French President Emmanuel Macron has asked the United Nations to consider sending a peacekeeping force to Haiti. The suggestion was made in a letter Macron sent to the U.N. after meeting with Leslie Voltaire, resident of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Click here for the full story in Creole. …
Yaounde, Cameroon — More than 400 civilians rendered jobless by the departure of French troops from Chad are asking the government to hire them and provide the job benefits they had when they worked for the French. The last French troops left Chad on January 31, following an order by President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno. Chadian …
Read more “Chadians who worked for now-departed French troops appeal to government for jobs “
Ukrainian culture is booming amid the war with Russia. That’s despite the constant rocket attacks and damage to almost 500 heritage sites, according to UNESCO. Experts say Ukrainians have never been as interested in their own culture as they are now. As Lesia Bakalets reports from Kyiv, almost any event is sold out, especially in …
Ukrainian culture is booming amid the war with Russia. That’s despite the constant rocket attacks and damage to almost 500 heritage sites, according to UNESCO. Experts say Ukrainians have never been as interested in their own culture as they are now. As Lesia Bakalets reports from Kyiv, almost any event is sold out, especially in …
OREBRO, SWEDEN — Five people were shot at an adult education center in Sweden on Tuesday, police said. The conditions of the victims weren’t immediately clear. The Swedish news agency TT reported, without providing its sources, that the perpetrator died by suicide. Police didn’t immediately confirm that reporting. The adult education center is on the outskirts …
Ukrainian officials said Tuesday that Russian drone attacks overnight damaged houses and other buildings in multiple regions. Ukraine’s military said its air defenses shot down 37 of the 65 drones that Russian forces launched in the attacks, with intercepts taking place in the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Poltava and Sumy regions. The Sumy Regional Military Administration …
Read more “Ukraine says Russian drone attacks damaged buildings”
BRUSSELS — European Union leaders agreed Monday to do more to bolster their defenses against Russia and other threats by hiking spending and filling gaps in their military capabilities. “A lot has been done already but we need to do more. We need to do it better, stronger, faster – and we need to do it …
Tbilisi, Georgia — Jailed journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli gets weaker every day as her hunger strike has reached three weeks in Rustavi, a town near the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, her lawyer says. Now the 49-year-old is having difficulty walking the short distance from her cell to the room where they usually meet, and human rights officials, …
Read more “A Russia-like crackdown has jailed dozens in Georgia”
PARIS — France hosts top tech players next week at an artificial intelligence summit meant as a “wake-up call” for Europe as it struggles with AI challenges from the United States and China. Players from across the sector and representatives from 80 nations will gather in the French capital on February 10 and 11 in the …
Read more “France pitches AI summit as ‘wake-up call’ for Europe”
LONDON — It was quite the journey for such tiny froglets: traveling thousands of miles from the forests of southern Chile to London, carried and brooded inside their fathers’ vocal sacs for safety. London Zoo said Monday that 33 endangered Darwin’s frogs, named after scientist Charles Darwin, who discovered the species, were born in their new …
Read more “Scientists hope these tiny froglets can save their species”
NEW YORK — A violin made by the famed Antonio Stradivari in 1714 has the potential to become the most expensive musical instrument ever sold when it goes up for auction Friday at Sotheby’s in New York. The auction house is estimating the value of the “Joachim-Ma Stradivarius” at $12 million to $18 million. If it …
Read more “1714 Stradivarius violin could become most expensive instrument ever auctioned”
LOS ANGELES — The Super Bowl isn’t just a game on Sunday, it’ll involve a nearly weeklong spectacle taking over New Orleans with non-stop entertainment leading up to the big showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. While the Chiefs and Eagles gear up for their championship rematch, the Big Easy will be the …
Read more “Stars, athletes bring buzz to New Orleans before Super Bowl”
Multiple earthquakes are rattling Santorini, a volcanic island in Greece, prompting authorities to dispatch rescuers with tents, a sniffer dog and drones, and to shut schools on four islands. Residents have been warned to avoid indoor gatherings, check escape routes, stay away from cliffs and to drain swimming pools to reduce potential structural damage to …
Read more “Multiple earthquakes rattling Greece’s volcanic island of Santorini”
BANGKOK — A journalist who covers environmental issues from Cambodia has been banned from entering the country where he has been based for the past five years. British reporter Gerry Flynn told VOA that immigration officials denied his re-entry to Cambodia on Jan. 5, when he tried to return after a vacation in Thailand. The journalist …
Read more “British environmental journalist denied entry to Cambodia”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has renewed its call for the United States to reverse its decision to withdraw from the U.N. health agency, warning of potential global health consequences and budget concerns. In his opening remarks at an executive board meeting on Monday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told attendees the health agency regrets …
Read more “WHO urges US to reconsider withdrawal, warns of budget impact”
The decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to freeze most foreign aid has left Ukrainian organizations that provide humanitarian aid and other services scrambling. Myroslava Gongadze has the story from Warsaw, with reporting from Anna Chernikova in Kyiv. VOA footage by Serhii Rozov and Vladyslav Smilianets. …
Madrid — A female Spanish soccer player told a court Monday that her boss kissed her against her will as millions watched on television, then pressured her to say it was consensual, in a case widely seen as putting machismo in sport on trial. Jenni Hermoso testified before Madrid’s High Court as Luis Rubiales, the former …
Read more “Spanish soccer boss pleads not guilty in ‘kiss’ trial “
Paris — Film director found guilty of sexual assault in France’s first big #MeToo trial PARIS (AP) — A Paris court found a filmmaker guilty of sexual assault on French actor Adèle Haenel when she was between 12 and 15 in the early 2000s, in the country’s first big #MeToo trial. Filmmaker Christophe Ruggia was …
Read more “Film director found guilty of sexual assault in France’s first big #MeToo trial “
Russian officials said Monday that Ukrainian drone attacks targeted energy facilities in two regions in southwestern Russia. Volgograd Governor Andrei Bocharov said falling debris from drones destroyed by Russian air defenses sparked fires at an oil refinery. Astrakhan Governor Igor Babushkin said the Ukrainian attacks focused on fuel and energy facilities, starting a fire in …
Read more “Russia says Ukrainian drone attacks targeted energy sites”
BRUSSELS — European Union leaders gather on Monday to discuss how to bolster the continent’s defenses against Russia and how to handle U.S. President Donald Trump after his decision to impose tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China. At a royal palace-turned-conference center in Brussels, the leaders of the EU’s 27 nations will also lunch …
Read more “EU leaders to huddle on defense against Russia, economy, and US”
LOS ANGELES — Chappell Roan was named best new artist at the 2025 Grammys. She read a speech from a notebook, beginning by addressing her fellow nominees. “BRAT was the best night of my life this year,” she said, as her hat fell off her head, referencing Charli xcx. Then her speech changed course. She directed …
Read more “Chappell Roan wins best new artist at the Grammys”
MADRID — Spain’s former football chief Luis Rubiales goes on trial on Monday over the forced kiss he gave star forward Jenni Hermoso with the player scheduled to take the stand. The 47-year-old provoked worldwide outrage after he cupped Hermoso’s head and gave her an unsolicited kiss after Spain beat England to win the 2023 Women’s …
Read more “Trial of Spain’s ex-football chief over forced kiss to begin”
TBILISI, Georgia — Police in Georgia arrested several anti-government protesters on Sunday as thousands of demonstrators demanding new parliamentary elections briefly blocked a motorway on the edge of the capital Tbilisi. A Reuters reporter saw three protesters being arrested, including Nika Melia, a leader of the country’s largest opposition party, the Coalition for Change. Interfax news …
Read more “Georgian police arrest opposition leaders at pro-EU protest”
Los Angeles — Former President Jimmy Carter has won a posthumous Grammy award. Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, died in December at age 100. Prior to his passing, Carter was nominated in the audio book, narration, and storytelling recording category at the 2025 …
Read more “Late President Jimmy Carter wins posthumous Grammy”