Month: July 2023

The Biden administration is dismissing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer to supply free grain to several African nations whose leaders are attending a summit in St. Petersburg, and calling instead for a full Russian return to the agreement that allowed Ukraine to send products from their Black Sea ports.  John Kirby, director of strategic communications …

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says Ukrainian forces have been deliberate in their counteroffensive against Russia and have been “conserving manpower and equipment.” Russia’s Federal Security Service said it found traces of explosives on a vessel en route from Turkey to Russia that had previously visited a Ukrainian port.   A Ukrainian official said Thursday …

Wildfires reached the outskirts of Athens on Thursday as strong gusts of wind caused flare-ups around Greece, disrupting highway traffic and rail services. The fires have raged across parts of the country during three successive Mediterranean heat waves over two weeks, leaving five people dead, including two firefighting pilots, and triggering a huge evacuation of …

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – Russia’s defense minister accompanied North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to a defense exhibition that featured the North’s banned ballistic missiles as the neighbors pledged to boost ties, North Korean state media reported Thursday. The Russian minister, Sergei Shoigu, and a Chinese delegation including a Politburo member arrived in North Korea …

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday. Shoigu was on a rare visit to the isolated country during which both sides pledged to boost ties, state media KCNA reported.  Shoigu handed Kim a letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin, the report said. Kim in turn thanked Putin …

WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday raised the possibility of New Zealand and other nations taking part in the AUKUS defense pact, cooperation that could rile Wellington’s key trade partner China. “The door’s very much open for New Zealand and other partners to engage as they see appropriate going …

Sinead O’Connor, the gifted Irish singer-songwriter who became a superstar in her mid-20s but was known as much for her private struggles and provocative actions as for her fierce and expressive music, has died at 56. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinead. Her family and friends are …

The past year has lifted Poland’s image in the European Union from rule-of-law defier to leading Ukraine champion, welcoming more than a million refugees since Russia’s invasion and providing billions of dollars in military aid to neighboring Kyiv. But Poland’s newly acquired luster is fast fading, as Warsaw and four other neighboring countries balk at …

When people hear the phrase “tank man,” they often think of the man who blocked advancing tanks in China’s Tiananmen Square during a clampdown on protests on June 5, 1989. But Lithuania has a “tank man” of its own: Dr. Ricardas Daunoravicius, an obstetrician who stood in front of Soviet tanks amid a crackdown on …

Thousands of schools have been damaged and hundreds destroyed during Russia’s war on Ukraine. And for many students living near the battle zones, getting an education has become a near impossibility. VOA’s Heather Murdock reports with Yevhenii Shynkar from Lyman, Ukraine. WARNING: This report contains graphic images some may find disturbing. …

A former U.S. Marine who was freed by Russia last year in a prisoner swap has been injured while fighting for Ukraine against Moscow’s forces, the U.S. State Department said. The European Union is considering helping fund the costly transportation of grain out of Ukraine after Russia halted a deal that allowed Black Sea exports …

Major fires raging in parts of Greece and in other Mediterranean countries advanced Wednesday, causing additional deaths, destroying homes and threatening nature reserves during a third successive wave of extreme temperatures. The summer wildfires have struck countries across the region, prompting the European Union to expand its support, sending two Spanish firefighting planes to Tunisia …