VOA Spanish: Venezuelan opposition leaders receive Sakharov Prize from European Parliament
The European Parliament awarded Venezuelan opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia the bloc’s highest human rights recognition. Click here to see theчитати
Zelenskyy to meet with NATO, European leaders in push to bolster defenses
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet Wednesday with NATO chief Mark Rutte and European leaders in Brussels as Ukraine seeks to bolster itsчитати
In 2024, voters’ discontent with incumbents meant opting for change
Ruling parties often have an advantage in elections. But in history’s biggest election year so far, incumbents of all political stripes found that presiding overчитати
VOA interview: US urges Europe to end energy dependency on Russia
The outgoing administration of U.S. President Joe Biden plans in its final weeks to “continue tightening the noose” around Russia’s key energy exports with newчитати
Keith Kellogg as Trump’s Ukraine-Russia envoy: Right man for the mission?
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg to be his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, where Trump has promised to bringчитати
Turkey positions itself for bigger role as broker in 2025
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a strong push to project Turkey’s influence internationally in 2024. He scored foreign policy successes with the ouster ofчитати
Russia sells out of vast Kazakh uranium deposits to China
Moscow — Kazakhstan’s state-controlled nuclear resources company said on Tuesday that Russia’s state Rosatom corporation was selling its stakes in vast uranium deposits that it hadчитати
Western nations agree to ‘disrupt, deter’ Russian shadow fleet
TALLINN, estonia — Twelve Western countries have agreed to measures to “disrupt and deter” Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of vessels in order to prevent sanctions breachesчитати
EU sanctions Chinese firms, North Korean minister over Ukraine war
BRUSSELS — The EU on Monday for the first time imposed fully fledged sanctions, including asset freezes and visa bans, on Chinese firms for supplying Russia’sчитати
North Korea involvement in Ukraine marks ‘dangerous expansion’ of conflict, US and allies say
Washington — Ten countries and the EU called North Korea’s growing involvement in Russia’s war in Ukraine a “dangerous expansion” on Monday, in a joint statementчитати
Germany’s Scholz loses confidence vote, setting up early election in February
BERLIN — Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote in the German parliament on Monday, putting the European Union’s most populous member and biggest economy onчитати
Norway announces $242 million in Ukraine aid
Norway announced Monday $242 million in new military aid for Ukraine, including help securing access to the country’s vital Black Sea ports. “It is essentialчитати
Race against time for rescuers as hundreds feared dead in Mayotte
Saint-Denis de la Reunion, France — Rescuers raced against time Monday to reach survivors after a devastating cyclone ripped through the French Indian Ocean territory ofчитати
Five years on from the pandemic, long COVID keeps lives on hold
VIENNA — Three years ago, Andrea Vanek was studying to be an arts and crafts teacher when spells of dizziness and heart palpitations suddenly started toчитати
Zelenskyy offers Syria humanitarian grain deliveries
Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Sunday that he would provide Syria with grain and other agricultural products on a humanitarian basis, a weekчитати
Erdogan to visit Ethiopia, Somalia in early 2025 after brokering deal
Istanbul — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Ethiopia and Somalia early next year after brokering a deal to end tensions between the two Hornчитати
Israel will close its Ireland embassy over Gaza tensions
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel said Sunday it will close its embassy in Ireland as relations deteriorated over the war in Gaza, where Palestinian medicalчитати
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