EU, U.S. Getting More Love In Russia
According to a Levada poll, Russians’ opinions of the United States and European Union have significantly improved during the last month. …
Saakashvili: Russia Targeted ‘Role Model’ Georgia In 2008 War
Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili says that Russia’s motive in the five-day war with Tbilisi a decade ago was to attack “Georgian statehood,” asserting that Moscow was concerned because reforms had made the South Caucasus country a “role model” for others in the region. …
French Master Chef Joel Robuchon Dies at Age 73
Joel Robuchon, a master chef who shook up the stuffy world of French haute cuisine by wowing palates with the delights of the simple mashed potato and giving diners a peek at the kitchen, has died. He was 73. A spokeswoman for Robuchon confirmed his death, with French TV station BFM and newspaper Le Figaro …
HRW Opposes Plan to Move Rohingyas to Uninhabited Island
A human rights group is urging Bangladesh to reconsider its plans to move Rohingya refugees to a small, uninhabited island. Human Rights Watch said in a report issued Monday that the mangrove-and-grass island of Bhasan Char has been “formed only in the last 20 years by silt from Bangladesh’s Meghna River.” In the 68-page report — …
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US Navy’s Top Admiral Cites Increased Threat in Ocean Nearest Washington
Chinese military vessels are now patrolling the Northern Atlantic, and Russian submarines are prowling those same waters at a pace not seen since the end of the Cold War, the Navy’s top admiral told VOA in an exclusive interview. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson called China’s military presence in the North Atlantic a …
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Violence Follows Ethiopian Army Deployment to Eastern Region
Officials in Ethiopia’s Somali region say 29 people were killed as a result of violence Saturday in the regional capital, Jigjiga. Khadar Abdi Ismail, a senior official with the region’s ruling Ethiopian Somali People’s Democratic Party told VOA Somali he blames federal government forces for the deaths. Soldiers were deployed Friday in Jigjiga after an …
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Deadly Blasts Hit Somalia
At least six people were killed and 13 others were wounded in two bombings in Somalia on Sunday, ambulance services and officials said. The deadliest blast occurred in the capital, Mogadishu, where at four people were killed in a car bombing outside a coffee shop on the capital’s busiest road. Dr Abdulkadir Abdirahman Aden of …
Iran Receives Planes Before Sanctions Take Effect
Five new passenger planes arrived in Iran from a French-Italian manufacturer on August 4. The twin-engine ATR 72-600 turboprops landed in the northwestern city of Orumiyeh a day before the United States starts reimplementing sanctions that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal. (IRINN via AP) …
Serbian President Invokes Hitler To Blast ‘Croatia Without Serbs’ Policy
Croatian leaders have celebrated a victorious military operation at the end of the country’s 1991-95 war for independence, while Serbia’s president accused Croatia of intentionally expelling Serbs from the country because of their ethnicity. …
Protests Continue Across Iran
Rallies against the government continued for a fifth consecutive day in a number of Iranian cities on August 4. Protesters chanted “Death to the dictator” — in a reference to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — and other slogans condemning the self-styled theocratic rule in Iran. Iranians have shared videos from Tehran, Karaj, and …
Trump Reshapes Midterms to Some GOP Concern
President Donald Trump’s strategy of becoming aggressively involved in the midterm elections is prompting concern among some Republicans who worry he’s complicating the political calculus for GOP candidates trying to outrun his popularity. Those Republicans worry their statewide candidates may rise or fall based on Trump’s standing, muddling their path to maintain control of Congress. …
Drought Raises Questions About Israel’s Water Strategy
For years, public service announcements warned Israelis to save water: Take shorter showers. Plant resilient gardens. Conserve. Then Israel invested heavily in desalination technology and professed to have solved the problem by tapping into the abundant waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The once-ubiquitous conservation warnings vanished. Now, a five-year drought is challenging that strategy, as …
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Venezuela’s Maduro Fine After Apparent ‘Attack’
Drones loaded with explosives detonated close to a military event where Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was giving a speech on Saturday, but he and top government officials alongside him escaped unharmed from what Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez called an “attack” targeting the leftist leader. Seven National Guard soldiers were injured, Rodriguez added. A broadcast by Maduro was cut short …
Albanian PM Says NATO To Spend Millions To Modernize Air Base
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says NATO has decided to spend 50 million euros ($58 million) to modernize the country’s air base in Kucove …
North Korean FM Slated To Visit Iran As U.S. Tensions Rise For Both Countries
North Korea’s foreign minister is scheduled to visit Iran on August 7, as both countries deal with stepped up political and financial pressure from the United States over their nuclear programs. …
LGBT Activists Reportedly Attacked In Southern Armenia
A group of several dozen people attacked nine gay-rights activists in Armenia’s Syunik region, the Pink Armenia activist organization has reported. …
‘Walk This Way’ Takes Visitors Through the History of Footwear
Shoes have long since stopped serving only their utilitarian purpose. Over the centuries, shoes have evolved not just to protect feet but also to declare their owners’ social status — and sometimes to be worn as treasured objects of art. To honor humanity’s sometimes pricey passion for shoes and trace the world’s history through footwear, …
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Iranian Cities Hit By Protests For Fourth Day
Hundreds of protesters returned to the streets of several Iranian cities on August 3, according to social media posts, amid growing anxiety over the country’s economic difficulties. …
New Era in Space: NASA Astronauts Fly Commercial Spacecraft
A new era in American spaceflight was unveiled Friday, with NASA presenting the flight crews that will carry out the first test flights and operational missions aboard commercial spacecraft to be launched from U.S. soil for the first time since the space shuttle’s retirement in 2011. The test flights of the modules, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner …
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Russian Helicopter Crashes In Siberia, Deaths Reported
A Russian helicopter has crashed in Siberia, with reports saying at least 18 people were killed. …
Polish Beekeepers Concerned When Banned Chemicals Temporarily Approved
Honeybees are essential to our food supply, but bee colonies around the world are declining. Among the main culprits are insecticides containing chemicals known as neonicotinoids, which are highly toxic to honeybees. In Europe, where about 80 percent of crops rely to some degree on insect pollination, the chemical is banned but exceptions allowed. Poland’s …
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UN Confirms Return Of Peacekeepers To Syrian-Israeli Border
The United Nations has confirmed Russia’s claim that UN peacekeepers have returned to a buffer zone on the border between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights for the first time in six years. …
Crimean Tatar Sets Himself On Fire To Protest Building Development
A Crimean Tatar activist set himself on fire to protest a plan by Russia-imposed authorities to build a new apartment complex on Tatar land in the Crimean capital, Simferopol. Vatan Karabash doused himself with gasoline on August 3 and set himself alight. People nearby quickly extinguished the flames and Karabash did not appear to suffer …
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The Week In Russia: Mercenaries, Mining, And More Pension Woes
Three seasoned journalists were shot dead as they were investigating Russian military contractors and mining interests far beyond the country’s borders, while pension-reform plans put millions of people back home in a protest mood and exposed rifts in the ruling party. …