Pope Francis makes 1st papal visit to France’s Corsica
AJACCIO, Corsica — Pope Francis on the first papal visit ever to the French island of Corsica on Sunday called for a dynamic form of laicism,читати
Ukrainian drones strike Russia as Kyiv reels from consecutive massive air attacks
KYIV — Ukrainian drone strikes on southern Russia killed a 9-year-old boy and set fire to a major oil terminal, officials said Saturday, the day afterчитати
German far-right leader questions NATO membership
Berlin — The co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on Sunday said Germany should reconsider its membership of NATO if the U.S.-led militaryчитати
Greece’s only miniature therapy horses bring joy to many, but the charity is struggling
ATHENS, GREECE — Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, a smile spreads across the little girl’s face. Blinking behind her glasses, she inches her wheelchair forward andчитати
Britain joins trans-Pacific pact in biggest post-Brexit trade deal
LONDON — Britain officially became the 12th member of a trans-Pacific trade pact that includes Japan, Australia and Canada on Sunday as it seeks to deepenчитати
Zelenskyy: Russia ‘using Korean soldiers in Kursk’
KYIV, UKRAINE — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that Russia has begun deploying North Korean soldiers to storm Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region. Zelenskyyчитати
Ex-soccer player becomes Georgia’s president in blow to EU aspirations
TBILISI, GEORGIA — Former soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili became president of Georgia on Saturday, as the ruling party tightened its grip in what the opposition callsчитати
New Zealander who doesn’t speak Spanish wins Spanish world Scrabble title
WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND — A New Zealand man playing his first-ever competitive Scrabble game in Spanish, a language he doesn’t speak, has won the board game’sчитати
Moody’s hands France surprise downgrade over deteriorating finances
PARIS — Credit ratings agency Moody’s unexpectedly downgraded France’s rating on Friday, adding pressure on the country’s new prime minister to corral divided lawmakers into backingчитати
Landmark climate change legal hearing wraps up in The Hague
LONDON — A landmark hearing into nation-states’ legal obligations over climate change wrapped up at the United Nations’ top court in The Hague on Friday. Theчитати
VOA Russian: Sister of American jailed in Russia says she doesn’t know where he is
Patricia Hubbard Fox, the sister of the 72-year-old U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard sentenced to jail in Russia for almost seven years on charges of “beingчитати
Russia’s influence in Syria faces uncertain future
With a naval base in Tartus and an airbase near Latakia, Russia was the main source of military support for Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.читати
Moldova declares a state of emergency over energy as fears of Russian gas shortage loom
CHISINAU — Moldova’s parliament on Friday voted in favor of imposing a state of emergency in the energy sector over fears that Russia could leave theчитати
Ukraine’s reformed military procurement agency drives country’s NATO ambitions
KYIV — Ukraine’s Defense Ministry unveiled a new state agency for its armed forces last year. It was the government’s answer to the rampant corruption withinчитати
Russia launches massive aerial attack on Ukrainian infrastructure
KYIV, UKRAINE — Russia on Friday launched a massive aerial attack against Ukraine, involving dozens of cruise missiles and drones, the latest such strike aimed atчитати
US announces new arms aid package for Ukraine worth $500 million
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced another package of weapons aid for Ukraine on Thursday, valued at $500 million, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said inчитати
Far-right support rose in Europe in 2024
LONDON — Support for far-right parties in Europe continued to grow in 2024 amid voter concerns over immigration, inflation and the war in Ukraine. Far-right partiesчитати
ETA terrorists jailed in Spain for attempted murder of journalists
Four former members of Basque separatist organization ETA were each sentenced Thursday in Spain to nearly 75 years in prison, more than 20 years afterчитати
Ukrainian drones hit Russia’s Chechnya region
The head of Russia’s Chechnya region said Thursday a Ukrainian drone attack hit a police barracks, injuring at least four people. Ramzan Kadyrov said onчитати
Rights group accuses Russian mercenaries of abuses against civilians in Mali
DAKAR, SENEGAL — Mali’s armed forces, supported by Russian mercenaries, committed abuses against civilians since the withdrawal of a U.N. peacekeeping mission late last year, Humanчитати
Serbia’s president says he won’t flee his country like Syria’s Assad did despite growing protests
BELGRADE, SERBIA — Serbia’s president accused Tuesday foreign intelligence services of trying to unseat him in the wake of spreading protests in the Balkan state andчитати
EU imposes new sanctions on Russia
European Union ambassadors have agreed to a new raft of sanctions against Russia because of its war on Ukraine, mainly targeting Russia’s massive shadow fleetчитати
Democracy tested in Eastern Europe amid accusations of Russian meddling
LONDON — This year saw a battle for influence in eastern Europe between the West and Russia as elections were held in several states that wereчитати
US: Russia could target Ukraine again with new missile
A U.S. intelligence assessment has concluded that Russia could launch another of its experimental hypersonic ballistic missiles against Ukraine in the coming days, although Washingtonчитати
VOA Russian: How Moscow’s propaganda narrative on Syria changed after Assad’s fall
VOA Russian speaks with Ksenia Kirillova, an analyst with Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) and The Jamestown Foundation, on how Syria is being portrayedчитати
Ukraine wins its first FIFA Futsal World Cup medal
Futsal was invented in Uruguay almost a century ago to play indoor soccer or football on a basketball court. It’s become hugely popular and thisчитати
Hundreds of arrests and mysterious beatings as Georgia cracks down on pro-EU protests
TBILISI, Georgia — Seventy-five-year-old Marina Terishvili’s teenage son Mamuka was shot dead at a nationalist rally in Georgia in 1992. Now her other son, Giorgi, hasчитати
Russian officials report damage from Ukrainian air attacks in Bryansk, Rostov
Russian officials said Wednesday that Ukrainian aerial attacks caused damage in two regions along the Russia-Ukraine border. Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram thatчитати
As climate change intensifies, vulnerable states seek legal redress against polluters
At a landmark hearing Tuesday on climate change law at the United Nation’s top court in The Hague, Britain argued that only existing climate treatiesчитати
US Treasury transfers $20 billion in Ukraine loan funds to World Bank
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday said it transferred the $20 billion U.S. portion of a $50 billion G7 loan for Ukraine to aчитати
France flies 2 fighter jets from Chad to signal start of military withdrawal
PARIS — France flew out the two Mirage fighter jets it had stationed in Chad on Tuesday, signaling the beginning of the withdrawal of its militaryчитати
Zelenskyy says ‘decisiveness’ necessary to bring end to war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that “only decisiveness” can bring Russia’s war in Ukraine to an end and bring lasting peace. Days after talksчитати
VOA Turkish: Fall of the Syrian currency impacting economy in Derik
The collapse of the Syrian regime and the influx of thousands of families into Kurdish areas, particularly in Derik, has led to an economic crisisчитати
Zelenskyy says he is open to negotiated end to war with Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday he is open to the possibility of a diplomatic resolution to the country’s war with Russia. “Ukraine wants thisчитати
Turkey eyes bigger role in Syria after Assad’s ouster
Turkey is one of the principal backers of some of the Syrian rebels who ousted Bashar al-Assad and a likely winner as Ankara seeks toчитати
Germany, other European countries suspend decisions on Syrians’ asylum bids after Assad’s fall
BERLIN — Germany and several other European countries said Monday they are suspending decisions on asylum claims by Syrian nationals because of the unclear situation inчитати