worldwide news
The group monitoring the conflict in eastern Ukraine has made an urgent appeal to both sides to stop shelling and honor the ceasefire agreed in 2015, after this week’s sharp escalation in the conflict. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service) …
The Supreme Court picked its newest member Thursday to take over the investigations of politicians implicated in Brazil’s biggest-ever graft scandal, expected to shake the country’s establishment and government because of important new testimony. Court officials said Justice Edson Fachin was chosen by random electronic selection from among a group of five of the court’s …
Read more “Newest Member of Brazil’s Top Court to Head Corruption Probes”
Like his predecessors, President Donald Trump plans to commemorate Black History Month with an official proclamation, a gala and receptions at the White House to celebrate the contributions of the United States’ black citizens. “I’m proud to honor this heritage and will be honoring it more and more,” Trump said Tuesday as he surrounded himself …
Read more “Black History Month’s Origins Traced to Scholar’s Efforts in 1926”
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations took a firm stance Thursday against Russian military action in eastern Ukraine, condemning Moscow’s “aggressive actions” and saying U.S. Crimea-related sanctions would remain in place. “I must condemn the aggressive actions of Russia,” Nikki Haley told the U.N. Security Council at her first public meeting since being confirmed …
Read more “US Condemns Russian Aggression in Eastern Ukraine”
The new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, has expressed “strong condemnation of Russia’s actions” in eastern Ukraine and warned that Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia will not be lifted until Crimea is returned to Kyiv. …
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry says the co-sponsors of the Syrian peace talks will meet in Astana on February 6 to monitor implementation of the cease-fire in the war-torn Middle Eastern country. …
For days, fighting has intensified between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists. Civilians in villages near Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine have been bearing the brunt of artillery and rocket battles, prompting evacuations. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service and Current Time TV) …
As he arrived in Seoul Thursday, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he would sound out ally South Korea on efforts to rein in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, including plans to deploy a U.S. missile defense system there. Mattis’ visit comes amid reports that the North may be preparing to test a new …
On his first trip to the European Union since the U.S. presidential election, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday is heading to Hungary, the nation whose leader has cozied up to Moscow despite Russia-West tensions. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a populist dubbed “little Putin” by his opponents, has been critical of the U.S. and …
Read more “Putin Heads to Hungary, His 1st Trip to EU Since US Election”
The U.S. military has confirmed for the first time that it has provided a small number of armored vehicles to Syrian fighters hoping to oust Islamic State militants from their self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa. …
The White House said it has issued updated guidance on President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration clarifying that legal permanent residents, or green-card holders, do not require a waiver to enter the United States. …
The Pentagon on February 1 said that civilians, including children, likely were killed during a dawn raid on an Al-Qaeda militant group in southern Yemen earlier this week. …
Weather-watchers across the United States are poised Tuesday to hear whether they can count on an early spring, or six more weeks of winter. But the accuracy of this annual forecast is dubious, as the prediction is made by a groundhog. February 2 marks Groundhog Day, when traditionally a Pennsylvania groundhog known as “Punxsutawney Phil” …
Read more “Famous US Groundhog to Make Annual Weather Forecast”
Former first daughter Jenna Bush Hager is registering her opinion on Republican President Donald Trump’s order temporarily suspending immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations with the words of her father, former President George W. Bush. Bush Hager posted an excerpt on Twitter Tuesday from a 2001 speech her father, a fellow Republican, gave at the Islamic …
Read more “Jenna Bush Hager Uses Dad’s Post-9/11 Words Over Trump Immigration Order”
The African Union is moving forward on what it calls a “withdrawal strategy” from the International Criminal Court, a move that could alter peace, security and justice on the continent. Dozens of heads of state — some of whom have been accused of war crimes or are wanted by the International Criminal Court — quietly …
Read more “Quietly, AU Encourages Withdrawal From International Criminal Court”
The European Union’s executive arm has warned Romania against backtracking on the fight against corruption. …
Two former Federal Security Service (FSB) officers and a manager at Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab have been charged with treason and accused of betraying Russia in the interests of the United States, Russian news agencies cited a defense lawyer as saying on February 1. …
The presidents and prime ministers of Serbia and Kosovo are due to meet on February 1 for a new round of talks aimed at improving their relations, which are still strained nearly two decades after a deadly conflict. …
China is stepping up its efforts to stop South Korea from deploying a U.S. missile defense system on its soil, turning up the pressure on the economic front, while warning of the impact on diplomatic relations if the system is put in place this year. The missile system and China’s objections are likely to be …
Read more “China Steps up Opposition to US Missile Defense System”
More than 1,000 foreign service officers and civil service personnel of the U.S. State Department have now signed a dissent document about the president’s recent order on refugees’ travel restrictions, sources told VOA on Tuesday. The number of signatures, if it does total some 1,000, is “unprecedented” and about 20 times the number of dissenters …
Read more “Over 1,000 State Department Personnel Officially Dissent to Immigration Order”
The first two weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency have seen him sign a number of documents setting out policy on issues ranging from the travel ban, his order demanding that two regulations be rescinded for every one passed, to the rollback of the Affordable Care Act, and removing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. …
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has defended the implementation of President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting immigration, saying “we cannot gamble with American lives.” “This is not a travel ban, this is a temporary pause that allows us to review the existing refugee and vetting visa system.” Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said. He …
Read more “Homeland Secretary Defends Immigration Ban, Denies Targeting Muslims”
The OSCE said renewed fighting around the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiyivka between government troops and Russia-backed separatists has sparked a humanitarian emergency. The group said that 17,000 civilians were left without power and heat due to heavy shelling. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service) …
Just days after Baku’s Court for Serious Crimes handed down lengthy prison terms to 18 men charged with plotting a coup d’etat at the behest of Iran, the unequivocally pro-Western political movement ReAl (Republican Alternative) has been accused of agreeing to collaborate with, and accepting funding from, Iranian diplomats. …