Month: September 2023

Russia’s Jailing of American Reporter ‘Beyond Cruel,’ US Says

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday called on Moscow to immediately release American journalist Evan Gershkovich.  Speaking at the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Russia’s actions were “beyond cruel” and “a violation of international law.”  Gershkovich has been detained in Russia since March 29 on espionage charges that he and his publication, The Wall Street Journal, deny. The Moscow-based reporter was arrested while on assignment in the eastern city of Yekaterinburg. In her remarks, Thomas-Greenfield urged the international community and U.N. member states to “stand with us, to stand on the side of justice, …

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Після нічного удару по Севастополю знову перекрили рух на Керченському мосту

Раніше Керченський міст перекривали у ніч на 13 вересня перед першими повідомленнями про вибухи у Севастополі, внаслідок яких, як з’ясувалося згодом, сталася пожежа на судноремонтному заводі і були пошкоджені два російські судна …

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North Korean Leader Vows ‘Unconditional Support’ for ‘All Decisions’ by Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Wednesday with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at Russia’s most advanced spaceport amid warnings from the U.S. and South Korea against a potential arms transfer. Kim pledged his “full and unconditional support” for “all decisions” by Putin, in an apparent reference to Russia’s war on Ukraine, as the two leaders held talks at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur region of Russia’s far east, near the Chinese border.  The meeting came as media reports quoted unidentified Western officials as saying Russia hopes to receive North Korean artillery shells for use in its war in …

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У ГУР підтвердили пошкодження десантного корабля і підводного човна Росії в Севастополі

«Є пошкодження судноремонтного заводу імені Орджонікідзе в місті Севастополі, зокрема обладнання. Якщо говорити про плавзасоби, то ми можемо зараз підтвердити ураження великого десантного корабля і підводного човна» …

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Britain Rejects Calls to Label China a ‘Threat’ After Suspicions of Spying

The British government has rejected calls to officially label China a threat to its interests. Several lawmakers have called for a tougher line from the government after it was revealed that a researcher in the British parliament was arrested on suspicion of spying for Beijing. Spying suspects British police detained two men in March on suspicion of breaking Britain’s Official Secrets Act. The arrests came to light this week, when the Sunday Times newspaper reported that one of the suspects was a researcher in the British parliament with connections to several prominent members of the ruling Conservative Party, including government …

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Contacts of UK Spy Suspect Recount Curious Encounters

Two U.K.-based activists have described troubling interactions with a researcher in the British parliament who was arrested on suspicion of spying for Beijing. The 28-year-old suspect, whose name has been withheld by British police because he has not been formally charged, worked in the China Research Group in Westminster as a researcher and had a parliamentary pass. He has insisted on his innocence and is currently free on bail. Finn Lau, a Hong Kong human rights activist currently in the U.K. and wanted by the Hong Kong authorities, told VOA Mandarin he had an unusual coffee meeting with the suspect, …

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Swiss Students Break World Record for Electric Car Acceleration

From zero to 100 kph in less than a second: A racing car built by students has broken the world record for electric vehicle acceleration, a Swiss university said Tuesday.  Students from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences designed and built the “Mythen” vehicle that achieved the feat, ETHZ said in a statement.  “Now, Guinness World Records has confirmed that Mythen broke the previous world acceleration record for electric vehicles,” it said.  Covering a distance of 12.3 meters (40.4 feet) at the Switzerland Innovation Park in Dübendorf, opposite the students’ workshop, …

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American Researcher Doing Well After Rescue From Deep Turkish Cave, Calling It ‘Crazy Adventure’

An American researcher was “doing well” at a Turkish hospital, officials said Tuesday, after rescuers pulled him out of a cave where he fell seriously ill and became trapped 1,000 meters (more than 3,000 feet) below its entrance for over a week. Rescuers from Turkey and across Europe cheered and clapped as Mark Dickey, a 40-year-old experienced caver, emerged from Morca Cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains strapped to a stretcher at 12:37 a.m. local time Tuesday. He was whisked to the hospital in the nearby city of Mersin in a helicopter. Dickey fell ill on Sept. 2 with stomach …

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US Cyber Teams Are on the Hunt in Lithuania 

For at least the second time this year, U.S. cyber forces have come to the aid of a Baltic ally, as concerns linger about potential cyberattacks from Russia and other Western adversaries. U.S. Cyber Command Tuesday announced the completion of a two-month-long, so-called “defensive hunt” operation in Lithuania, alongside Lithuanian cyber teams. The focus of the operation, according to a spokesperson with the U.S. Cyber National Mission Force, was to look for malicious cyber activity on networks belonging to Lithuania’s Interior Ministry. Neither U.S. nor Lithuanian officials were willing to specify the exact nature of the threat, but just last …

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