Category: World

The United Nations reports Russia has destroyed 50% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, putting millions of people at risk of sickness and death as temperatures continue to plunge. Regular blackouts and power cuts are affecting just about everyone in Ukraine. The U.N., however, reports the situation is particularly catastrophic for more than 10 million people living …

Read more “UN: Half of Ukraine’s Energy Infrastructure Destroyed by Russian Attacks”

A French court found seven men and one woman guilty on Tuesday for their roles in a 2016 truck rampage in the southern city of Nice in which 86 people were killed. Attacker Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel was shot dead by police on the spot after causing devastation and chaos on a two-kilometer (1.2 mile) stretch …

Read more “French Court Sentences Eight over 2016 Truck Attack in Nice”

France brought together international donors Tuesday for a conference focused on helping Ukraine cope with Russian attacks on the country’s infrastructure.     The meeting includes government representatives as well as companies and aid agencies with the goal of providing Ukraine with both financing and the equipment it needs to keep infrastructure such as electricity and power …

Read more “Donors Focus Conference on Ukraine’s Infrastructure Needs”

European Union foreign ministers imposed new sanctions Monday on Iranian clerics, senior officials and top state media employees over the brutal crackdown on protesters and also on experts they believe are linked to supplying Russia with explosive drones to use in its war against Ukraine. The ministers imposed bans on traveling to Europe and froze …

Read more “EU Targets Iran Over Protest Crackdown, Russia Drone Sales”

Iran on Monday sanctioned the heads of the U.K.’s domestic spy agency and military along with British and German political figures, hitting back at Europe before it imposes new sanctions of its own. At his weekly press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani blamed the Europeans and British for “intervening in the domestic affairs of …

Read more “UK Spy, Defense Chiefs Among 32 Sanctioned by Iran”

A Franco-U.S. satellite is due for launch this week on a mission to survey with unprecedented accuracy nearly all water on Earth’s surface for the first time and help scientists investigate its impact on Earth’s climate. For NASA and France’s space agency CNES, which have worked together in the field for 30 years, it’s a …

Read more “Franco-US Satellite Set for Unprecedented Survey of Earth’s Water”

The heads of the International Energy Agency and European Union’s executive branch said Monday that the 27-nation bloc is expected to weather an energy crisis this winter but needs to speed renewables to the market and take other steps to avoid a potential shortage next year in natural gas needed for heating, electricity and factories. …

Read more “Europe Shifts Focus to Avoiding Energy Shortage Next Year”

Veteran federal prosecutor Andrew Adams is the director of the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency initiative launched in March to enforce sweeping sanctions that the United States and its allies imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On Thursday, Adams, during a visit to Washington, sat down with VOA Justice Correspondent Masood …

Read more “VOA Interview: How US Enforces Russia Sanctions”

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not hold his traditional televised end-of-year news conference for the first time in a decade. The event, which often runs for several hours, has been a feature of Putin’s calendar and given him a chance to answer questions from both local and foreign journalists. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters …

Read more “Putin Cancels Annual Year-End News Conference”

An international price cap on Russian oil has inadvertently caused a logjam of supertankers outside Istanbul as Ankara imposes new regulations despite Western pressure. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

European Union member states expressed alarm Monday over allegations that Qatar bribed some European Parliament members to influence their decision making. One of the body’s vice presidents has been arrested and charged in connection with the scandal. Heading into a meeting of European Union foreign ministers, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, expressed concern …

Read more “Alleged Qatar Corruption Scandal Rocks EU”

Many young Ukrainians who have fled the war and were separated from their families, still live with uncertainty about their futures. Sixteen-year-old Diana Kryvorotko found safety with a couple in Germany but is still not sure when she will see her mother again. Khrystyna Shevchenko has the story. …

French President Emmanuel Macron says free condoms will be available in pharmacies for any adult up to the age of 25 starting next year. The new measure comes as the rate of sexually transmitted diseases and inflation are both on the rise in France. Originally, Macron announced that the condoms would be available to people …

Read more “France to Offer Free Condoms for Those 25 and Younger”

Britain is experiencing an Arctic blast of unseasonal weather. Three children playing on an icy lake near Birmingham Sunday have died after falling through the ice. The BBC says the boys were aged eight, 11 and 12. A fourth boy, aged six, remains in the hospital in critical condition. The Associated Press reported that emergency …

Read more “Britain Experiences Unseasonal Weather  “

Large private Norwegian firms must have boards that comprise at least 40% of women or they will be shut down, the government proposed in a bill on Monday, in a further push to break the glass ceiling preventing women from reaching top positions. The Nordic country was the first in the world to introduce a …

Read more “In Wider Diversity Push, Norway Proposes 40% Gender Quota for Large Unlisted Firms “

European Union foreign ministers are considering fresh sanctions against Russia and more money to help Ukraine’s military at a meeting Monday, while the United States is pledging ongoing support for Ukraine amid Russian airstrikes on critical infrastructure. The proposed EU package being discussed in Brussels would provide about $2.1 billion to fund arms deliveries for …

Read more “EU Considers Military Aid for Ukraine, New Russian Sanctions”

Tensions were high in northern Kosovo Sunday, with Serbs blocking roads as shots and explosions rang out and the Serbian president warned that Serbian troops are ready to defend their “homeland” if peace doesn’t prevail.  The roads in Serbia’s former province of Kosovo, which proclaimed independence in 2008, were blocked with heavy vehicles and trucks …

Read more “Tensions Run High in North Kosovo as Serbs Block Roads”

A man opened fire Sunday during a condominium board meeting in a coffee shop in northern Rome, killing three people and injuring others, authorities and witnesses said. Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri called an emergency security meeting for Monday after what he called “the grave episode of violence that has struck our city.” In a tweet, …

Read more “Gunman Kills 3 at Rome Condo Board Meeting”

Italy, which has vowed a tough line on immigration, took in more than 500 migrants Sunday as two charity rescue ships were allowed to dock at ports in the south of the country after several days at sea in bad weather. The Geo Barents ship, operated by the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity and which …

Read more “509 Migrants Arrive in Italy as Rescue Ships Dock”

The body of a 23-year-old Zambian student who died while fighting for the Russian army in the war in Ukraine has been returned home. The body of Lemekani Nyirenda, who was studying nuclear engineering in Russia before joining the military, arrived at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka on Sunday. Although he had been a …

Read more “Body of Zambian Killed in Russia’s War on Ukraine Returned Home”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the Black Sea grain export agreement on Sunday with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, as both sides seek changes that would boost their exports. Turkey has acted as mediator alongside the United Nations in the grain deal, which opened up Ukrainian ports for exports after a six-month de …

Read more “Erdogan Discusses Black Sea Grain Deal With Putin, Zelenskyy”

Officials in Washington are continuing to react after the United States and Russia last week finalized a prisoner swap exchanging WNBA standout Brittney Griner for convicted Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout. Griner spent nearly 300 days behind bars for cannabis possession while Bout served more than 14 years for funneling weapons to some of the …

Read more “US-Russia Prisoner Swap Panned and Praised”

Ukraine has launched multiple missile attacks on the Russian-occupied town of Melitopol and targeted the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula, according to reports from the war zone, while Russian drones attacked Ukraine’s southern port city of Odesa. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said about 1.5 million people were left without electricity in the Odesa region, with local officials …

Read more “Ukraine, Russia Launch New Attacks on Each Other’s Strongholds  “

A Libyan intelligence operative suspected of making the bomb that blew up a U.S. passenger jet over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 has been arrested by the FBI and is being extradited to the United States to stand trial, officials said Sunday.   The arrest of Abu Agela Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi came after a decadeslong Justice Department …

Read more “US Arrests 1988 Lockerbie Passenger Jet Bombing Suspect “