Month: May 2023

A girl who was gravely wounded in a mass shooting in a school in Belgrade earlier this month has died, bringing the death toll to 10, authorities said Monday. The girl died Monday morning at a children’s clinic in Belgrade, Serbia’s health ministry said, according to official media. The girl had been in critical condition …

An annual U.S. government report finds religious freedom under assault throughout the world, notably in what the State Department calls Countries of Particular Concern —China, Iran, Russia, Myanmar — among others. VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching has more. …

Turkey appears set for a presidential runoff after an inconclusive Sunday vote. But the political momentum seems to be with incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who narrowly failed to secure an absolute majority but is set to win a majority in parliament. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko on Monday said forces had been put on high alert, adding that four aircraft had reportedly been shot out of the sky in southern Russia. Lukashenko, 68, visited the ex-Soviet country’s air force central command, reappearing in public after nearly a weeklong absence following reports alleging ill-health. He wore a military …

Opposition voters expressed dismay and disbelief on Monday after Tayyip Erdogan took a solid lead in the first round of Turkey’s election, while the president’s overjoyed supporters expressed confidence that he would prevail in the May 28 runoff. “Until now I have witnessed many elections. My 14-year-old daughter who waited up all night for the …

The packets of cocaine were marked with the Superman shield, but this was no accident. In an effort to make the illicit merchandise look like it had been gift wrapped before being sent from Colombia, the gang wanted to hide the fact it was produced closer to home. The drug with apparent superpowers was made …

French topflight football club Rennes on Sunday held an emotional homage to Arman Soldin, their former youth player and the AFP video reporter killed Tuesday in Ukraine. Soldin’s mother and brother live in the western city and Rennes held the tribute to his memory at the Breton club’s home match with Troyes. Rennes invited around …

Many voters in southeast Turkey lost their homes, valuables and loved ones in February’s earthquakes. Still, they came out to vote Sunday in what analysts say could be the country’s most pivotal elections in decades. VOA’s Heather Murdock reports on the scene with videographer Yan Boechat. …

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that his country is preparing a counteroffensive designed to liberate areas occupied by Russia, not to attack Russian territory.  Speaking during a news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s goal is to free the territories within its internationally recognized borders.  The Washington Post cited …

Dozens of supporters of two French nationals detained last year in Iran demanded their release in Paris Sunday after Tehran freed two fellow citizens who had been on hunger strike. “Freedom for Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris,” they chanted at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, a little over a year after their arrest on …

Serbian authorities on Sunday displayed many of around 13,500 weapons they say people have been handed over since this month’s mass shootings, including hand grenades, automatic weapons, and anti-tank rocket launchers. The authorities have declared a one-month amnesty period for citizens to hand over unregistered weapons or face prison sentences as part of a crackdown …

Turkey is voting in presidential and parliamentary elections Sunday, in what is predicted to be one of the closest votes in decades and one of the most important, both domestically and internationally. The poll will decide the political fate of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has ruled for more than 20 years. Sunday’s elections are …