Month: May 2023

Drought-stricken Spain says last month was the hottest and driest April since records began in 1961.  The State Meteorological Agency, known by the Spanish acronym AEMET, said Monday that the average daily temperature in April was 14.9 degrees Celsius (58.8 Fahrenheit), which was 3 degrees Celsius above the average.  AEMET said average maximum temperatures during the month were up by 4.7 degrees Celsius.  Rainfall was a fifth of what would normally be expected in the month, making it the driest April on record in Spain.  Last year was Spain’s hottest since record-keeping started in 1961, and also the country’s sixth …

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The United States’ top international development chief, Samantha Power, is heading to Serbia and Kosovo this week to meet with leaders there, as U.S. and European leaders work to stabilize relations between those two former wartime enemies at a time of heightened tensions. Power becomes the first head of the U.S. Agency for International Development to travel to Serbia, which maintains close historical and cultural ties with Russia. Serbia and Kosovo have remained on often hostile terms since Kosovo’s 1990s split from Serbia at the end of the Cold War. Frictions between Serbia and Kosovo, which has an ethnic Albanian …

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In just a few months, U.S. officials have pivoted from publicly warning Beijing not to provide material support for Russia’s war in Ukraine to acknowledging there is a role for China to play in brokering peace talks. On February 24, the day that China unveiled its 12-point peace proposal, Blinken voiced skepticism during remarks to the United Nations Security Council Ministerial Meeting on Ukraine. “No member of this council should call for peace while supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine and on the U.N. Charter,” the top U.S. diplomat said one year after Russia invaded Ukraine. By May 3, Blinken publicly …

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New developments: Fears about the safety of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant are growing after the Moscow-installed governor of the Ukrainian region where it is located ordered civilian evacuations. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prighozin said his forces will remain in the besieged Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. He indicated his soldiers will continue the assault on the city after the Russian military promised more arms and ammunition. Russian nationalist writer Zakhar Prilepin sent a defiant message to those who attempted to assassinate him. Prilepin is recovering from extensive injuries after a car bomb exploded killing his driver. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said …

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New developments: Fears about the safety of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is growing after the Moscow-installed governor of the Ukrainian region where it is located ordered civilian evacuations. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prighozin said his forces will remain in the besieged Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. He indicated his soldiers will continue the assault on the city after the Russian military promised more arms and ammunition. Russian nationalist writer Zakhar Prilepin sent a defiant message to those who attempted to assassinate him. Prilepin is recovering from extensive injuries after a car bomb exploded killing his driver. At least five people were …

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Days after two mass shootings left 17 people dead in Serbia, the European country’s Interior Ministry urged citizens Sunday to turn in all unregistered weapons or run the risk of a prison sentence. Individuals who hand over illegally owned guns, grenades, ammunition and other weaponry between Monday and June 8 will not face any charges, the ministry said in a statement. Those who ignore the order will face prosecution and if convicted, potentially years behind bars, government officials have warned. Weekend funerals were held for the victims of the shootings at a Belgrade school Wednesday and in a rural area …

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Ukrainians are on war footing, even if they’re not the ones on the front lines. A much hyped and widely expected spring counteroffensive could come any day now. But Ukraine’s defense minister recently warned against putting too much hope in his country’s counterstrikes. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more. …

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