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U.S. officials are not alone in facing blame for miscalculating the speed of the Taliban offensive. European leaders and their security advisers are also coming under mounting criticism for misjudging how rapidly events would play out in Afghanistan once President Joe Biden had decided on withdrawing American forces from the central Asian country. In Britain, Prime …
Read more “NATO’s European Leaders Also Blamed for Kabul Debacle “
Scores of firefighters backed by water-dropping aircraft battled a forest fire that broke out early Monday on the southern part of Greece’s Evia island, less than two weeks after an inferno decimated its northern part. The fire was burning near the village of Fygia where two neighborhoods have been evacuated and was moving toward the coastal tourist village of Marmari, where …
Read more “People Evacuated as New Wildfire Hits Greek Island”
Josephine Baker, the famed French American dancer, singer and actress who fought in the French resistance during WWII and later battled racism, will later this year become the first Black woman to enter France’s Pantheon mausoleum.Baker will be the sixth woman to join about 80 great national figures of French history in the Pantheon after …
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Seven people were killed near Kabul’s airport Saturday as thousands gathered in a desperate effort to leave the country as the Taliban take control, the British Ministry of Defense said on Sunday.The Taliban, after a 10-day offensive, entered the Afghanistan capital just a week ago, on August 15. Since then, the airport has been a chaotic …
Read more “UK Military: 7 People Killed in Chaos at Kabul Airport “
The chaotic aftermath of Washington’s troop withdrawal from Afghanistan is being followed with a mix of trepidation and glee thousands of kilometers away — in Africa’s Sahel, where another foreign power, France, also vows to wind down its long-running counterinsurgency operation, at least in its present form. As the United States continued to evacuate thousands …
Read more “For France’s Sahel Mission, Echoes of Afghanistan “
For generations, residents in the north of the Greek island of Evia have made their living from the dense pine forests surrounding their villages. Tapping the ubiquitous Aleppo pines for their resin, the viscous, sticky substance the trees use to protect themselves from insects and disease, provided a key source of income for hundreds of families. But …
Read more “Greece: Forest Fire Destroys Jobs of Pine Resin Collectors”
Russian police on Saturday detained several journalists who protested authorities’ decision to label a top independent TV channel as a “foreign agent.” The journalists held individual pickets outside the main headquarters of the country’s top domestic security agency, the FSB, on Moscow’s Lubyanka Square. They held placards such as “Journalism is not a crime” and “You are …
Read more “Russian Police Detain Journalists Who Back Media Freedom”
Thousands of Afghans, hoping for a better future, are trying to escape the country as the Taliban seize control. VOA’s Arif Aslan visited with 30 Afghan refugees whose long, perilous trek had taken them to eastern Turkey. This report is narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.Producer and camera: Arif Aslan. …
Greece has erected a 25-mile fence and installed a new surveillance system on its border with Turkey as fears mount of a surge in Afghan refugees trying to reach Europe. Greece has faced recurring refugee crises since 2015, when more than a million mainly Syrian refugees swarmed through its land and sea borders to escape …
Read more “Greece Builds 25-mile Fence to Fend Off Afghan Refugees”
European Union members will step up their advocacy of open access to the disputed South China Sea, a key world trade route, despite Chinese claims to nearly all of it as they discuss the issue with Southeast Asian countries, analysts believe.The 27 EU members, such as France and Germany, hope all countries can follow United …
Read more “Why the EU Sides with Southeast Asia in the South China Sea Dispute”
Despite earlier reports that Turkey had dropped plans to secure Kabul’s international airport, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that Turkey is ready to talk with the Taliban about what role, if any, Turkey would play in Afghanistan.“If there is a knock on our door, we will open it for dialogue,” Erdogan said Friday.Turkey …
Read more “Erdogan Reiterates Interest in Securing Kabul Airport, Faces Criticism”
Unidentified attackers on Thursday threw Molotov cocktails into the Netherlands home of journalist Willem Groeneveld.The motive for the attack, which took place in the city of Groningen around 2:45 a.m. local time, was not clear, but Groeneveld had previously been harassed over reporting on issues involving real estate and landlords.No one was injured in the …
Read more “Arson Attack Hits Home of Journalist in Netherlands”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, scheduled to leave office later this year after nearly 16 years, is in Moscow for one final meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.Before the two leaders met for talks in the Kremlin Friday, Merkel took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at Russia’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow and viewed …
Read more “Merkel Makes Final Visit to Russia as German Chancellor”
Britain and the United States imposed sanctions Friday on men they said were Russian intelligence operatives responsible for the poisoning one year ago of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny.The two countries targeted seven Russians with sanctions and issued a joint statement warning Russia about chemical weapons.Washington separately imposed sanctions on another two men and four Russian …
Read more “Britain, US Sanction Russian Intelligence Agents Over Navalny Poisoning”
For Italy’s journalists, covering the mafia has always been dangerous. There have been attacks recently against some reporters and almost two dozen are currently under police protection because of threats. VOA’s Iacopo Luzi has more. …
Afghan refugees in Turkey say they made the dangerous journey to escape living again under Taliban rule. VOA’s Arif Aslan reports from eastern Turkey, where some of the Afghans he spoke with arrived over the past few days as the Taliban were taking over the Afghan capital. Sirwan Kajjo narrates his report.Camera: Arif Aslan. …
Russia, once a thorn in China’s side, is backing Beijing in its disputes with third countries, including a maritime sovereignty flap in Southeast Asia, to counter Washington’s influence in Asia, scholars believe.With the world’s second strongest military, after the United States, Russia holds occasional military exercises with China – with at least four events publicized …
Read more “Why Russia Backs China in Disputes with Third Countries”
Thursday, the United States plans to ship 35,100 doses of Pfizer vaccine to Kosovo through COVAX, the United Nations vaccine-sharing mechanism, a White House official told VOA.The doses are part of the purchase of half a billion Pfizer doses secured by the Biden administration earlier this year.Kosovo is experiencing another spike in infection, largely due …
Read more “US Ships Pfizer Vaccine to Kosovo Amid Delta Variant Surge”
Pope Francis says people who get the coronavirus vaccine would be committing “an act of love” towards their fellow men and women. The pontiff made the personal appeal in a filmed public service message that was released Wednesday online and on television. “Thanks to God’s grace and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to …
Read more “Pope Francis Makes Urgent Appeal on Behalf of COVID-19 Vaccination”
One of Malta’s wealthiest businessmen, Yorgen Fenech, has been indicted for the murder of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, prosecutors said in court documents filed on Wednesday. No date for the trial has yet been set. Fenech has been under arrest since November 2019, accused of complicity to murder. He has since been undergoing a pre-trial compilation …
Read more “Top Businessman to Face Trial for Malta Journalist’s Murder “
The interior ministers from the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, comprising the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, held a conference call Wednesday to discuss how to coordinate safe and legal migration routes for Afghans fleeing the Taliban.British officials said most of the focus was on the immediate security and logistical challenges of extracting Afghan …
Read more “Europe Braces for Fleeing Afghans, But Fearful, Reluctant to Accept Many”
Britain and the United States say they will work with other nations to develop a coordinated strategy for Afghanistan, and that when it comes to the Taliban’s pledges for how it will operate, the group’s actions are ultimately what matter”We will judge this regime based on the choices it makes, and by its actions rather …
Read more “US, UK Say Taliban Will Be Judged by Actions Not Words “
Pope Francis issued an appeal on Wednesday urging people to get inoculated against COVID-19, saying the vaccines could bring an end to the pandemic, but needed to be taken by everyone. “Thanks to God’s grace and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to protect us from COVID-19,” the pope said in a video …
Read more “Pope Francis Urges Everyone to Get COVID-19 Vaccines for the Good of All”
America’s NATO allies are scrambling to evacuate their citizens from Afghanistan following the U.S military withdrawal from the country, and the collapse of the Afghan government. Many European officials have voiced fears that the Taliban takeover will increase the risk of terrorism and cause a renewed influx of refugees. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.Camera: Henry …
Read more “Frustration and Fear Among US Allies Scrambling to Leave Afghanistan”