PARIS — Major world leaders are meeting for an AI summit in Paris, where challenging diplomatic talks are expected as tech titans fight for dominance in the fast-moving technology industry. Heads of state, top government officials, CEOs and scientists from around 100 countries are participating in the two-day international summit from Monday. High-profile attendees include U.S. …
PARIS — Nearly all nations missed a UN deadline Monday to submit new targets for slashing carbon emissions, including major economies under pressure to show leadership following the U.S. retreat on climate change. Just 10 of nearly 200 countries required under the Paris Agreement to deliver fresh climate plans by Feb. 10 did so on time, …
Read more “Almost all nations miss UN deadline for new climate targets”
LONDON — The Church of England’s elected governing body will gather Monday at a time of “unprecedented crisis” following a number of sexual abuse scandals. The meeting of the General Synod will see members debate the Makin Review, a damning report which set out a series of failings around a Christian camp leader and serial abuser, …
Read more “UK Anglicans meet after Church of England hit by scandals”
The Philadelphia Eagles dominated the Kansas City Chief in this year’s Super Bowl, defeating the reigning champions by a score of 40-22. The Chiefs had been slightly favored to win the game, going into the American football showdown with hopes of winning their third consecutive National Football League title. But the Eagles held the Chiefs …
Most of the commercials airing during this year’s Super Bowl are going for laughs, with advertisers betting that America could use a little break. As the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs hit the field in New Orleans, a parade of silly ads will hit airwaves Sunday. Many companies put their ads online ahead …
Read more “Super Bowl commercials rely on comedy, nostalgia to avoid potential missteps”
Climate change is rapidly altering the Arctic region, creating environmental danger, economic opportunity and geopolitical tension as the world’s major powers scramble to control newly accessible shipping lanes and resource deposits. …
Did a wide-open Oscar race just get a front runner? Sean Baker’s Brooklyn comedy “Anora” took top honors at both the Producers Guild Awards and the Directors Guild Awards on Saturday night, catapulting it to Oscar favorite status with wins from a pair of closely watched Academy Awards precursors. Hollywood’s award season has been uncharacteristically …
Read more “‘Anora’ wins at Producers and Directors Guild Awards”
New York — They’re at the top of their sport. They run, weave and go airborne. And they went all out for this weekend’s championship. Sorry — no, they’re not the Chiefs or the Eagles. They’re the agility dogs at the Westminster Kennel Club show, which began Saturday by showcasing agility and other dog sports. Dog …
Read more “Westminster show’s canine athletes get their piece of Super Bowl weekend”
Berlin — Europe is prepared to respond “within an hour” if the United States levies tariffs against the European Union, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a pre-election debate with his conservative challenger Friedrich Merz. In the first duel ahead of the Feb. 23 election, Merz portrayed Scholz as a ditherer who had led Germany into …
Read more “German chancellor candidates clash on Trump, the far-right and NATO”
The presidents of Ukraine and the United States are looking to make a deal. This comes as world leaders meet later this week in Munich to discuss, among other issues, the future of Ukraine’s security. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more. …
New York — On a quiet winter weekend at the box office, DreamWorks Animation’s “Dog Man” chased its own tail, repeating as the top movie in theaters. The animated Universal Pictures release, adapted from Dav Pilkey’s popular graphic novel series, collected $13.7 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Both new releases — the …
Read more “‘Dog Man’ bests ‘Heart Eyes,’ ‘Love Hurts’ at box office”
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Sunday told soldiers, police and other law enforcement officials from around the world that armed force can only be used for legitimate defense and must always respect international law. The pontiff reappeared in public for the first time since he was diagnosed with bronchitis Thursday to celebrate an outdoor Jubilee …
Read more “Pope reminds armed forces to act for defense, respect international laws “
VILNIUS — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said on Sunday they had successfully synchronized their electricity systems to the European continental power grid, one day after severing decades-old energy ties to Russia and Belarus. Planned for many years, the complex switch away from the grid of their former Soviet imperial overlord is designed to integrate the three …
Read more “Baltic states switch to European power grid, ending Russia ties “
PRISTINA, KOSOVO — Kosovars cast their votes Sunday in a parliamentary election considered a key test for Prime Minister Albin Kurti as talks on normalizing ties with rival Serbia remain stalled and foreign funding for one of Europe’s poorest countries in question. Kurti’s left-wing Vetevendosje, or Self-Determination Movement Party, is seen as the front-runner but is …
GRANADA, SPAIN — Narco-musical Emilia Perez won best European film at Spain’s equivalent of the Oscars on Saturday, after social media posts by the movie’s star prompted a backlash in the middle of awards season. The mostly Spanish-language musical tells the story of a Mexican drug cartel boss who transitions to life as a woman and …
Read more “Scandal-hit narco-musical ‘Emilia Perez’ wins Spanish film prize”
Ukrainians Yevhenia and Kostiantyn Mukhin fled Kherson in 2022 with nothing but a backpack. They made their way to Denver, Colorado, determined to rebuild their lives, but also to spread the joy of Ukrainian culture. Svitlana Prystynska reports the story narrated by Anna Rice. …
Hundreds of demonstrators protested Saturday at a site earmarked for Beijing’s controversial new embassy in London over human rights and security concerns. The new embassy, if approved by the U.K. government, would be the “biggest Chinese Embassy in Europe,” one lawmaker said earlier. Protester Iona Boswell, a 40-year-old social worker, told AFP said there was …
Read more “Hundreds protest in London against proposed ‘mega embassy’ for China”
PARIS — Thousands of opponents to Iran’s authorities rallied in Paris on Saturday, joined by Ukrainians to call for the fall of the government in Tehran, hopeful that U.S. President Donald Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign could lead to change in the country. The protest, organized by the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, which …
Read more “Emboldened by Trump, Iranian dissidents demand overthrow of rulers”
MUNICH, GERMANY — More than 200,000 protesters rallied in Munich, Germany, on Saturday against far-right extremism ahead of the country’s general election. The far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany, or AfD, is in second place in recent polls and has prompted widespread protests across the country before voters cast their ballots on Feb. 23. The protest at …
Read more “Massive protest in Germany against far-right AfD ahead of election”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not confirmed that he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump next week but said the coming weeks may be “very intensive in diplomacy.” Trump said on Feb. 7 that he is likely to meet with Zelenskyy next week. The site of the meeting “could be Washington,” he said, adding …
Read more “Zelenskyy hints at ‘intensive’ talks with Trump as US, Ukraine discuss peace deal”
VILNIUS, LITHUANIA — Three Baltic states on Saturday cut ties with Russia’s power grid to join the European Union’s network, the culmination of a years-long process that gained urgency with Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — all former Soviet republics now in the European Union and NATO — had wanted to block Russia’s …
NEW YORK — A violin made in 1714 by the legendary luthier Antonio Stradivari sold for $11.3 million at an auction in New York on Friday, short of estimates that would have made it the most expensive instrument ever sold. Sotheby’s auction house had estimated that the “Joachim-Ma Stradivarius” violin could sell for between $12 million …
JUNEAU, ALASKA — The Alaska Legislature passed a resolution Friday urging President Donald Trump to reverse course and retain the name of North America’s tallest peak as Denali rather than change it to Mount McKinley. Trump, on his first day in office, signed an executive order calling for the name to revert to Mount McKinley, an …
Read more “Alaska lawmakers ask Trump to retain Denali’s name, not change it to Mount McKinley”
Sweden said Friday it wants to tighten its gun laws, following a lone gunman’s mass shooting of 10 people Tuesday with his licensed firearms at an education center in Orebro, about 200 kilometers west of Stockholm. After killing seven women and three men between the ages of 28 and 68, the attacker apparently killed himself …
Read more “Sweden wants to tighten gun laws after mass shooting”