Treating and rehabilitating patients who lost limbs on the battlefield is a harsh reality for Ukraine’s health care workers. An American occupational therapist has been in Ukraine for several months to help. Omelyan Oshchudlyak has the story from Lviv. Camera and video editing by Yuriy Dankevych. …
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia Tuesday where he is expected to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia’s far east amid warnings from the U.S. and South Korea against a potential arms transfer. Tuesday, South Korean officials said they are closely monitoring the first meeting between Kim and Putin in four years. “The Ministry of National Defense believes that Kim Jong-un probably entered Russia early this morning using a private train,” said spokesperson Jeon Ha-kyu, citing “the presence of a large number of military personnel” that accompany Kim. “We are closely watching whether negotiations …
Norwegian intelligence officials said Monday that the case of a 25-year-old unidentified foreign student, who was arrested in Norway on suspicion of illegally eavesdropping by using various technical devices, is “serious and complicated.” The case was shrouded in secrecy. The man, whose identity and nationality have not been disclosed, was arrested on Friday. A court in Oslo on Sunday ordered that he be held in pre-trial custody for four weeks, on suspicion of espionage and intelligence operations against the NATO-member Nordic country. In an email to The Associated Press, a prosecutor for Norway’s domestic security agency, known by its acronym …
Rescuers pulled an American researcher out of a Turkish cave early Tuesday, more than a week after he became seriously ill 1,000 meters (more than 3,000 feet) below its entrance, the Speleological Federation of Turkey said. Teams from across Europe had rushed to Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains to aid Mark Dickey, a 40-year-old experienced caver who became seriously ill on Sept. 2 with stomach bleeding. He was on an expedition to map the cave, which is the country’s third deepest. Dickey was too frail to climb out himself, so rescuers carried him with the help of a …
The European Union’s home affairs commissioner made an impassioned appeal Monday for the release of a Swedish employee of the EU’s diplomatic corps who spent a second birthday in an infamous Iranian prison. Sweden said last week that Johan Floderus, who worked for the European Union’s External Action Service, was arbitrarily detained in Iran last year. He has been in custody for more than 500 days and turned 33 on Sunday. Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said Floderus was part of her Cabinet for almost two years but had asked to work for the EU delegation in Afghanistan before he …
A runner has completed a 50-day ultramarathon from Amsterdam to Kyiv in a bid to raise money for ambulances on the front lines in Ukraine. Reporter Lesia Bakalets was at the finish line in Kyiv to see Dutch national Boas Kragtwik complete his 2,500-kilometer run. Camera: Yevhenii Shynkar …
Ukraine belongs in the European Union, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Monday during her visit to Kyiv. But she added that the country needed to do more to fight graft. “Reform results in the areas of judicial reform, and media legislation are already impressive. But there is still a long way to go in the implementation of the anti-oligarch law and the fight against corruption,” Baerbock said. Baerbock also said that Germany will provide an additional $21.44 million in humanitarian aid, bringing Berlin’s additional aid to a total of $408 million this year. The German foreign minister warned that …
Leaders of nine small island states turned to the U.N. maritime court on Monday to seek protection of the world’s oceans from catastrophic climate change that threatens the very existence of entire countries. The island states are asking the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to determine if carbon dioxide emissions absorbed by the oceans can be considered pollution, and if so, what obligations countries have to prevent it. “This is the opening chapter in the struggle to change the conduct of the international community by clarifying the obligation of states to protect the marine environment,” said …
U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk said Monday that Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and Russian attacks on Ukrainian grain facilities have pushed food prices “sky high” in many developing countries. Speaking to a session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Turk said the spike in prices has taken “the right to food far out of reach for many people.” He specifically highlighted the situation in Somalia, saying the country has long depended on wheat from Ukraine and Russia and that the breakdown of the grain deal “was particularly damaging.” The Black Sea Grain Initiative allowed …
Climate change is sparking human rights emergencies in numerous countries, the U.N. rights chief said Monday, stressing the need to fight the impunity of those who “plunder our environment.” Speaking before the United Nations Human Rights Council, Volker Turk pointed to recent examples of the “environmental horror that is our global planetary crisis.” He described visiting Basra, Iraq, where date palms once lined canals, but now “drought, searing heat, extreme pollution and fast-depleting supplies of fresh water are creating barren landscapes of rubble and dust.” “This spiraling damage is a human rights emergency for Iraq, and many other countries,” he …
A 25-year-old foreign student has been arrested in Norway on suspicion of espionage, including illegal eavesdropping through various technical devices. Norway’s domestic security agency, known by its acronym PST, told Norwegian media that the man, who was arrested on Friday, was charged in court on Sunday with espionage and intelligence operations against the Nordic country. The man, whose identity and nationality haven’t been disclosed, has pleaded not guilty in initial police questioning. Norwegian authorities haven’t said which country the man was allegedly spying for. “We don’t quite know what we’re facing. We are in a critical, initial and vulnerable phase …
More than 50 world sites hope for inclusion on the U.N.’s coveted heritage list at a meeting opening in Riyadh Sunday, while some incumbents, including Venice and Kyiv, face the risk of a downgrade. UNESCO, the United Nation’s educational, scientific and cultural organization, keeps the world heritage list, which it says is a reflection of the planet’s cultural and natural diversity. The agency meets once a year to update the list, the inclusion on which is seen by many countries as crucial for tourism and the ability to source funding for the preservation of sites. Conversely, countries are eager to …
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken tried to reassure Ukraine on Sunday that it will have continued support from its Western allies. Russia, however, just had local elections in four Ukrainian areas it illegally annexed and Moscow appears determined to solidify its gains. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the details. …
Suspended Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales has resigned from his post after a kiss scandal tarnished Spain’s victory at the Women’s World Cup. Rubiales announced his resignation Sunday in a message posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “After my swift suspension by FIFA, and the rest of the cases building against me, it is clear that I cannot return to the post,” Rubiales said in his statement. Rubiales kissed star player Jenni Hermoso on the lips without her consent during the awards ceremony after Spain beat England to win the title on Aug. 20 in Sydney, Australia. Spanish …
Two foreign aid workers were reportedly killed in eastern Ukraine on Sunday as Russian shelling hit a van carrying a team of four working with a Ukrainian nongovernmental organization, while dozens of Russian drones targeted Kyiv and wounded at least one civilian. The four volunteers from the Road to Relief group, which helps evacuate wounded people from front-line areas, were trapped inside the van as it flipped over and caught fire after being struck by shells near the town of Chasiv Yar, the organization said on its Instagram page. Road to Relief said that Anthony Ihnat of Canada died in …
Niger’s junta on Sunday accused France of deploying troops in several West African countries as part of preparations for a possible military intervention together with the regional bloc ECOWAS in Niger. In a communique read on state television overnight, the junta also repeated its call for the departure of French troops from its territory — a major source of tension between the one-time allies since the July 26 ouster of president Mohamed Bazoum. The statement appealed to “national and international opinion to witness the consequences of this aggressive, underhanded and contemptuous attitude adopted by France.” Relations between Niger and its former …
The death toll from flash floods that have inundated central Greece due to Storm Daniel has risen to 12 with the number expected to rise. The clean-up task in the Thessaly area comes as health officials warn of infectious diseases that are breaking out as a result of dead livestock scattered across devastated sections. Hara Petropoulou pleas for assistance after Storm Daniel caused widespread flooding in central Greece. “Help,” she shouts to the anchor of a Sunday morning show. “Please help.” “We may have survived the floods that drowned our towns and homes… but the stench of decomposing animal carcasses …
Russia launched about three dozen drones over Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, Sunday. The early-morning attack lasted about two hours, with debris falling over the city. Meanwhile, the British Defense Ministry said Sunday Russia’s Pskov oblast, near the Estonian border, has organized “volunteer security patrols” to bring a stop to drone attacks against Kresty Air Base. The ministry said, due to the limited range of quadcopter drones, the attacks on Kresty were almost certainly launched from Russia. The volunteer patrols will “likely” serve as a deterrence, according to the ministry. The use of volunteers indicates that it is “highly likely” that …
Hikmet Hajiev, a foreign policy advisor to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, on Saturday denied that Baku had reached a deal with the breakaway province of Nagorno-Karabakh to simultaneously reopen roads to Azerbaijan and Armenia. In a message posted on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Hajiev said that Baku had offered to simultaneously reopen the roads but that what he called the “illegal regime” in Karabakh had refused. Hajiev said that Azerbaijan would maintain “border and customs” control on the Lachin corridor, which links Karabakh to Armenia. He said that the road to Azerbaijan would open for aid shipments …
A year after the death of Queen Elizabeth II triggered questions about the future of the British monarchy, King Charles III’s reign has been marked more by continuity than transformation, by changes in style rather than substance. Charles, who waited more than 70 years to ascend the throne, moved seamlessly into his new role, avoiding controversy and sidestepping major reforms despite questions about whether an unelected king can still represent the people of modern Britain. Most people seem to have shrugged off Charles’ occasional faux pas — most publicly when he threw a hissy fit over an aide’s failure to …