Month: October 2023

The European Union has expanded its warnings that tech companies must remove illegal content from their platforms, or risk facing severe legal penalties. Following the militant Islamist group Hamas’ attack on Israel and Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, social media firms have seen a surge in misinformation related to the conflict, including doctored images and mislabeled videos, alongside images of graphic violence. On Tuesday, EU industry chief Thierry Breton told Elon Musk to curb disinformation on his messaging platform X, warning it was being used to disseminate illegal content and false information in the wake of …

READ MORE

The United States is providing Ukraine with up to $200 million in additional military aid in a package announced Wednesday, as the Biden administration tried to temper concerns that the growing needs from Ukraine and now Israel could spread the U.S. too thin. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has details. …

READ MORE

A Swedish court on Wednesday fined climate activist Greta Thunberg once again for disobeying police during an environmental protest in July in southern Sweden. The Malmo District Court ordered her to pay a 2,250 kroner ($206) fine. Thunberg, who already had been fined for a similar offense, took part in a July 24 environmental protest at an oil terminal in Malmo, where activists temporarily blocked access to the facility by sitting down and were removed by police. On Sept. 15, she was charged with disobedience to law enforcement for refusing to obey police asking her to leave the scene. She …

READ MORE

Britain’s King Charles III will meet with Kenyan President William Ruto in Nairobi in about three weeks. Charles will address “painful aspects” of Britain’s colonial past, Buckingham Palace said on Wednesday. During the four-day visit, scheduled for October 31 to November 3, Charles and Ruto will tour the Nairobi National Park and attend a state banquet. The two are expected to discuss the climate crisis, the importance of conservation efforts and working together on national security, Chris Fitzgerald, the king’s deputy private secretary, said in a press conference. Charles will also acknowledge the fraught history between the two nations a …

READ MORE

A convenient location with the necessary infrastructure for military exercises, both on land and in sea, made Iceland a perfect venue for two-week NATO military exercises that ended earlier this month. Valentina Vasileva has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Elena Matusovsky. …

READ MORE

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that “we have Israel’s back,” as Washington attempts to defuse tensions in the Middle East after a stunning terrorist attack by Hamas militants. More than 1,000 people, including at least 14 Americans, have been killed by Hamas militants who stormed over the border Saturday, killing and kidnapping civilians and security forces. VOA Ukrainian Service’s Iuliia Iarmolenko spoke Tuesday to John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, shortly before Biden addressed the nation in a televised address. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. VOA: Can you lay out a roadmap of …

READ MORE

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said on Tuesday a leak leading to the shutdown of a natural gas pipeline from Estonia to Finland this weekend was probably caused by “external” activity. Last year, a series of underwater blasts ruptured three pipelines that carried natural gas from Russia to Western Europe at a time of high geopolitical tensions as Moscow cut gas supplies to Europe. While the government cautioned against leaping to any conclusions, saying it seemed unlikely that explosives were the cause, the Norwegian seismological institute NORSAR said Monday it detected a “probable explosion” in the area of the leak. Niinisto …

READ MORE