Russia’s Federal Security Service has issued an arrest warrant for investigative journalist Roman Dobrokhotov, editor of the Insider news website. He’s being accused of illegally crossing the border into Ukraine in August and could face up to two years in prison. Anna Rice has the story. …
A September 29th meeting between the presidents of Russia and Turkey resulted in both sides committing to deepen relations. But as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, that rapprochement could come at a high cost to Turkey’s ties with NATO ally, the United States. Dorian Jones reports. …
Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD), winners of last month’s nationwide parliamentary elections, said Wednesday they are holding talks with the nation’s Green Party and Free Democratic Party (FDP) — the respective third- and fourth-place finishers in the election, to try to form a ruling coalition. While any deal is far from being made, the announcement puts SPD leader and outgoing Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz closer to leading Germany’s next government. The SPD narrowly defeated Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling conservative Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) 25.7% to 24.1% in the September 26 elections, handing Merkel’s ruling coalition its worst-ever defeat. But that …
A group of French senators arrived in Taiwan for a five-day visit Wednesday following a large Chinese show of force with fighter jets amid the highest tensions in decades between China and Taiwan. The group, led by senator Alain Richard, will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwanese economic and health officials and the Mainland Affairs Council. Richard, a former French defense minister, previously visited Taiwan in 2015 and 2018, according to Taiwan’s semi-official Central News Agency, and heads the Taiwan Friendship group in the French senate. China’s ambassador to France Lu Shaye sent a warning letter in February calling on Richard to cancel …
After a push to patch U.S.-French relations, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken closes a Paris visit Wednesday with the final day of ministerial talks at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Blinken highlighted several challenges as he spoke at the opening of the meeting Tuesday, including the coronavirus pandemic, the climate crisis, inequity and setting rules for a technologically advancing world. “The principles at the heart of this organization and our democracies are being challenged by authoritarian governments that argue their model is better at meeting people’s basic needs. Some of these same governments are actively seeking to undermine the rules-based order …
NATO’s top official is signaling that it would be a mistake to see the withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan or simmering tensions between France and the United States as a weakening of the trans-Atlantic alliance. Instead, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned would-be adversaries that NATO will remain unified and resolute against a growing number of threats from old adversaries and new ones. “Questions are being asked about the strength of the bond between Europe and North America,” Stoltenberg told an audience at Georgetown University in Washington following a series of meetings with top U.S. officials. “They do not change the big …
Add U.S. military officials to the crescendo of voices warning Mali’s interim government against brokering any deal to use mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group to help with security and counterterrorism. For weeks, U.S. and French officials have publicly tried to dissuade Malian leaders from moving forward with a reported deal that would pay Wagner $10.8 million a month for 1,000 mercenaries to train Mali’s military and provide security for senior officials. Now, the Pentagon says such a deal could cost Mali in multiple ways. “Given the Wagner Group’s record, if these reports are true, any role for Russian mercenaries in …
The European Union announced a comprehensive plan Tuesday to fight the growing problem of antisemitism on the continent, using a three-pronged strategy that includes combating hate speech and crimes, protecting Jewish culture, and educating the public about Judaism. The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, introduced the plan at a news conference in Strasbourg, France. In a statement, the commission said antisemitism is worryingly on the rise, in Europe and beyond. Citing statistics from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, 90% of Jews said antisemitism has increased in their country and it is a serious problem, and 38% of Jews …
The United States is sending nearly 900,000 doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to Mongolia. They are scheduled to arrive Wednesday, a White House official told VOA. “Scientific teams and legal and regulatory authorities from both countries have worked together to ensure the prompt delivery of safe and effective vaccine lots to Mongolia,” the official said. The 899,730 doses, sent through COVAX, the global vaccine-sharing initiative co-led by Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance), the WHO (World Health Organization) and CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations), are in addition to 188,370 doses of the Pfizer vaccine shipped to Mongolia in …
The crew of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft was welcomed aboard the International Space Station Tuesday, though a communications glitch during their final approach delayed their eventual boarding. The Soyuz spacecraft was launched Tuesday from the Russian spaceport in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The ship was carrying a history-making crew, as it included film director Klim Shipenko and actor Yulia Peresild, who will be filming a feature film during their stay at the station. After the spacecraft orbited the earth twice and made a final approach to the ISS, mission control reported the Soyuz craft experienced some communication issues. Those issues resulted in …
French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed potential areas of cooperation Tuesday, as Blinken visited Paris to try to improve relations between the two allies following a dispute about a security partnership among the United States, Britain and Australia. A U.S. official told reporters the meeting, which was not on Blinken’s public schedule, lasted about 40 minutes, and included discussion of joint projects the two sides could announce during a meeting later this month between Macron and U.S. President Joe Biden. Blinken held earlier talks Tuesday with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and French …
World leaders, politicians and pop stars are among thousands of individuals revealed to be concealing huge wealth through a network of anonymous companies. The revelations, known as the Pandora Papers, are part of a huge leak of almost 12 million files from the archives of several legal firms, which shed light on the secret world of offshore finance. Camera: Henry Ridgwell …
World leaders, politicians and pop stars are among the thousands of individuals revealed to be concealing huge wealth through a network of anonymous companies. The documents, known as the Pandora Papers and published Sunday, are part of a leak of almost 12 million files from the archives of several legal firms, which shed light on the secret world of offshore finance. They are being analyzed by a team of more than 600 journalists. Among the most startling revelations in the Pandora Papers is the hidden wealth of the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and his family. The leaks show the …
Pope Francis and other religious leaders made a joint appeal on Monday for next month’s U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) to offer concrete solutions to save the planet from “an unprecedented ecological crisis”. The “Faith and Science: Towards COP26” meeting brought together Christian leaders including Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, as well as representatives of Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism and Jainism. “COP26 in Glasgow represents an urgent summons to provide effective responses to the unprecedented ecological crisis and the crisis of values that we are presently experiencing, and in this way …
Like many others, Azra Ozdemir’s parents sent her off on the first day of school with the usual sage advice about doing well so she could get into a good college. That was her first day of kindergarten. “I knew three words in English: Yes. No,” and the letter P to indicate the need to use the facilities. But by the end of that first year, “the teacher was already telling my parents that I was talking too much in class.” Now a law student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Ozdemir speaks for others who might …
More earthquakes rattled the Spanish island of La Palma on Monday, as the lava flow from an erupting volcano surged after part of the crater collapsed. Officials said they didn’t expect to evacuate any more people from the area, because the fiery molten rock was following the same route to the sea as earlier flows. Spain’s National Geographical Institute said it recorded two quakes early Monday that measured more than 3.0 magnitude, two weeks after the volcano erupted on what is one of the Canary Islands off northwest Africa. “It’s not over yet, we don’t even know how long there …
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is seeking to strengthen his alliance with Russia to ease his government’s international isolation. One sign of this alliance: joint military maneuvers on Belarus territory. Elizabeth Cherneff narrates this report by Ricardo Marquina in Minsk. …
Russia reported its highest one-day coronavirus death toll since the pandemic began. According to Russia’s national coronavirus task force, there were 890 deaths on Sunday. It was the fifth day in a row that it reported a new daily record for coronavirus deaths. The task force also said the number of new coronavirus infections reported Sunday was the second highest of the year at nearly 25,800 infections. Since the pandemic began, Russia has reported nearly 205,000 deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, the most in Europe, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The country has a population of about 146 million and has …
The Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who had lived under police protection since his 2007 sketch of the Prophet Muhammad with a dog’s body brought death threats, died from a traffic accident Sunday, Swedish news media reported. The accident reportedly involved a truck colliding with a civilian police car in which Lars Vilks and his police protection were traveling, news media said. The Swedish news agency TT said police had confirmed that Vilks, 75, was traveling in the car with two police officers. The newspaper Dagens Nyheter said the artist’s partner confirmed his death. The cause of the accident was under …
Spain will help rebuild La Palma, where a volcanic eruption has destroyed hundreds of buildings and forced thousands to evacuate their homes, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Sunday, adding that the island was safe for tourists to visit. Making his third visit to La Palma, one of the Atlantic Canary Islands, since the eruption began September 19, Sanchez said the government would approve 206 million euros ($239 million) of aid funding this week. “Next Tuesday, the Cabinet will approve a package of very powerful measures [to assist in] areas such as infrastructure reconstruction, water supply, employment, agriculture, tourism and …