Author: Fworld

The chief of Bosnia’s border police warned Tuesday that his guards cannot contain the migratory pressure along the country’s eastern border with Serbia and that the situation could easily escalate and put in danger the overall stability of the politically fragile nation.Zoran Galic told The Associated Press in an interview that securing the nation’s entire …

Poland’s opposition parties elected their candidate as speaker of the Senate on Tuesday, a small victory that allows them to check the power of the populist right-wing ruling party.Senator Tomasz Grodzki was chosen speaker in a 51-48 vote with one abstention during the first sitting of the new parliament that was elected in October. Grodzki …

Venice was hit by the second highest tide recorded in the lagoon city on Tuesday, which flooded its historic basilica and left many of its squares and alleyways deep underwater.Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said he would declare a state of disaster and warned of severe damage.City officials said the tide peaked at 187 cm (6.14 ft) …

The Voice of America’s Russian service produced this documentary about the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It looks at Berlin then and today through the eyes of those who were there, including an American soldier, a dissident, a politician, a historian and others. …

Turkey’s October military intervention into Syria is increasingly straining relations with its regional allies and neighbors, but the country is pushing back against mounting criticism of its Syrian incursion.In a recent editorial headlined “A threat against the Turkey-Qatar alliance,” the Daily Sabah, which has close ties to the Turkish government, condemned coverage of Turkey’s Syrian …

With cries of “Viva Felipe!” and “Viva Espana!” Cubans greeted King Felipe in Old Havana, the first state visit ever by a Spanish monarch to Cuba, Spain’s former colony turned Communist-run nation.Earlier in the day, Felipe and his wife Letizia laid flowers at the monument in Havana to Jose Marti, a symbol of Cuba’s struggle …

Moldova’s government coalition between a pro-European group and a Russian-backed party collapsed Tuesday after losing a no-confidence vote in parliament.Prime Minister Maia Sandu’s five-month-old government lost the vote as 63 of 101 lawmakers supported the no-confidence motion initiated by the Socialists, her own coalition partners.The parties in parliament now have three months to form a …

French authorities have closed beaches in southwest France as packages of cocaine and other drugs continue to wash up daily along the Atlantic coast, with nearly 900 kilogrammes discovered since mid-October, a prosecutor said Tuesday.Officials say the cocaine is extremely pure at some 83 percent, warning people who find the packages not to touch them …

Danish police have begun carrying out border checks at Denmark’s crossings with Sweden after a series of shootings and explosions around Copenhagen that Danish authorities say were carried out by people from Sweden.   Police spokesman Jens Jespersen told The Associated Press on Tuesday that at checks on the Oresund Bridge between Copenhagen and the …

France, Germany, Britain and the European Union say they are “extremely concerned” about Iran’s renewed uranium enrichment activities and what they call “regrettable acceleration of Iran’s disengagement” from commitments it made under the 2015 agreement regarding the country’s nuclear program.In a joint statement released Monday, the foreign ministers urged Iran to reverse all of the …

The Ukrainian military and Russia-backed separatist rebels have completed a pullback of troops and weapons from an area in eastern Ukraine embroiled in a conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people, officials said Monday.The disengagement near Petrivske that began Saturday followed a recent similar withdrawal in another section of the frontline, where separatists and …

Tens of thousands of people answered the call of nationalist groups Monday, marching in Warsaw to mark the country’s independence day.The marchers chanted “God, honor, homeland!” and “No to the European Union!” while holding aloft torches and setting off fireworks to blanket the area with a cloud of smoke in the national red and white …

Turkish  President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visits Washington this week to meet President Donald Trump, a meeting some consider an opportunity to reset relations that have been strained over numerous policy differences.Turkey’s military operation against the Syrian Kurdish militia, the YPG, is expected to top the agenda. Ankara designates the. YPG as terrorists, but the militia …

At the dawn of the 20th century, a railway was born. It connected Austria and Germany with a major port in the Adriatic Sea. The railway carried critical World War I supplies, but it fell out of favor by the 1940s. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi takes us on a coal-powered ride on a train that tourism …

A Russian court on Monday charged a distinguished historian known for re-enacting Napoleonic battle scenes with the murder of his partner after he was found in a river with a rucksack containing her severed arms.Oleg Sokolov, a 63-year-old history professor at St Petersburg State University confessed in court on Monday to shooting dead Anastasia Yeshchenko, …

Russian President Vladimir Putin is complaining to his cabinet that widescale corruption at Russia’s new space launch facility is continuing.The facility in the Far East, named Vostochny, is intended to reduce Russia’s reliance on the Baikonur launchpads in Kazakhstan, from which all manned space missions and many other major rockets set off. But construction of …

The French earthquake detection agency says a moderate tremor measuring 5.4 in magnitude has struck southern France in a remote area of the Drome department between Lyon and Marseille.   The agency said the quake occurred before noon Monday and its epicenter was situated near the town of Montelimar in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region.   According …

Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha met the French ambassador on Monday after his house arrest was lifted, although he remains charged with treason and is banned from politics and leaving the country.Sokha greeted Ambassador Eva Nguyen Binh outside his home before going inside for talks. They made no statement after the meeting.Sokha’s house arrest was …

President Donald Trump’s national security adviser says Trump will confront Turkey’s leader about his decision to buy a Russian air defense system when they meet Wednesday at the White House.Robert O’Brien tells CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the U.S. is “very upset” about Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 system.   O’Brien says if the …

A famed Russian historian who loved to dress up as his hero, Napoleon, is facing a murder charge after police fished him out of the Moika River with a backpack filled with a woman’s severed arms.A lawyer for Oleg Sokolov says he has confessed to killing his lover and is cooperating with police.The attorney describes …

Thousands of people marched in Paris and other French cities against Islamophobia targeting Western Europe’s largest Muslim population.Muslims joining the march through the rainy streets of the capital say they have had enough.Mohamed, here with his sister Khadija, says the two feel completely integrated in French society. But he says he’s faced discrimination — including …

Police and organizers say more than 100,000 people took part in an open-air party celebrating the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.   Despite the cold and damp, crowds flocked to Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate late Saturday for music and fireworks.   The boulevard leading up to the Brandenburg Gate was covered with …

Queen Elizabeth II joined Britons in remembering their war dead, as the country’s political leaders paused campaigning for the Dec. 12 election to take part in a somber Remembrance Sunday service in London.The queen, dressed in black, watched from a balcony as her son and heir Prince Charles laid a wreath of scarlet poppies on …

Pope Francis urged the faithful on Sunday to pray for unity in South Sudan and said he hoped to visit the country in 2020. He also urged prayers for a nation close to his own, Bolivia, which has been rocked by weeks of political unrest following disputed elections.Pope Francis has long been concerned about the …

Voters in Spain are casting their ballots Sunday in the country’s fourth election in four years. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist Party is expected to be the big winner, as it was the last time.  In the previous election, however, the Spanish leader’s party failed to win enough votes to form a stable government. The campaigning leading …

Funeral directors in Moscow say a growing number of people are ignoring traditions and crafting unique and flashy celebrations of life.  Some are also leaving a digital legacy on their headstones.  VOA’s Jim Randle narrates a look at changing times.  …