Category: Новини

Europe imposed a ban Sunday on Russian diesel fuel and other refined oil products, slashing energy dependency on Moscow and seeking to further crimp the Kremlin’s fossil fuel earnings as punishment for invading Ukraine. The ban comes along with a price cap agreed by the Group of Seven allied democracies. The goal is allowing Russian …

Gale-force winds and snowstorms closed roads and left more than 25,000 households in Serbia without power Sunday, while fallen trees disrupted traffic in neighboring Croatia and Montenegro. In Croatia, a red alert was issued for the regions along the Adriatic coast due to north winds estimated to reach 130 km per hour (81 mph). Authorities …

Pope Francis, the head of the Anglican Communion and top Presbyterian minister together denounced the criminalization of homosexuality on Sunday and said gay people should be welcomed by their churches. The three Christian leaders spoke out on LGBTQ rights during an unprecedented joint airborne news conference returning home from South Sudan, where they took part …

Britain faces its largest ever strike by health workers on Monday as tens of thousands of nurses and ambulance workers walk out in an escalating pay dispute with the government, spelling further disruption for an already strained health system. Nurses and ambulance workers have been striking separately on and off since late last year but …

Voters in Cyprus are going to the polls Sunday to elect a new president. While 14 candidates are running for the office, the real race is expected to be among three candidates who are all closely associated with current president Nicos Anastasiades. Right-wing DISY party leader Averof Neophytou, career diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis and former foreign …

Italy’s prime minister held talks in Libya Saturday with officials from the country’s west-based government focusing on energy and migration, top issues for Italy and the European Union. During the visit, the two countries’ oil companies signed a gas deal worth $8 billion — the largest single investment in Libya’s energy sector in more than …

Sweden’s foreign ministry Saturday warned Swedes in Turkey to avoid crowds and demonstrations following protests there over the burning of the Quran by a far-right politician in Stockholm last week. Turkey has suspended talks with Sweden and Finland on their applications to join NATO after the protest at which Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish …

ormer army chief Petr Pavel won the Czech Republic’s presidential election on Saturday after a campaign featuring strong backing for NATO and the European Union and support for aid to Ukraine. Pavel, a 61-year-old retired general running for office for the first time, was set to win more than 58% of the vote with nearly …

The British Defense Ministry said Saturday that Russia “highly likely” suffered more than 300 casualties in a New Year’s Day strike on its troops in Ukraine at Makiivka near Donetsk City. The ministry said it believes that “the majority were likely killed or missing, rather than wounded.” The ministry noted that while its Russian counterpart …

Editor’s note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this week, as seen from the United Nations’ perch. UN deputy chief says Taliban’s desire for recognition is bargaining chip on rights U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said Wednesday that the international community’s best leverage to persuade the Taliban …

As the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden seeks to secure NATO enlargement with the accession of Sweden and Finland, it is dealing with requests by Turkey and Greece to purchase fighter jets, the latter being less controversial and more likely to be approved. Analysts speaking to VOA said the outcome of the proposed sale …

Ukraine said Russian missile strikes killed at least 10 Ukrainian civilians Friday as fierce fighting continued in the east of the country. Twenty others were wounded. Ukrainian officials say most of the casualties from the missile strikes occurred in towns in the country’s east and south that are near Russian artillery units. They follow Russian …

The United Nations held a solemn ceremony Friday to mark the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust, plus the Roma, disabled people and countless others who died at the hands of Nazi Germany. It began with a lullaby composed by Gideon Klein, who perished in a …

Turkey summoned the Danish ambassador and accused Denmark of endorsing a “hate crime” after an anti-Islam activist on Friday burned two copies of Islam’s holy book, the Quran, in a solitary protest in Copenhagen.  Rasmus Paludan, a far-right activist who holds both Danish and Swedish citizenship, had already infuriated Turkey by staging a Quran-burning protest …