worldwide news
France has resolved a dayslong spat with Italy’s right-wing government by agreeing to take in a ship carrying more than 200 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean Sea. The Ocean Viking is due to dock in the southern French port of Toulon on Friday — but relations with Rome remain bitter. For the 234 migrants aboard …
Read more “After Spat with Italy, France Takes in Migrant Ship”
Throughout the war in Ukraine, the nation of Belarus, under the authoritarian rule of President Alexander Lukashenko, has acted as a Russian ally. That relationship has led to problems for many Belarusians outside of the country. Maxim Moskalkov has the story. Videographer: Sandzhar Khamidov …
Indonesia, host of the G-20 summit has confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending the gathering of the world’s twenty largest economies in person, which starts on November 15 in Bali. Moscow will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Jodi Mahardi, a spokesperson for Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment …
Ukraine Thursday claimed the recapture of its southern town of Snihurivka from Russia, the last remaining town under Russian occupation in the Mykolaiv region and a strategic location leading to the city of Kherson. “Today, on November 10, Snihurivka was liberated by the forces of the 131st Separate Intelligence Battalion. Glory to Ukraine!” a soldier …
Read more “Ukraine Says It Recaptured Key Town in Strategic Mykolaiv Region”
Russia said Wednesday it will host a multilateral meeting scheduled for November 16 to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. Special Afghan envoys from China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are expected to attend the gathering of what is known as the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan. “The discussion to focus …
Read more “Russia to Host Multilateral Talks on Afghanistan November 16”
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv this week. She said she expressed to Zelenskyy the United States’ steadfast support of Ukraine, which Russia invaded on February 24. Thomas-Greenfield spoke with VOA Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze in Warsaw on Wednesday. The following interview has been …
Read more “VOA Interview: US Ambassador to UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield “
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, speaks with VOA Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze in Warsaw about her recent visit to Ukraine and her meeting with the nation’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. …
Russia’s defense minister said Wednesday that Moscow’s troops were retreating from the key southern Ukraine city of Kherson, although Ukrainian officials expressed skepticism that a full withdrawal was underway from the lone regional capital Russia had captured since it invaded in February. Such a withdrawal would be a major setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin. …
Read more “Russia Announces Retreat From Kherson; Ukraine Skeptical”
Even with the political control of Congress uncertain Wednesday after nationwide elections, key U.S. lawmakers are vowing continued arms and financial support for Ukraine as it fends off Russia’s invasion, now in its ninth month. Virginia Senator Mark Warner, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told VOA he is confident there will be continued Democratic …
Read more “Democrats, Republicans Say They Will Back Ukraine, Whoever Controls Congress”
A leading ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin met Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday on a trip to deepen trade and security cooperation, as Moscow looks to shore up its economy and bolster its war effort in Ukraine. Russian Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev’s visit was a sign of Iran’s growing importance as a …
Read more “Putin Ally Meets Iran Leader as Moscow Deepens Tehran Ties “
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday announced that France was ending its Barkhane anti-jihadist mission in Africa after over a decade, saying a new strategy would be worked out with African partners. The declaration came in a wide-ranging speech reviewing France’s strategy where the president also underlined the importance of its nuclear deterrent, as well …
Read more “Macron Ends France’s Africa Mission, Ponders New Strategy “
A 23-year-old man was arrested Wednesday after hurling eggs and vitriol at King Charles III and Camilla, the queen consort, as they walked in the northern England city of York. The incident happened as the king and his wife were entering York through Micklegate Bar, a medieval gateway where monarchs are traditionally welcomed to the …
Read more “Police Detain Man After Eggs Thrown at King Charles III”
Eastern European countries like Slovakia and Hungary are preparing for an increase in the number of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine in the coming months as winter approaches. Russia has targeted power and heating plants in Ukraine in the past few months. Temperatures drop below zero Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit), with lows of minus …
Read more “Eastern European Countries Brace for More Refugees From Ukraine”
The first North American tour of two Belarusian rock legends just ended in the US. For both artists this tour was about more than just making music. Angelina Bagdasaryan has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. …
American basketball star Brittney Griner has been sent to a penal colony in Russia to serve her sentence for drug possession, her legal team said Wednesday. A Russian court rejected an appeal of her nine-year sentence last month. The eight-time all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist was convicted …
Read more “Griner Sent to Russian Penal Colony to Serve Sentence “
India will expand economic ties with Russia and continue to buy oil from Moscow, India’s foreign minister said, pointing out that imports of discounted crude from Moscow have worked to its advantage. Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said during a visit to Moscow that as the world’s third-largest consumer of oil, it is “our fundamental obligation” …
The United States and Russia will soon hold talks on resuming suspended nuclear arms control inspections that had been put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic and languished after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the State Department said Tuesday. State Department spokesman Ned Price said negotiations on the inspections would take place “in the near future” …
Read more “US, Russia Set to Talk on Resuming Arms Control Inspections”
Ukraine urgently needs more air defense systems from the West, according to a new report, which warns that Russia could seek to repeat the tactics it used in Syria to bombard Ukrainian cities from the skies. The analysis from Britain’s Royal United Services Institute says that in the early days of the invasion in February …
Read more “Ukraine Needs Air Defense Systems to Counter Russian Bombardments, Report Warns”
Ukraine urgently needs more air defense systems from the West — or Russia could repeat the tactics it used in Syria, to bombard Ukrainian cities from the skies, according to a new report. Henry Ridgwell has more from London. …
UNICEF warns millions of children caught in climate-induced disasters are at risk of starvation, disease, exploitation, and death. A UNICEF analysis released Tuesday finds 27.7 million children in 27 countries have been affected by flooding so far this year. Among them, Chad, the Gambia, and northeast Bangladesh have recorded the worst floods in a generation. …
Read more “UNICEF: Children Suffer Most from Climate Crises Not of Their Making”
Greece’s Supreme Court has ordered an investigation into allegations that the country’s intelligence service was tapping the phones of nearly three dozen politicians, businessmen, and journalists. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has denied the allegations but the scandal, analysts say, may force him to resign as leader of the country’s center-right party. The scandal is being …
A German humanitarian group said its ship docked in southern Italy early Tuesday and disembarked 89 people rescued at sea, ending one migrant rescue saga as others continue under Italy’s new hard-right government. Mission Lifeline posted videos on social media of the 25-meter (80-foot) Rise Above freighter docking in Reggio Calabria and said the “odyssey …
Read more “German Aid Group: 89 Migrants Allowed to Disembark in Italy”
Chinese authorities behind a major trade expo in Shanghai pulled an opening ceremony address by the European Council president that was set to criticize Russia’s “illegal war” in Ukraine and call for reduced trade dependency on China, diplomats said. The pre-recorded video by Charles Michel was meant to be one of several from world leaders …
Read more “China Canceled EU Leader’s Video Address at Opening of Major Trade Expo”
Ukraine is boosting its ties with Southeast Asian nations, signing a key foreign relations pact with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) later this week in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba is expected to sign, in person, the so-called Instrument of Accession to the Treaty on Amity and Cooperation …