Costas Simitis, former Greek prime minister and socialist leader, dies at 88
ATHENS, GREECE — Costas Simitis, former prime minister of Greece and the architect of the country’s joining the common European currency, the euro, has died atчитати
Italian Prime Minister Meloni meets with Trump at his Florida resort
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni flew to Florida to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday, as the key Europeanчитати
Moldova breakaway region faces extended blackouts after gas cutoff
KYIV, UKRAINE — The pro-Russian breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniestria, left without Russian gas supplies no longer transiting through neighboring Ukraine, faced longer periods of rollingчитати
Zelenskyy reports heavy Russian, North Korean troop losses
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that Russian and North Korean forces have suffered heavy losses in fighting in Russia’s southern Kursk region. Ukrainian andчитати
Austrian Chancellor Nehammer to resign after ‘new government’ talks fail
VIENNA — Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said Saturday he will resign in the coming days after talks on forming a new government failed a second time. читати
German leader worried by Musk’s support of far-right AfD
BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he’s staying “cool” against critical personal comments made by Elon Musk but finds it worrying that the U.S. billionaireчитати
Russia shoots down 8 missiles, captures Ukraine settlement, says defense ministry
Russia’s defense ministry said on Saturday that Russian forces had taken control of the village of Nadiya in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region and had shotчитати
Danish-Swedish farmdog joins American Kennel Club’s lineup
NEW YORK — Say hello to the latest dog in the American Kennel Club’s lineup of recognized breeds. Or you might say “hej.” The Danish-Swedish farmdogчитати
Moldovan PM warns of security crisis after cutoff of Russian gas
Kyiv, ukraine — Moldova faces a security crisis, Prime Minister Dorin Recean said Friday, after its separatist pro-Moscow Transdniestria region, cut off from supplies of Russianчитати
Talks on new 3-party Austrian government collapse as one party leaves
VIENNA — Talks on forming a new three-party government in Austria collapsed Friday as the smallest of the prospective coalition partners pulled the plug on theчитати
Russian drone attack kills 1 in Kyiv suburbs
KYIV, UKRAINE — A Russian drone attack towards the Ukrainian capital on Friday killed one person and wounded four in the Kyiv suburbs, local officials said.читати
Zelenskyy says Trump could be decisive in stopping war in Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could be “decisive” in the outcome of the yearslong war between Ukraine and Russia.читати
Ukraine blocks transit of Russian gas to Europe, prompting price hike
London — European gas prices reached a 15-month high on Thursday after Ukraine blocked the transit of Russian gas across its territory into the European Union.читати
‘Dinosaur highway’ tracks dating back 166 million years discovered in England
LONDON — A worker digging up clay in a southern England limestone quarry noticed unusual bumps that led to the discovery of a “dinosaur highway” andчитати
Ukraine says it shot down 47 Russian drones
Ukraine’s military said Thursday it shot down 47 drones Russian forces launched overnight at areas in central and eastern Ukraine. Russia used a total ofчитати
At least 10 killed in Montenegro shooting spree
Cetinje, Montenegro — At least 10 people, including two children, were killed Wednesday by a gunman who launched a shooting spree in a restaurant near theчитати
Press freedom groups call for Iran to release jailed Italian journalist
WASHINGTON — Press freedom groups and media organizations are calling for Iran to release an Italian journalist who was arrested last month. Cecilia Sala, who worksчитати
Human rights plummet in Ukraine, Russian-occupied territories
Geneva — U.N. human rights monitors find that almost three years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the human rights situation in the country and areas occupiedчитати
Russian gas supplies through Ukraine end
Russian gas exports crossing through Ukraine were halted Wednesday with the expiration of a transit agreement. The development will force some European nations to findчитати
VOA Russian: Putin’s apology for downed plane not enough for Azerbaijan
VOA Russian speaks to regional experts who believe that President Vladimir Putin has unexpectedly found himself in a corner after it appears Russian air defenseчитати
Russian drone attack injures 6 in Kyiv
Officials in Ukraine’s capital said Wednesday a Russian drone attack injured at least six people. Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv’s City Military Administration, said onчитати
Thousands in Serbia turn New Year’s celebration into anti-government protest
BELGRADE, SERBIA — Instead of the traditional boisterous street partying on New Year’s Eve, tens of thousands of protesters led by university students gathered overnight inчитати
VOA Russian: Kremlin spin masters struggle to break Moldova
Even as Russia stops gas deliveries to Moldova, along with all gas transit to the EU through Ukraine, on Jan. 1, Moscow continues to meddleчитати
France strikes Islamic State targets in Syria
France said Tuesday it had carried out airstrikes against Islamic State militant positions in Syria. French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said in a post onчитати
Russia says Ukrainian drone debris sparks fire in Smolensk region
Russian officials said Tuesday that debris from a destroyed Ukrainian drone fell on an oil facility in the Smolensk region, causing a fire. The Russianчитати
Scores of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners head back home after swap
KYIV, UKRAINE — Ukraine and Russia carried out a new exchange of prisoners of war on Monday, with the two sides bringing home a combined totalчитати
Serbian court convicts parents of teen who fatally shot 10 at Belgrade school
BELGRADE, Serbia — A court in Serbia on Monday convicted the parents of a teenage boy who last year shot dead nine pupils and a schoolчитати
VOA Russian: Kremlin could force Belarus to enter war in Ukraine or lose independence
As Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ally, Alexander Lukashenko, prepares to stage another presidential election in Belarus in January, the country continues to face a seriousчитати
Finland discovers anchor ‘dragging track’ amid suspicions of Russian subsea sabotage
LONDON — Finnish authorities have discovered anchor drag marks running for several kilometers across the Baltic seabed as they probe the recent severing of important powerчитати
US announces $2.5 billion in new Ukraine aid
The United States Monday announced nearly $2.5 billion in new aid for Ukraine as part of a surge of assistance in the waning days ofчитати
German government seeks to downplay Musk’s backing of far-right party ahead of general election
Berlin — The German government on Monday sought to downplay efforts by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk to get involved in the country’s general election campaign byчитати
Ukraine says it shot down 21 of 43 Russian drones
Ukraine’s military said Monday it shot down 21 drones that Russian forces used in attacks overnight targeting multiple areas across northern and eastern Ukraine. Theчитати
In Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, aid workers risk lives to keep residents warm
As harsh winter weather descends on Ukraine, UNICEF and other aid organizations are helping communities in eastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region prepare for the cold season.читати
Finland finds drag marks on Baltic seabed after cable damage
OSLO, NORWAY — Finnish police said on Sunday they had found tracks that drag on for dozens of kilometers along the bottom of the Baltic Seaчитати
Croatia holds presidential election with incumbent NATO, EU critic favored
ZAGREB — Croatia’s left-leaning president, an outspoken critic of Western military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, is running for reelection in the Adriaticчитати
UK to tax private schools in $1.9 B boost to public education
LONDON — The U.K. will end a tax exemption for private schools Wednesday, the center-left Labour government has announced, in a move set to raise overчитати