Category: World

China is warning of retaliation in response to a visit to Taiwan by a Czech Senate delegation, saying Senate President Milos Vystrcil crossed a “red-line” and violated the one-China principle under which Beijing asserts sovereignty over the island.As part of the business trip, which ended Friday, Vystrcil delivered a speech in Taiwan’s parliament and met …

Read more “China, Czech Republic at Odds After Czech Officials Visit Taiwan”

Serbia and Kosovo have agreed to normalize economic relations, following U.S.-brokered talks that include Serbia moving its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem and Kosovo formally recognizing Israel.   U.S. President Donald Trump made the announcement Friday, after meeting with Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in the Oval Office earlier in the …

Read more “Serbia and Kosovo Agree to Normalize Economic Ties, Trump Announces”

U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in the Oval Office on Friday, the White House said in a statement.Trump will attend a signing ceremony and participate in a trilateral meeting afterward, the statement, issued late Thursday, said, but it did not specify what would …

Read more “Trump Meets Leaders of Kosovo, Serbia on Friday”

U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in the Oval Office on Friday, the White House said in a statement.Trump will attend a signing ceremony and participate in a trilateral meeting afterward, the statement, issued late Thursday, said, but it did not specify what would …

Read more “White House: Trump Meets Leaders of Kosovo, Serbia on Friday”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is warning that Russia is trying to undermine Americans’ confidence in the security and validity of mail-in voting.In a bulletin labeled “For official use only” circulated Thursday, the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis said Russia was “likely to continue amplifying criticism of vote by mail and shifting …

Read more “Russia Is Trying to Undermine Confidence in Mail-in Voting, Homeland Security Warns”

The Turkish police said they have arrested Mahmut Ozden, a major Islamic State (IS) figure in Turkey suspected of planning an attack on the newly converted Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul.“Daesh’s so-called emir of Turkey had been caught and remanded in custody with important plans,” Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said in announcing the arrest …

Read more “Turkey: Top IS Militant Suspected of Planning Attack on Hagia Sophia Arrested”

As France revisits its deadly 2015 wave of jihadist strikes with a major terrorism trial that opened this week, the threat of future attacks remains a clear and present danger here and across the European Union, experts say, even as the region focuses on a very different crisis in COVID-19.On the eve of Wednesday’s opening …

Read more “Paris Attacks Trial Unfolds in Shadow of COVID”

Novichok, a deadly nerve agent that has left Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny in a coma and nearly killed a former Russian spy and his daughter in 2018, was the product of a highly secretive Soviet chemical weapons program. Here is a look at the agent and the history of its development. How lethal is Novichok? Novichok, …

Read more “AP Explains: Novichok That Sickened Navalny a Cold War Relic”

Two stars at the Venice Film Festival, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton, have praised the decision by the Berlin festival to award gender-neutral prizes, with Swinton predicting other award ceremonies will follow suit. Organizers of the Berlin International Film Festival announced last month that they would stop awarding separate acting prizes to men and women …

Read more “Top Stars at Venice Film Fest Praise Gender-Neutral Prizes”

A Slovak court is expected to rule Thursday on whether an influential businessman ordered the murder of an investigative journalist, in a case that prompted mass street protests and led to the reshaping of the country’s political landscape.The killing of Jan Kuciak, 27, and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova forced then prime minister and longtime leader …

Read more “Verdict Expected in Case of Journalist Murder That Rocked Slovakia”

French President Emmanuel Macron voiced support on Wednesday for a sovereign Iraq and said its main challenges are Islamic State militants and foreign interference in its affairs.France also backs Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s efforts to “normalize” all armed forces, Macron said during a visit to Baghdad, referring to mostly Iran-backed Shi’ite militia groups.”We will remain …

Read more “France’s Macron Stresses Support for Iraqi Sovereignty in Baghdad Visit”

Refugees in Turkey seeking new lives by crossing the eastern Mediterranean to Greece are increasingly subject to being robbed, beaten or even abandoned at sea. Encouraged to make the trip by Turkey, refugees — many from Syria — report they are being expelled by Greek authorities after they reach Greek territory. Heather Murdock reports from …

Read more “Refugees Abandoned at Sea Between Turkey and Greece”

Germany said Wednesday that tests performed on specimens taken from Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny showed the presence of the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok. A special German military laboratory had shown proof of “a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group,” Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said in a statement. FILE – Russian opposition politician Alexei …

Read more “Putin Critic Poisoned by Soviet-Era Nerve Agent, Germany Says”

The shaky video taken with a mobile phone shows sunbathers on a beach in Gran Canaria gazing out to sea at the boat heads to land. A coast guard vessel, Salvamar Menkalinan, races to reach the 49 migrants crammed into one fragile boat. Meanwhile, tourists amuse themselves on jet-skis. Two very different worlds collide as African migrants get their first sight of …

Read more “In COVID-19 Migration Surge, Africans Take a More Dangerous Route”

Facebook said Tuesday that it removed a small network of accounts and pages linked to Russia’s Internet Research Agency, the “troll factory” that has used social media accounts to sow political discord in the U.S. since the 2016 presidential election.  Twitter also suspended five related accounts. The company said the tweets from these Russia-linked accounts “were low quality and spammy” and …

Read more “Facebook, Twitter Suspend Russian Network Ahead of Election”

After a pandemic hiatus, more than a thousand mask-wearing Extinction Rebellion climate activists marched back onto London’s streets Tuesday, calling for swifter action to halt global warming as a huge contingent of police looked on. With Britain’s Parliament returning to work this week after a summer recess, protesters blocked the square in front of the building …

Read more “Under Police Gaze, Climate Protesters Return to Britain’s Streets”

Thrill-seeking swimmers in Hungary recently challenged the fast-flowing waters of the Danube at an event aimed at encouraging Hungarians to take advantage of Budapest’s parks and waterways. Organizers see the event as a way to literally bring sports enthusiasts to the Hungarian capital.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has the story.Produced by: Arash Arabasadi …

French President Emmanuel Macron has given Lebanese politicians three months to take concrete steps to rebuild the country, or face sanctions and lose out on crucial aid.Macron has been central to international efforts to help Lebanon recover from a deep-rooted economic and political crisis arising from decades of mismanagement and corruption, a persistent pandemic, and …

Read more “Macron to Lebanon’s Leaders: Make Changes in 3 Months or Face Sanctions”

The Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has told VOA the country’s political crisis is an “internal affair,” appearing to reject any Western help. In an interview in Vilnius, Lithuania – where she fled after Belarus’ August 9th disputed election – Tsikhanouskaya said she feared for the fate of the protestors on the streets of Belarus. …

Read more “Belarusian Opposition Leader Rejects Western Help”

The number of COVID-19 infections has been rising in Spain, one of the early epicenters of the pandemic. In this report narrated by Jonathan Spier, Alfonso Beato has more from Barcelona on the dilemmas the country faces as it prepares to reopen schools. PRODUCER: Jon Spier …

Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya talks to Voice of America about the political crisis in her country, prospects for a peaceful resolution, why she left the country, and western involvement in Belarussian affairs. …

Czech Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček Monday pushed back on his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi’s assault over the Czech Senate delegation’s visit to Taipei — signs, observers say, that suggest the tide is turning against China in Europe. Relations between Prague and Beijing may take another plunge. While visiting in Slovenia, Petříček tweeted that Wang’s comments toward the delegation were “over the edge,” shortly after the Chinese official warned of …

Read more “Czech, China Locked in Diplomatic Wrangling Over Taiwan”

In an interview with VOA, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya appears to reject any idea of imminent Western intervention or help, saying, “The Belarusian people have a responsibility for what’s going on. We think that we have to solve this problem by ourselves.” Belarusians have protested nearly nonstop since the election Aug. 9, in which President …

Read more “VOA Interview: Belarus Opposition Leader Tsikhanouskaya”

With mass protests in Belarus showing no signs of letup following contested presidential elections August 9, the country’s longtime leader Alexander Lukashenko is turning to Russia for his political survival. But behind the Kremlin’s response lies a mix of geopolitical and domestic concerns, as Charles Maynes reports from Moscow. Camera: Ricardo Marquina, Agencies   Produced …

Read more “Behind Russia’s Take on Mass Protests in Belarus”