Tragedy On Sunshine Street
She fought for justice in her sister’s killing and earned a rare victory. But Iryna Nozdrovska’s own demise is a powerful symbol of deep and lasting failures in Ukraine. …
UN Rights Rapporteur Laments Lack Of Improvement In ‘Kafkaesque’ Belarus
Belarusians continue to live under severe restrictions on freedom of assembly and other rights after nearly a quarter-century under President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, UN special rapporteur Miklos Haraszti has told RFE/RL. …
June 24, 2018
A look at the best news photos from around the world. …
Egypt Extends State of Emergency for Another 3 Months
Egypt has extended its state of emergency for another three months. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s decision was published in the official gazette on Sunday. It should be approved by parliament within seven days and go into effect on July 14. Egypt has been under a state of emergency, after an Islamic State affiliate bombed two …
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Hundreds Of Macedonians Protest Country’s Name Change
Hundreds of people gathered in the center of the Macedonian capital late on June 23 to protest against a landmark agreement with Greece to rename the country. …
Thaci, Vucic Hold ‘Difficult’ Talks On Normalizing Kosovo-Serbia Ties
Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vucic, came together in the Belgian capital on June 24 for EU-mediated talks aimed at normalizing bilateral relations. …
Afghan-Based ‘Terrorists’ Attack Pakistani Border Fencers
Pakistan’s military says Afghanistan-based “terrorists” on Sunday ambushed one of its border fencing teams and killed a soldier. The fatal cross-border raid in the treacherous North Waziristan region also injured a junior officer, said army spokesman Major-General Asif Ghafoor. “Another son of soil sacrificed his life while making Pakistan-Afghanistan border safe and inaccessible for terrorists,” …
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Red Army Choir Plays To Thousands In Belgrade
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic received members of the Russian military’s famed Aleksandrov song-and-dance ensemble, also known as the Red Army Choir, on June 23 in Belgrade. The ensemble then performed outside the city’s St. Sava Church for an estimated 5,000 spectators. Serbia’s government subsidized the free concert with 18 million dinars ($177,000). …
More Die in Nicaragua as Unrest Continues
A fresh wave of violence and repression left at least seven dead in Nicaragua as international criticism mounted against the government of President Daniel Ortega over its response to protests. The attacks began Friday evening, hours after the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights presented a report indicating the Nicaraguan government had violated human rights during …
Racist Tropes in Ramadan TV Satires Anger Black Arabs
In an attempt to capitalize on what’s become a ratings bonanza for Arabic satellite channels during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, two comedies struck the wrong chord with audiences when their lead actors appeared in blackface. Criticism was swift on social media, but failed to trigger a deeper discussion on racism in the Middle …
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Monitor Group Says Russian Jets Aid Syria In New Assault
A monitor group says Russian jets have struck rebel-held areas in southern Syria in the first such attacks since Moscow agreed to a cease-fire in July 2017, endangering one of the so-called “de-escalation” zones. …
Sanders Says She Was Told to Leave Virginia Restaurant
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Saturday that she was booted from a Virginia restaurant because she works for President Donald Trump, becoming the latest administration official to experience a brusque reception in a public setting. Sanders tweeted that she was told by the owner of the Red Hen in Lexington, Virginia, that she had …
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FIFA To Probe Kosovo-Tied Players For Albanian Flag Gesture
Soccer’s international governing body says it has initiated an investigation into reports of apparent politically tinged celebrations by two ethnic-Albanian members of Switzerland’s World Cup squad. …
Turkey Goes To Polls In Test Of Erdogan’s Grip On Power
Turks are heading to the polls on June 24 in presidential and parliamentary elections that could either solidify President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s power or reveal new signs of weakness after more than 15 years of increasingly authoritarian rule. …
Thousands of Venezuelan Families Continue to Flee Their Country
Venezuela is in a deep economic and political crisis, with thousands of people fleeing the country to find a better life for their family. More than 1 million have left, and experts estimate this number will continue to grow. VOA reporter Celia Mendoza went to the Simon Bolivar Bridge between Venezuela and Colombia to hear …
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Former South Korean Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil Dies
Kim Jong-pil, the founder of South Korea’s spy agency whose political skills helped him also serve twice as prime minister, first under his dictator boss and later under a man his agency kidnapped, has died. He was 92. Kim was declared dead on arrival at Seoul’s Soonchunhyang University Hospital from his home Saturday, said …
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Remains From North Korea Likely to be Hard to Identify
The U.S. military will face a difficult task in identifying the remains of soldiers missing from the Korean War as the Pentagon prepares to receive them from North Korea in coming days, officials and experts said. U.S. President Donald Trump, who met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at an historic summit in Singapore …
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Argentina Asks Russia To Deport Fans Who Beat Up Croatians At Soccer Match
Argentina on June 22 said it has asked Russia to detain and deport four of its soccer fans filmed fighting with Croatian fans at a World Cup match. …
U.S. Warns Russia To Rein In Syrian Assault In Southwest Cease-Fire Zone
The United States has warned Russia to rein in its ally Syria after reports that government forces have stepped up attacks on rebels in an area of southwest Syria that was designated as a “de-escalation zone” last year. …
Chechnya’s Kadyrov Gives Star Egyptian Player Salah Honorary Citizenship
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on June 22 honored Egypt’s star soccer player Mohamed Salah at a banquet in Grozny for Egypt’s World Cup soccer team. …
Ukraine Conflict Sees Spike in Violence
Even as fans from across the world celebrate the football World Cup in Russia, cease-fire monitors just over the border in eastern Ukraine say there has been a significant uptick in violence in recent days, including the use of heavy weapons and surface-to-air missiles. “Last week for instance we have seen over 7,400 cease-fire violations …
Kazakh Film Director Detained In Iran For ‘Visa Violation’
The Kazakh Consulate in the northern Iranian city of Gorgan has said Kazakh filmmaker Qanat Beisekeev was detained by the Iranian authorities on suspicion of a “violation of visa regulations.” …
Russian, South Korean Presidents Discuss Security, Economic Cooperation
Russia is “determined” to continue working to improve security on the Korean Peninsula, President Vladimir Putin has said during a meeting in Moscow with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. …
Russia Slams U.S. Ahead Of UN Report On Syria Chemical Attacks
Moscow has charged that the United States and its allies fabricated evidence to implicate Syrian government forces in chemical-weapons attacks against civilians. …