a Czech president is again hospitalized but the public has not been told what is wrong with him. President Milos Zeman was taken into intensive care in …
Read more “Czechs Want to Know What’s Wrong With Their Ill President”
Norway on Saturday announced it will hold an independent investigation into the actions of police and security agencies following a bow-and-arrow attack that killed five people and injured three others. Police have been criticized for reacting too slowly to contain the massacre, acknowledging that the five deaths took place after police first encountered the attacker. …
Read more “Norway to Conduct Probe of Police Response to Bow-and-Arrow Attack”
Greece is lauding a renewed defense pact with the United States as a “resounding vote of confidence” from Washington to Athens. The deal is seen by Greece as an added swipe against its age-old foe — but NATO ally — Turkey, in a long-running dispute over sea and air rights in the Aegean, eastern Mediterranean …
Read more “Renewed Greek-US Defense Pact Expected to Roil Turkey”
Britain’s interior minister has ordered an immediate review of the security arrangements for the country’s lawmakers following the slaying Friday of Conservative Member of Parliament David Amess, who was stabbed multiple times in a suspected Islamist terror attack while meeting with constituents east of London. The 69-year-old Amess is the second British MP to have …
Read more “Killing of UK Lawmaker Shocks Nation; Security Reviews Ordered”
At an emergency conference this week, the European Union pledged more than 1 billion dollars in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and neighboring countries, as the United Nations warns millions of Afghans are facing famine. But the United States has been cautious, saying it is sending humanitarian aid, but cannot provide funds directly to the Taliban-led …
Read more “World Donors Seek Ways to Help Afghans, Not Taliban”
A British member of Parliament died Friday after being stabbed several times at a church in what police said Saturday was a terrorist attack. David Amess, 69, was a member of the Conservative Party and represented Southend West in Essex, England. He was attacked Friday while visiting constituents in his home district in southeastern Britain, …
Read more “Stabbing Death of British MP Amess Called Terrorist Attack”
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is heading to Europe this weekend to meet with leaders in Georgia, Ukraine and Romania and to participate in a NATO defense ministers meeting in Belgium. “The Department of Defense steadfastly supports its European Allies and partners in the face of Russia’s destabilizing actions in the critical Black Sea …
Read more “US Defense Secretary Heads to Europe to Focus on Black Sea Stability, NATO “
A British member of parliament died Friday after being stabbed several times at a church, while he was visiting constituents in his home district in southeastern Britain, officials said. David Amess, 69, was a member of the Conservative Party and represented Southend West in Essex, England. “All our hearts are full of shock and sadness …
Eighteen journalists, nearly all of whom work for Kurdish media outlets, stood trial at hearings across Turkey this week. Lawyers and media rights groups say the trials show how Turkey’s laws on terrorism and protests can be used to detain or harass journalists. Nearly all those in court this week face accusations of belonging to …
A man suspected of killing five people with a bow and arrow and other weapons in Norway was in the care of health professionals Friday, police said. Investigators have named the suspect as Espen Andersen Braathen, a 37-year-old Danish citizen who has lived for most of his life in Kongsberg, where the attacks took place …
Read more “Norway Bow-and-Arrow Attack Suspect Transferred to Health Services”
A labor union representing hotel maids in Spain, many of them migrants, is preparing to launch a new reservation app that, along with service and amenities, rates hotels on how they treat their workers. Jon Spier narrates this report by Alfonso Beato in Barcelona. …
It wasn’t the deal they were hoping to be offered. Instead of agreeing on a timetable for aspiring Balkan countries to join the European Union, the bloc’s 27 member states offered warm words at a summit in Slovenia last week, some pandemic recovery cash and a commitment to cut mobile-phone roaming charges for Balkan nationals …
Read more “Stalled EU Membership for Western Balkans Prompts Fears of Democratic Backsliding”
Russia is attempting to expand its influence in Southeast Asia through meetings and plans with Association of Southeast Asian Nations members, say analysts, but appears not to have the military or financial power to become a larger player in the region. The effort includes Russian adoption of a five-year roadmap focused on trade and investment …
Read more “Russia Tries to Boost Asia Ties to Counter Indo-Pacific Alliances”
The United States and Greece upgraded an existing Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement on Thursday, a move seen as elevating bilateral ties in defense and overall relations. The amendment to the MDCA was signed by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and visiting Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias in Washington as part of the third round …
Read more “US, Greece Enhance Ties with China, Turkey in the Background”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin heads to Europe next week for talks with allies concerned about Russia and what the NATO military alliance will focus on now that the withdrawal from Afghanistan is complete. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb reports. …
Turkey hosted leaders of Afghanistan’s Taliban government for the first time Thursday, repeating its advice to the Islamist group on the need to form an inclusive government in the war-torn South Asian nation and to ensure Afghan female participation in education as well as public life. After Thursday’s meeting with the visitors, Foreign Minister …
Read more “Turkey Presses Taliban for Female Education and Inclusive Afghan Government “
A 4.5-magnitude earthquake struck the Spanish island of La Palma overnight Thursday, officials said, the strongest recorded since the island’s Cumbre Vieja volcano began erupting last month. Spain’s National Geographic Institute reports the earthquake was one of as many as 100 that shook the island in the past 24 hours. Earthquakes have been a regular …
Read more “La Palma Records Strong Earthquake as Volcano Eruption Continues”
The consortium of journalists behind the Pegasus Project investigation into malware from Israel-based NSO Group won the top European Union journalism prize Thursday. The group provided further evidence that the malware was used to spy on journalists, human rights activists and political dissidents. The European Parliament said in a statement that the “unprecedented leak of more than 50,000 …
Read more “Consortium Behind Pegasus Project Wins EU Journalism Prize”
Police in Norway Thursday said a bow-and-arrow attack that claimed the lives of five people in the town of Kongsberg appears to be an act of terror. At news conference, regional Police Chief Ole Bredrup Saeverud told reporters the attack was carried out by a 37-year-old Danish national and Muslim convert who was known to …
Read more “Norway Police: Bow and Arrow Attack Appears to Be Act of Terror”
U.S. President Joe Biden plans to meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican later this month, the White House said Thursday. “They will discuss working together on efforts grounded in respect for fundamental human dignity, including ending the COVID-19 pandemic, tackling the climate crisis, and caring for the poor,” the White House said in a …
Read more “Biden to Meet With Pope, Attend Climate Talks in Europe”
Russian health officials Thursday reported a record number of COVID-19 deaths – 986 – for the third consecutive day, while also reporting a record 31,299 new confirmed infections. The number of new cases breaks a record set last December, and marks the first time Russia has officially reported more than 30,000 cases in a single …
Read more “Russia Sets COVID-19 Death Record for 3rd Straight Day”
France has threatened to retaliate against Britain in yet another post-Brexit dispute, this time over fishing rights in what the British call the English Channel and the French refer to as La Manche, the narrow arm of the Atlantic Ocean separating England’s southern coast from the northern shores of France. French government spokesman Gabriel Attal …
Read more “Paris Threatens Retaliation in an Explosive Anglo-French Fishing Dispute”
Turkey’s president has brushed aside criticism of the country’s press freedom record, telling a U.S. broadcaster the country is “incomparably free.” But his comments on CBS came in the same month that several journalists were fighting lawsuits. One of those — journalist and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) representative Erol Onderoglu– was back in court on …
Read more “Erdogan Says Media Are ‘Incomparably Free,’ But Turkish Journalists Disagree”