Author: Fworld

Russia has been busy on the African continent in recent years. Russian officials acknowledged Russians were on board an Antonov An-72 transport which crashed last week in  a remote Congolese forest.There have also been reports of Russians killed in civlil war battles in Libya recently. And Russia has been making deals and spending money and making …

As Ukraine and Russia discuss resuming peace talks, thousands of families remain torn apart by conflict. In rebel-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine, hundreds of people have been detained and accused of spying — with widespread evidence of torture and killings. Henry Ridgwell met the family of one man who was seized by rebel forces, who …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pressed ahead Sunday with plans to try to win parliamentary backing for his new Brexit deal even as the European Union began considering his grudging request to extend the looming Brexit deadline.   As the dust settled on a day of high drama in Parliament, the next steps in Britain’s …

Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Sunday defended his claim that President Donald Trump did not withhold nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine in order to get Kyiv to undertake investigations of Democratic rivals and the 2016 election.Mulvaney told reporters last week there was such a” quid pro quo” by …

Yazidi families would not feel safe returning to their homes in Iraq until Islamic State militants accused of atrocities against the religious minority face justice, according to a doctor awarded Saturday for his work with Yazidi women and children.Mirza Dinnayi, a Yazidi activist named the winner of the Aurora humanitarian prize for helping 1,000 Yazidi …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants Syrian government forces to move out of areas near the Turkish border so he can resettle up to 2 million refugees there, his spokesman told The Associated Press on Saturday. The request will top Erdogan’s talks next week with Syria’s ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin. Arrangements along the Syrian-Turkish border …

The mayor of riot-stricken Barcelona pleaded Saturday for calm after violent protests by Catalan separatists rocked Spain’s second largest city for a fifth consecutive night.“This cannot continue. Barcelona does not deserve it,” Mayor Ada Colau told reporters, adding that Friday’s violence was the worst so far.Protesters clashed with police again later Saturday despite efforts by …

The battle over Brexit spilled onto the streets of London on Saturday when tens of thousands of people gathered to demand a new referendum while lawmakers decided the fate of Britain’s departure from the European Union.Protesters waving EU flags and carrying signs calling for Brexit to be halted gathered at London’s Park Lane before a …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is battling to persuade lawmakers to back the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement he signed with the European Union ahead of a special session in the British Parliament scheduled for Saturday. The vote on the deal is set to go to the wire. As Henry Ridgwell reports from Brussels, Europe is doing …

Russian emergency officials say at least 15 people are dead after a dam at a Siberian gold mine collapsed and water flooded two workers’ dormitories.The Emergencies Ministry also said 13 people were unaccounted-for, Russian news agencies reported.The collapse during heavy rain occurred early Saturday near the village of Shchetinkino, in the Krasnoyarsk region about 3,400 …

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to get Parliament to approve his divorce deal with the European Union was thrown into doubt Saturday, as lawmakers were first given a vote on whether — yet again — to delay their final decision on Brexit.At a rare weekend sitting of Parliament, Johnson implored legislators to ratify the deal …

Editor’s note: We want you to know what’s happening, and why and how it could impact your life, family or business, so we created a weekly digest of the top original immigration, migration and refugee reporting from across VOA. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com.Turkish forces trigger humanitarian upheavalAs Turkey’s military targets …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is battling to persuade lawmakers to back the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement he signed with the European Union, ahead of a special session in the British Parliament scheduled Saturday. The vote on the deal is set to go to the wire and is likely to prove critical for Britain’s future in …

A Russian journalist who was detained for a week during a private visit to Iran this month says she believes her detention was intended to punish her for her Iran-related journalism.   Yulia Yuzik has worked as a reporter for Russia’s Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper and Russky Newsweek, a former publication that was the Russian version …

Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Friday that Turkish forces would intensify their operation into Syria if Kurdish militias failed to comply with an agreement struck with the United States. The warning was made as sporadic fighting continued and disputes emerged over the cease-fire terms.On Thursday, Erdogan and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence agreed that Turkey would end its …

European Union leaders have approved the appointment of Christine Lagarde as the next president of the European Central Bank.   The former International Monetary Fund managing director will replace Mario Draghi, who has served as ECB president since 2011.   The European Council had already issued a formal recommendation for Lagarde, and Friday’s move was …

Britain’s Prince William and his wife, Kate, wrapped up their five-day visit to Pakistan on Friday, in which they dined with the prime minister and made an emotional tour of a cancer hospital previously visited by William’s mother, the late Princess Diana. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are heading home to Britain.The only wrinkle …

Leaders in Europe are offering diplomatically isolated Taiwan a sudden chorus of support this year, giving the democratic Asian island welcome international exposure and a morale boost during its spiraling struggles with China.   On Oct. 7, the Prague city council cut off a 3-year-old sister-city relationship with Beijing after China asked his city to …

Despite a U.S.-brokered cease-fire agreement, fighting continued Friday in northeast Syria.Loud bangs and gunfire could be heard, and smoke could be seen rising over the town of Ceylanpinar, a day after Turkey and the U.S. agreed to a five-day cease-fire in Turkey’s offensive against Kurdish fighters.  Turkey considers the Kurds to be terrorists.The deal has …

Fugitive former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has turned himself in to Belgian justice authorities after Spain issued a new warrant for his arrest following the sentencing of 12 of his former colleagues.Puigdemont’s office said Friday that he, “in the company of his lawyers, voluntarily appeared before Belgian authorities” in relation to the arrest warrant.It said …

Britain and the European Union sealed a new withdrawal agreement Thursday, on the first day of an EU summit in Brussels, paving the way for Britain’s possible exit from the bloc at the end of the month.But Brexit is far from decided, as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a tough battle to persuade members …

A 93-year-old former concentration camp guard went on trial in Germany Thursday for abetting in the murder of more than 5,000 people.Bruno Dey was 17 when he began working as a guard at the Stutthof camp near what was then Danzig, and is now Gdansk in Poland.Dey stands accused of being an accessory to murder …

Russian President Vladimir Putin is presenting himself as a peacemaker in the Middle East, the go-to arbiter to whom all regional leaders can turn to, secure in the knowledge that he considers incumbency a good thing and regime change bad, analysts say. When it comes to neighboring Ukraine, though, the picture is different.Russian-backed separatist forces …

As thousands of pro-independence protesters poured into the streets of Barcelona for a fourth straight day Thursday, the president of Spain’s Catalonia region vowed to push for a new independence referendum within two years.    Quim Torra also condemned the violence that has marred the protests, saying the separatist cause was a peaceful movement.    Catalan …

European Union leaders are hoping the British Parliament will vote in favor of the latest Brexit deal when it comes before the lawmakers Saturday, but opposition parties are already saying they won’t.Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the EU reached agreement early Thursday, two weeks before Johnson vowed to pull out of the EU, deal or …

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday pushed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a cease-fire to end his military assault against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, an offensive Erdogan initiated after President Donald Trump withdrew nearly all American troops from the battlefront.Pence, accompanied by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House National Security …