Author: Fworld

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A group of activists hopes to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza with a flotilla of vessels carrying aid. It is set to sail from Istanbul in the coming days. In a similar mission 14 years ago, Israeli forces intercepted a Turkish flotilla in a deadly raid that resulted in the deaths of 10 people. There …

Athens — Delegations from Greece and Turkey were meeting in Athens on Monday as part of long-standing efforts to improve often tense relations between the two neighbors, days after Turkey voiced objections over Greece’s plans to create marine nature reserves in the Ionian and Aegean seas. The two regional rivals are NATO allies but have been …

OSLO — Norway’s 87-year-old King Harald will permanently reduce the number of official activities in which he takes part out of consideration for his age, the royal household said on Monday following the monarch’s recent bout of illness. Europe’s oldest living monarch and Norway’s ceremonial head of state since 1991, Harald was hospitalized in February for …

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Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelming passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill on Saturday. The measure now heads to the U.S. Senate, which is expected to take up a vote early this week. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports. …

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A Ukrainian version of the Minecraft game features Canadian actress Katheryn Winnick, U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly, and other celebrities from around the globe. The new game, called Minesalt, is based on Ukraine’s famous Soledar salt mines. Anna Kosstutschenko reports. Camera: Pavel Suhodolskiy. …

WARSAW — Polish voters are casting ballots Sunday to choose mayors in hundreds of cities and towns where no candidate won outright in the first round of local election voting two weeks ago.  Mayors will be chosen in 748 places, including Krakow, Poznan, Rzeszow and Wroclaw. Those are places where no single candidate won at least …

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London — Alexander Mutiso Munyao delivered another win for Kenya on a day the London Marathon remembered last year’s champion Kelvin Kiptum. A race that started with a period of applause for Kiptum, who was killed in a car crash in Kenya in February, ended with his countryman and friend running alone down the final straight …

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon could get weapons moving to Ukraine within days once Congress passes a long-delayed aid bill. That’s because it has a network of storage sites in the U.S. and Europe that hold the ammunition and air defense components that Kyiv desperately needs. Moving fast is critical, CIA Director Bill Burns said this past …

Washington — Republican Mike Johnson came out of nowhere six months ago to become speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, before emerging as an ardent defender of military aid to Ukraine, which the chamber approved Saturday.   The evolution of this 52-year-old Southerner with carefully coiffed hair has been stunning.   An arch-conservative Christian from …

Sundsvall,  Sweden — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s short videos of his three-day trip to China this week proved popular in posts on Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok, which the European Union, Canada, Taiwan and the United States banned on official devices more than a year ago, citing security concerns. By Friday, one video showing highlights of …

BEIJING — Russia remained China’s top oil supplier in March, data showed Saturday, as refiners snapped up stranded Sokol crude shipments.   China’s imports from Russia, including supplies via pipelines and sea-borne shipments, jumped 12.5% on the year to 10.81 million metric tons, or 2.55 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, according to data from …

Washington — The U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday passed with bipartisan support a four-part, $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, putting the long-beleaguered legislation on track for enactment following a long, difficult path through Congress.  The legislation includes $60 billion for Kyiv’s ongoing war against Moscow’s invasion, as well as $26 …

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In Ukraine, more than 200 libraries have been destroyed and about 400 damaged since Russia launched its war, say Ukrainian officials. Lesia Bakalets reports from Kyiv on how librarians are trying to ensure libraries survive the war. Camera: Vladyslav Smilianets 
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Ukraine has appealed for its European allies to urgently step up weapons supplies as it struggles to hold ground against invading Russian forces. As Henry Ridgwell reports, Germany has called for allies to provide more air defense systems, as Russian drones and missiles rain down on Ukrainian cities. …

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london — European nations are struggling to agree on providing urgently needed weapons to Ukraine as Kyiv’s forces struggle to hold ground against invading Russian forces. Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure faced waves of drone and missile attacks from Russia again on Friday, with at least eight people killed, including two children, in an attack in …

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“War up Close” is a 360-degree virtual reality exhibition in Los Angeles that takes visitors through the streets of Ukraine and lets them see the devastation inflicted by the war. Angelina Bagdasaryan has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.  …

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