Worldwide news. The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique while others talk of a “plurality of worlds”
The big snowstorm in the U.S. Midwest and East last week was a respite for some small-business owners whose revenue took a hit from the generally mild winter and who now are rethinking their cold-weather strategies. Retailers who sell winter clothing or snow shovels have had fewer customers this season. Plumbers who expected to fix …
Read more “Warmer US Winter Cuts Some Small Companies’ Revenue”
Indonesia is recruiting tribespeople to help fight outbreaks of haze with a government deal designed to tap into traditional ways of containing forest fires. The region suffers every dry season from a haze caused by smoldering fires, often set deliberately to clear land for pulp and paper and palm oil plantations on Sumatra and Borneo …
Read more “In War on Haze, Indonesia Has New Ally: Tribespeople”
In the heart of Honduras’ notorious “Dry Corridor,” the most important harvest for farmer Daniel Cruz Castro is rainwater. The construction of a reservoir and irrigation system means he no longer worries the soil will become parched and the crops his family depends on will shrivel. Rainwater harvesting allows the 12 families in his farming …
Read more “Honduran Farmers Prize Rainwater as Most Precious Harvest”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he is “absolutely certain” a semiannual meeting of the alliance’s foreign ministers can be rescheduled so U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson can attend. …
U.S. President Donald Trump has sent congratulations to mark Norouz, the Persian New Year, passing on good wishes to “all those around the world celebrating the wonderful ancient holiday.” …
Lithuania and Ukraine have rejected Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s allegations that they were involved in what Lukashenka called a planned “armed provocation” in Belarus. …
Kurdish commanders in northern Syria said this week Russia is building a military base there, and will help train its fighters. Moscow disputed the claims, but analysts say it is a sign of the Kurds’ growing role in the region. Across the border, Iraq faces a potential watershed moment as the battle for Mosul nears …
Read more “Battling IS, Kurdish Fighters Court Russia And US to Forge New Future”
Kurdish commanders in northern Syria said this week Russia is building a military base there, and will help train its fighters. Moscow disputed the claims, but analysts say it is a sign of the Kurds’ growing role in the region. Across the border, Iraq faces a potential watershed moment as the battle for Mosul nears …
Read more “Battling IS, Kurdish Fighters Court Russia, US to Forge New Future”
Australia is close to resettling the 12,000 refugees from the war in Syria and Iraq it promised to urgently take more than a year ago, an official said Wednesday. All 12,000 have been issued visas and more than 10,000 have already been brought from Middle Eastern refugee camps to Australia, Immigration and Border Protection Minister …
Read more “Australia Close to Resettling 12,000 Syrian Refugees”
Afghanistan wants the United States to send more forces to help battle the Taliban and the Islamic State extremist group, the country’s top diplomat has said. …
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has written to the leaders of the U.S. Senate urging them to approve Montenegro’s bid to join NATO, saying it is “strongly in the interest of the United States,” media reported. …
Russia’s late United Nations Ambassador Vitaly Churkin has been remembered with tributes and a moment of silence in the UN General Assembly hall. …
Japan’s cherry blossom season kicked off on Tuesday, when the Japanese Meteorological Agency confirmed the flowers were in bloom in Tokyo. Despite the drizzling rain, agency officials counted more than five flowers blooming on a sample tree at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, and confirmed that the cherry blossom could therefore be considered in bloom. …
Read more “Cherry Blossoms Herald Spring’s Arrival in Japan”
U.S. President Donald Trump’s oldest daughter now has an office in the West Wing of the White House and will have access to classified information, even though she is not a government employee. Ivanka Trump’s attorney, Jamie Gorlick, said she will not have an official title, but will abide by the ethics rules that apply …
Read more “Ivanka Trump Gets West Wing Office, Access to Classified Info”
Kaliningrad celebrated “Submariners’ Day” from March 17-19, though the actual day is 19. VOA Moscow correspondent Daniel Schearf went to Kaliningrad to observe the celebrations. …
Paul Manafort is under scrutiny again after a Ukrainian lawmaker released documents he says show that U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman went to great lengths to hide $750,000 tied to his work for former President Viktor Yanukovych. …
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL. …
The World Bank reports Africa will receive the bulk of the $75 billion the International Development Association, or IDA, will spend to finance life-saving and life-changing operations over the next three years mainly in 30 of the world’s poorest, most fragile countries. The IDA is a part of the World Bank which supports anti-poverty programs …
Read more “African Region to Receive $45 Billion in Development Aid”
A look at the best news photos from around the world. …
Johannes Hahn, the European Union’s enlargement commissioner, plans to visit Macedonia on March 21 in another attempt to help break a political deadlock that has left the country unable to form a government since December’s election. …
Iraqi police and hospital officials say a car bomb in Baghdad has killed at least 23 people and wounded 45 others. …
Pakistan’s Prime Minister ordered the two main border crossings with Afghanistan be reopened on March 20. Pakistan closed the border last month after a string of militant attacks. Despite the announcement truckers are bracing for long delays. (RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal) …
Turkish security forces carried out mass arrests of pro-Kurdish activists in the run-up to Tuesday’s Nowruz celebrations, which mark the start of the Kurdish new year. Nearly 1,000 activists have been arrested in a week-long nationwide sweep by Turkish security forces. Authorities say the detentions are aimed at preventing possible attacks by the PKK Kurdish …
Read more “Kurdish Activists Arrested in Turkey Ahead of Nowruz Celebrations”
Firefighters made progress Sunday in battling a small wildfire that forced people to flee hundreds of homes in the mountains just outside downtown Boulder, Colorado, and authorities said they believe the blaze may have been human-caused. Light winds pushed the flames in the wooded area a couple of miles west of Pearl Street, the shopping …
Read more “Officials: Fire Near Boulder, Colorado, May Be Human-Caused”