Category: World

Leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church meet in the capital of Belarus, Minsk, on October 15 amid a dispute over moves toward independence for the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. …

North and South Korea held high-level talks within the heavily fortified demilitarized zone Monday.  The meeting discussed the implementation agreements made during the recent Pyongyang summit as South Korean President Moon Jae-in called upon the international community to reward North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for his efforts to denuclearize. Despite Moon’s assertions, experts remain …

Read more “Koreas Resume High-Level Talks as Moon Presses for Sanction Relief”

It’s one of the easiest ways to stop the spread of disease. The U.S. Center for Disease Control says spending just 20 seconds washing hands with soap and warm water can reduce illness in more than a million kids who die each year from preventable sickness. Two young women from New Delhi who studied design …

Read more “Women-Owned Startup Aims for Cleaner Hands and a Healthier Planet”

A world without hunger by 2030 is the theme of this year’s World Food Day, and the goal of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. Events around the world on October 16th will promote awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and for the need to ensure food security and nutritious diets for …

Read more “Artificial Intelligence Can Help Fight Global Hunger”

Unofficial by-election results show that the ruling Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf party (PTI) and the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) each appear to have won four seats in the lower house of parliament. …

Thai golfer Tirawat Kaewsiribandit has won the first international golf event to be held in Pakistan in 11 years. …

The clean-up continues in areas hit by Hurricane Michael. For residents still trapped in their homes, help is not coming fast enough. A team of volunteers is trying to change that with a chainsaw and some water. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has this report from the coastal town of Panama City, Florida. …

The International Organization for Migration reports some Rohingya refugee women in Cox’s Bazar have formed a committee that will enable them to present their concerns and needs to U.N. camp managers directly, without having to go through a man. More than 100 Rohingya women have formed this first-of-a-kind committee. These women represent only a minuscule …

Read more “IOM: Committee Empowers Rohingya Refugee Women in Pursuit of Aid”

A month after Russia, Turkey and Iran came together in a last-ditch effort to avert a potentially catastrophic Syrian government offensive in Idlib, they appear to have succeeded in creating a buffer zone around the northern rebel-held province, defusing tensions in a major flashpoint region. The deal has for now averted a government offensive on …

Read more “Buffer Zone Brings Fragile Calm to Syria’s Rebel-Held Idlib”

Actress Milena Dravic, one of Yugoslavia’s most revered actors who also won critical acclaim abroad, has died in Belgrade at the age of 78. …

Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit Uzbekistan on October 18-19. Uzbekistan’s relations with Russia were often poor during Islam Karimov’s 25 years as president. Some are wondering just how far new President Shavkat Mirziyoev can take this new relationship. …

In this Far East Russian city, pension reform has elicited a backlash against official corruption and vocal anger toward a president Russians rarely criticize in public. …

At least 13 people were killed and 21 others wounded in an attack on an election rally in northeastern Afghanistan Saturday afternoon.   Officials in Takhar province said most of the victims were civilians, except two policemen and one person from the Afghan intelligence agency NDS.   Khalil Aseer, a spokesman for Takhar provincial police, …

Read more “13 Dead in Afghan Election Rally Blast”

The U.N. Children’s Fund reports a local militia fighting Boko Haram Islamists in northeast Nigeria has released 833 child soldiers. UNICEF says it hopes the move will be followed by further releases. The local militia that released the children is one of several vigilante groups that formed an alliance in 2013 to fight Boko Haram …

Read more “UNICEF: Armed Militia in NE Nigeria Releases 833 Child Soldiers”

On October 11, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church moved one big step closer toward independence from the Moscow Patriarchate. But the road ahead might be even more daunting. …

Tajik officials have announced that work has started to demine the border with Uzbekistan with help from Uzbek authorities. Dozens of citizens of Tajikistan have been killed and maimed by these land mines that Uzbekistan laid nearly 20 years ago. …

Police in Russia’s Daghestan region say they have killed a suspected militant during a security operation focusing on the village of Endirei in the northern district of Khasavyurt. …

The World Food Program warns climate change will have a devastating impact on agriculture and the ability of people to feed themselves.  The WFP forecasts a huge increase in worldwide hunger unless action is taken to slow global warming.   The WFP warns progress in reducing global hunger is under threat by conflict and the …

Read more “WFP: Climate Change to Accelerate World Hunger”

A U.N. employee in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has tested positive for Ebola, the first such incident during the current outbreak, according to the head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission. “I am writing today to inform you that my leadership team and I have regretfully just received news that a U.N. colleague based …

Read more “UN Worker Among Sharp Increase in DRC’s Ebola Caseload     “

The Trump administration informed a federal judge in Chicago on Friday that it’s seeking to scuttle a plan negotiated between the nation’s third-largest city and the state of Illinois that envisions far-reaching reforms of Chicago’s 12,000-officer police force under close federal court supervision. In a statement announcing the intervention, Attorney General Jeff Sessions blasted the …

Read more “Trump Administration Steps in to Kill Police Reform Plan”

The U.S. envoy for Afghanistan peace efforts met with Taliban representatives in Qatar on Friday as President Donald Trump’s administration pushed to find a way to end the 17-year-old Afghan war, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Journal, citing a person familiar with the gathering, said U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad met …

Read more “Report: US Envoy, Taliban Meet in Qatar”

One of the four doping cases at the Pyeongchang Olympics has been closed in an agreement between bobsled’s governing body and Russian driver Nadezhda Sergeeva. …

The chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Athlete Committee has said in a BBC interview that she was “bullied” by some WADA officials over her opposition to reinstating Russia’s anti-doping authority. …

The leaders of over three dozen mostly French-speaking counties wrapped up a two-day meeting in Yerevan which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said has raised Armenia’s international profile. …