Month: March 2023

Local journalists in southern Turkey have been torn between mourning their loved ones and reporting the scope of destruction in their cities. On the night of the earthquake on February 6, Sinasi Inan, a reporter based in Sanliurfa for the Ihlas News Agency, rushed outside with his wife and children and went to an area with collapsed buildings to report the damage. After finding a safe place to leave his immediate family — an expansive lot across from his father-in-law’s house — Inan went to his hometown of Adiyaman, where he discovered about 40 of his own relatives among the …

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American Cindy McCain will take over as executive director of the United Nations World Food Program when current director David Beasley steps down next month. “Ms. McCain, a champion for human rights, has a long history of giving a voice to the voiceless through her humanitarian and philanthropic work,” said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General Qu Dongyu in a statement announcing the appointment. McCain is a prominent Republican Party member who is currently U.S. ambassador to United Nations agencies in Rome, which include the FAO, the WFP, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. …

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces reelection amid growing anger over his government’s response to the massive earthquakes that have recently battered Turkey. The longtime Turkish leader is calling for unity and pledging a massive rehousing drive, as the disaster is set to dominate polls announced for May 14. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

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One year after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the city of Kyiv has survived Russian assault and shelling. The war still shows no sign of ending. Anna Chernikova reports on how residents in Kyiv are coping and preparing for more. Camera: Eugene Shynkar …

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Authorities in Ukraine said Thursday a Russian missile struck an apartment building in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least three people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on Telegram that the missile destroyed three floors of the building, and that search efforts were ongoing. “The terrorist state wants to turn every day for our people into a day of terror. But evil will not reign in our land,” Zelenskyy said.  “We will drive all the occupiers out and they will definitely be held accountable for everything.” Ukraine’s military reported Thursday that Russian forces “continue to advance and storm” …

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov talked briefly Thursday at a meeting of top diplomats from the Group of 20 nations in the first high-level meeting in months between the two countries. U.S. officials said Blinken and Lavrov chatted for roughly 10 minutes on the sidelines of the G-20 conference in New Delhi. The short encounter came as relations between Washington and Moscow have plummeted while tensions over Russia’s war with Ukraine have soared. A senior U.S. official said Blinken used the discussion to make three points to Lavrov: that the U.S. would support …

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NATO is made up of 30 members and each country’s military has its own technical systems on the battlefield. Some work together better than others. At the US Army’s easternmost European headquarters in Poznan, Poland, soldiers are working to integrate NATO systems. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb is there. Camera: Mary Cieslak Video editor: Mary Cieslak …

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A Greek stationmaster is set to appear Thursday before a prosecutor as the country mourns following the collision between a passenger train and a freight train that killed at least 43 people and injured 85 more. The collision occurred late Tuesday near the city of Tempe, about 380 kilometers north of Athens, the Greek capital. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a televised address Wednesday after visiting the crash site that it appeared the cause was a “tragic human error.” He promised a full investigation. Transportation Minister Kostas Karamanlis resigned Wednesday, accepting responsibility for the accident. Karamanlis said the Greek …

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The second-biggest city in Ukraine, Kharkiv, is 30 kilometers from the Russian border. Under siege by Russian troops for more than six months, the city suffered major damage but never fell. Russians are amassing troops across the border once more. Ballistic missiles hit the city more often, and Kharkiv is reinforcing its defense lines. Residents say they’re prepared for a new invasion, but the past haunts the future of its residents. …

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