Rachel Handlin is an example of what’s possible when someone pursues their dreams. Handlin may be the first person on the planet with Down syndrome to earn a Master of Fine Arts. She also had her first public solo photo exhibit in Manhattan. Anna Nelson has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Vladimir Badikov. …
Rome — Milena Bernabo, awarded one of Italy’s top civilian honors for saving three children from the Nazis during World War II, died Sunday aged 96, local authorities said. Bernabo was awarded the gold medal for civil merit for saving her young neighbors during the August 1944 massacre of Sant’Anna di Stazzema, in Tuscany, in which …
Read more “Italian who saved children from WWII massacre dies aged 96”
New York — DreamWorks Animation’s “Dog Man” fetched $36 million in ticket sales at the weekend box office, according to studio estimates Sunday, making it the biggest debut yet in 2025. It was a big opening for the Universal Pictures release adapted from the popular graphic novel series by author Dav Pilkey. The big-screen launch for …
Read more “‘Dog Man’ bites off $36 million, taking No. 1 at box office”
Berlin — Tens of thousands took to the streets across Germany during the weekend to protest the center-right leader and front-runner in a Feb. 25 election for sending to parliament proposals for tough new migration rules that received the backing of a far-right party. Angry protesters in Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Leipzig said that Friedrich Merz …
Read more “Protests against Germany’s Merz who supports migration proposal backed by far-right”
ATHENS — A series of earthquakes near the Greek island of Santorini has led authorities to shut down schools, dispatch rescue teams with sniffer dogs and send instructions to residents including a request to drain their swimming pools. Even though earthquake experts say the more than 200 tremors that have hit the area since early Friday are …
Read more “Multiple tremors near Greek island of Santorini shut schools and put residents on edge “
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday that he would seek a strong trade relationship with the U.S. after President Donald Trump suggested he would slap Europe with tariffs after he hit America’s biggest trading partners — Canada, Mexico and China — with import taxes. Starmer spoke to reporters while hosting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz …
Read more “UK’s Starmer seeks strong trade relations with the US in the wake of Trump’s tariffs “
ISTANBUL — Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Jordan will come together to fight the remnants of the Islamic State group, a move the Turkish foreign minister says would allow the United States to cut ties with Kurdish militants in Syria. Washington’s decadelong relationship with Kurdish-led forces in Syria is opposed by Turkey. Ankara says the People’s Defense …
Read more “Turkey says it will join with neighbors to fight Islamic State group in Syria “
LOS ANGELES — The Grammy Awards take center stage in Los Angeles on Sunday at a celebration that will honor the best of music while acknowledging the deadly wildfires that scarred a hub of the industry. Beyonce will compete for the top Grammy prize of album of the year with her country record “Cowboy Carter.” The …
Read more “Beyonce competes for the big prize – again – at Sunday’s Grammys “
KYIV — Competing claims emerged over a deadly attack on a boarding school in Sudzha, a city in Russia’s Kursk region that has been under Ukrainian control for five months, with Ukraine and Russia accusing each other of carrying out the strike. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Saturday night that four people were …
Read more “Russia and Ukraine trade blame over attack on boarding school in Russia’s Kursk region “
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said that ignoring the Soviet Union’s role in liberating Nazi German death camps such as Auschwitz and not inviting surviving family members of Soviet troops to liberation anniversaries was a shameful act. A commemoration to mark 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz camp in Poland by Soviet troops …
Read more “Putin says ignoring Soviet role in liberation of Nazi death camps is shameful “
ROME — Pope Francis has long urged couples to marry and have babies rather than dogs. And he has long championed the rights of workers and held up labor itself as the foundation of human dignity. So it has come as something of a surprise to many in the Holy See that the Vatican bank fired …
Read more “Couple challenges Vatican bank’s ban on workplace marriages”
LONDON — Britain will become the first country to introduce laws against AI tools used to generate sexual abuse images, the government announced Saturday. The government will make it illegal to possess, create or distribute AI tools designed to generate sexualized images of children, punishable by up to five years in prison, interior minister Yvette Cooper …
Read more “UK to become 1st country to criminalize AI child abuse tools”
NOVI SAD, SERBIA — Serbia’s students led a mass protest and blocked bridges over the River Danube in the northern city of Novi Sad on Saturday, drawing tens of thousands into the streets to express their anger with the country’s populist leadership and to call for change. Saturday marked three months since a huge concrete canopy …
Read more “Serbia’s students lead tens of thousands calling for change”
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis tripped while entering the Vatican auditorium for an audience Saturday after the handle of his walking stick snapped, but he avoided falling. The 88-year-old pope often must use a wheelchair or a cane because of bad knees and has fallen twice in the past two months. After Saturday’s slight stumble, two …
Read more “Pope stumbles, but avoids falling when cane snaps”
SHENGJIN, ALBANIA — An Italian navy ship on Saturday took migrants to Italy from asylum processing centers in Albania following a court decision in Rome. It was the third failed attempt by Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government to process migrants in the non-EU country. A coast guard ship took 43 migrants from the port of Shengjin, 66 …
Read more “Third expulsion attempt fails as migrants in Albania returned to Italy”
KYIV, UKRAINE — Russia said on Saturday it had captured a village flanking the eastern flashpoint city of Toretsk in Ukraine as Kyiv said four people had died in overnight Russian strikes. The Russian Defense Ministry said its troops seized the village of Krymske in the northeastern suburbs of Toretsk, located in the eastern Donetsk region …
Read more “Russia says it is advancing toward flashpoint Ukrainian city”
WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND — A mountain in New Zealand considered an ancestor by Indigenous people was recognized as a legal person on Thursday after a new law granted it all the rights and responsibilities of a human being. Mount Taranaki — now known as Taranaki Maunga, its Maori name — is the latest natural feature to …
Read more “New Zealand mountain is granted personhood, recognizing it as sacred for Maori”
The Arctic is one of the coldest and least populated regions on Earth, much of it covered by ice. But in recent years it has become one of the most important sites of geopolitical tensions — and a key focus of American policy. Despite its inhospitability, land north of the Arctic Circle has long been …
ATHENS — Three Greek opposition parties vowed Friday to challenge the country’s center-right government with a censure motion over its handling of a deadly rail disaster nearly two years ago. The pledge was prompted by mounting public anger over delays in the inquiry and allegations of a cover-up that the government strongly denies. Fifty-seven people were …
Read more “Anger in Greece over rail disaster prompts opposition plan to challenge government”
INDJIJA, Serbia — Hundreds of striking students marched through the Serbian countryside Friday as they took their anti-graft protest toward the northern city of Novi Sad, where they plan to blockade three bridges over the River Danube this weekend. The bridge blockade planned for Saturday will mark three months since a huge concrete construction at the …
KYIV, UKRAINE — Russia launched a barrage of drones on Ukraine in an overnight attack on Friday, injuring four people and damaging a hospital and a grain warehouse in the southern Odesa region, officials said. Ukraine’s air defenses shot down 59 of 102 Russian drones, the air force said. It said that 37 drones were “lost,” …
Read more “Russian drones injure 4 in Ukraine’s south, Ukrainian officials say”
white house — Arms control advocates are hoping U.S. President Donald Trump’s fresh words of support for denuclearization will lead to talks with Russia and China on arms reduction. U.S. negotiations with the Russians and Chinese on denuclearization and eventual agreements are “very possible,” according to Trump, who addressed the World Economic Forum a week ago …
Read more “Trump support for denuclearization talks with Russia, China raises hopes ”
Arms control advocates are hoping U.S. President Donald Trump’s fresh words of support for denuclearization will lead to talks with Russia and China about nuclear arms reduction. VOA’s chief national correspondent, Steve Herman, reports from the White House in Washington. …
As U.S. President Donald Trump demands a large increase in defense spending by NATO allies, the spotlight has fallen on Spain, which spends the least on defense of all member states relative to the size of its economy. Spain is the eurozone’s fourth-biggest economy. The country spent an estimated $21.3 billion on defense last year, …
Read more “Spain well short of NATO defense target, as Trump demands huge additional spending”