The United Nations says the war in Ukraine has displaced more than 6 million people and forced many of them to register as refugees across Europe. More than 60,000 of them — mostly women and children — are living in Hungary. VOA Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze reports from Budapest on a new bilingual school for refugee children from Ukraine. VOA footage and video editing by Daniil Batushchak. …
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Ukraine amid a Russian advance on the battlefield and increasing anxiety among Ukrainians that Western allies are experiencing growing fatigue toward the Russia-Ukraine war. For VOA, Anna Chernikova reports from Kyiv. VOA footage by Vladyslav Smilianets. …
Berlin — An infection with the new mpox variant clade 1b has been detected in Germany for the first time, the Robert Koch Institute health authority said on Tuesday. The infection occurred abroad and was detected last Friday, the institute said, adding that it did not see an increased risk for Germany but was “monitoring the situation very closely.” Mpox, a viral disease related to smallpox that causes fever, body aches, swollen lymph nodes and a rash that forms into blisters, has two main subtypes — clade 1 and clade 2. From May 2022, clade 2 spread around …
LONDON — Two passenger trains collided in Wales, killing a man and injuring 15 people, transport police said Tuesday. The low-speed crash on Monday evening happened near the village of Llanbrynmair in central Wales. “We can sadly confirm a man has died following this evening’s incident,” said British Transport Police superintendent Andrew Morgan. Those taken to hospital were not believed to have suffered serious injuries. Morgan said transport police were working “to understand the circumstances leading up to this collision.” …
Russian officials said Tuesday a Ukrainian drone attack caused an explosion and fire at a biochemical plant in the Tambov region. Tambov Governor Maxim Yegorov said on Telegram the fire was extinguished early Tuesday and that preliminary information indicated there were no injuries. Ukrainian drones also damaged two distilleries in the Tula region, officials said Tuesday. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it shot down 11 Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk region, three drones over Belgorod, two over Kursk and each over the Tula and Oryol regions. The governor of Belgorod reported two homes were damaged by falling debris from destroyed …
Many European Union countries are calling for the bloc to clamp down on migration amid a surge in support for right-wing political parties. But Spain is bucking the trend — and insists Europe’s aging population needs controlled migration to boost its economy. Henry Ridgwell reports. Camera: Alfonso Beato. …
washington — The General Assembly of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) is set to begin Thursday, following months of ongoing harassment from the Chinese government that the top Uyghur organization has described as “unprecedented.” In the months leading up to the group’s eighth general assembly, which takes place this year in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Uyghur organization has endured numerous efforts to derail or even cancel the event, the group said. The harassment included threats of physical harm, arrest and sabotage. Groups that advocate for Uyghur human rights have long faced harassment from the Chinese government, but this recent harassment …
TIRANA, Albania — Albania’s left-wing Freedom Party said Monday its leader and former Albanian President Ilir Meta has been arrested on alleged corruption charges. Meta, 55, was arrested in the capital, Tirana, by officers with the National Investigation Bureau, according to local media. Local television stations showed masked, plainclothes police officers taking Meta from his vehicle after he returned from neighboring Kosovo ahead of holding a news conference. The party’s secretary-general, Tedi Blushi, called it “a criminal kidnapping.” There was no immediate comment from the prosecutor’s office. After meeting Meta at the police department, his lawyer Genc Gjokutaj said the former …
Paris — French drugmaker Sanofi’s confirmation that it will sell a controlling stake in its consumer health unit to a U.S. investment fund sparked a new political backlash Monday, stoked by fears the deal marks a loss of sovereignty over key medications. Paris “must block the sale” using powers to protect strategic sectors, Manuel Bompard, a senior lawmaker in the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, told the TF1 broadcaster. Politicians and unions have torn into Sanofi’s proposed 16-billion-euro ($17.4 billion) deal with U.S. investment fund CD&R for a controlling stake in Opella. The subsidiary makes household-name drugs including …
In late September, the Russian parliament backed new legislation that will make it harder for some people to adopt children from the country. Some adoption advocates say the legislation is really designed to punish the West. VOA Russian has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Andre Sergunin …
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made an unannounced visit Monday to Ukraine in a show of support for Ukraine’s military and to meet with Ukrainian leaders. The Pentagon said in a statement that Austin will also “deliver a speech that will highlight how Ukraine has skillfully fought back against Putin’s war of choice, U.S. commitment to ensuring Ukraine’s armed forces have the battlefield capabilities they need, and why Ukraine’s fight matters for U.S. security.” Austin’s visit comes days after the United States announced $425 million in new aid for Ukraine, including munitions for air defense systems and artillery munitions. Russian …
CANBERRA, Australia — An Indigenous senator told King Charles III that Australia is not his land and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the monarch is not needed as the country’s head of state as the British royal visited Australia’s parliament on Monday. Indigenous independent Senator Lidia Thorpe was escorted out of a parliamentary reception for the royal couple after shouting that British colonizers have taken Indigenous land and bones. “You committed genocide against our people,” she shouted. “Give us what you stole from us — our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people. You destroyed our land. Give us a treaty. …
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday he was seeking a strong reaction from countries who have acknowledged that North Korea is becoming more involved in Russia’s more than 2-1/2-year-old war against Ukraine. Speaking in his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said there was ample satellite and video evidence that North Korea was sending not only equipment to Russia, but also soldiers to be prepared for deployment. “I am grateful to those leaders and representatives of states who do not close their eyes and speak frankly about this cooperation for the sake of a larger war,” he said. “We expect a normal, …
Brasilia, Brazil — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday canceled his trip to Russia for the BRICS summit, following medical advice to temporarily avoid long-haul flights after hurting his head in an accident at home. In a statement, the presidential office said Lula, 78, will now participate in the BRICS meeting via videoconference. He was initially scheduled to depart at 5 p.m. on Sunday. According to a medical report issued by the Sirio Libanes Hospital in Brasilia, Lula suffered a laceration to the “occipital region” in the back of his head on Saturday. The report said Lula “was …
BELGRADE — European Union candidate Serbia will continue to refuse to impose sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine despite Western pressure, Serbia’s leader said after his telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday. Populist Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Instagram that he believes the call, what he said was his first in more than two years with the Russian president, will help “further development of relations and trust between Russia and Serbia.” “We talked as people who have known each other for a long time, as friends, and the ten-minute conversation was marked by a personal …
Tehran — Iran summoned the ambassador of Hungary, whose country holds the rotating European Union presidency, to protest a joint E.U.-Gulf Cooperation Council statement on islands controlled by Iran but claimed by the UAE, state media reported Sunday. The statement, published after the first summit between the two regional blocs on Wednesday, said, “We call on Iran to end its occupation of the three islands of the United Arab Emirates, Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa, which constitutes a violation of the sovereignty of the UAE and the principles of the Charter of the U.N.” The islands located near the …
KYIV — Russian air defenses shot down more than 100 Ukrainian drones Sunday over Russia’s western regions, Moscow officials said, while 17 people were injured in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih in a ballistic missile attack. The Russian Defense Ministry said 110 drones were destroyed in the overnight barrage against seven Russian regions. Many targeted Russia’s border region of Kursk, where 43 drones were reportedly shot down. Social media footage appeared to show air defenses at work over the city of Dzerzhinsk in the Nizhny Novgorod region, close to a factory producing explosives. Local Gov. Gleb Nikitin wrote on social …
Berlin — A Libyan suspected of planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in Berlin and links to the Islamic State group will appear before a judge on Sunday, German prosecutors said. The suspect, identified only as Omar A., was arrested on Saturday evening at his home in Bernau, just outside the German capital, the federal prosecutors’ office said. Omar A. was accused of planning a “high-profile attack with firearms” on the Israeli Embassy in Berlin, they said. As part of his preparations, Omar A. was suspected of having “exchanges with a member of IS in a messenger …
PARIS — As Notre Dame gears up to reopen its doors in December, Paris is on the verge of a remarkable eco-revival, bringing nature back to the forefront of the City of Light. Beyond restoring the cathedral’s iconic spire and medieval charm, the city announced plans Tuesday to revamp Notre Dame’s surroundings — to a tune of 50 million euros ($55 million) — into a serene, green oasis. The project echoes a broader, post-Olympics eco-facelift that’s reshaping Paris from its historic monuments to its bustling avenues. Among the key elements of this broader transformation are the revitalization of historic spaces like …
CHISINAU, Moldova — Moldovans have started casting ballots in two key votes Sunday that could determine whether the European Union candidate country, which neighbors Ukraine, remains on a pro-Western path amid ongoing allegations that Russia has tried to undermine the electoral process. Incumbent President Maia Sandu is the favorite to secure another term in office in a presidential race in which 11 candidates are running. Voters will also choose “yes” or “no” in a referendum on whether to enshrine in the country’s constitution its path toward the 27-nation EU. Polls by WatchDog, a Chisinau-based think-tank show a clear majority of more …