Category: Світ

Pope Francis issued an urgent appeal Friday to world leaders ahead of the U.N. climate conference to take “radical decisions” to protect the environment and prioritize the common good rather than nationalistic interests. Francis delivered the “Thought for the Day” on the British Broadcasting Corp.’s morning radio program ahead of the Oct. 31-Nov. 13 climate …

U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Pope Francis in the Vatican on Friday, in what is branded as a personal and political audience, ahead of the G-20 leaders’ summit in Rome about the global economy, followed by a summit on climate change in Glasgow, Scotland.  The president and first lady Jill Biden were welcomed by …

The Belarusian interior ministry on Friday classified three of the country’s most popular opposition social media channels as extremist organizations, meaning that people can face up to seven years in prison for subscribing to them. Social media channels such as Telegram messenger were widely used during mass street protests against President Alexander Lukashenko last year …

Efforts by Chinese diplomats to stop cultural events deemed critical of the government in Beijing have met with mixed results in Europe, succeeding in Germany but being rebuffed by a city government in Italy. The incident in Germany concerned a new book, Xi Jinping — The Most Powerful Man in the World, by two veteran …

On a sunny afternoon near the hamlet of Bidnija in Malta, a small crowd gathered by the side of a rural road to remember one of the country’s best-known journalists.  It has been four years this October since Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed in a bombing just a short distance from her home.  But despite …

It is only a matter of time before China’s plan to replace the United States as the world’s preeminent military becomes reality, a top U.S. general warned, calling on the Washington and its allies to speed efforts to counter Beijing’s bid for dominance. General John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and …

U.S. President Joe Biden is used to scrutiny over how he reconciles his strong Roman Catholic faith — particularly around issues of gender, sexuality and reproduction — with his duty to lead an explicitly secular government.  On Friday, he will face those questions anew in a meeting at the Vatican with Pope Francis, the Catholic …

The Vatican on Thursday canceled the planned live broadcast of U.S. President Joe Biden meeting Pope Francis, the latest restriction to media coverage of the Holy See that sparked complaints from White House- and Vatican-accredited journalists. The live broadcast of Biden’s Friday visit was trimmed to cover just the arrival of the president’s motorcade in …

Russia is warning Turkey over arms sales to Ukraine after a Turkish-made drone attacked Russian-backed rebels in Ukraine. A Kremlin spokesman has warned that Turkey’s ongoing arms sales to Ukraine threaten to destabilize the region. The warning follows Kyiv’s release of the video Tuesday showing a Turkish-made drone used for the first time against Russian-backed …

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry spoke in London Thursday ahead of next week’s climate summit in Glasgow, saying that addressing the climate crisis is the only choice, and the cost of not doing so is far greater than the cost of taking action. Kerry said the effects of climate change are being felt now. He …

British sailors will begin training aboard Canadian icebreakers in a new agreement that reflects the United Kingdom’s heightened interest in developing a more robust Arctic military capability.  Britain is just the latest nation to focus fresh attention on the far north as climate change opens the region to new opportunities for navigation and resource exploitation. Countries as diverse and distant as China, …

Here’s a look at what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top diplomats have been doing this week:    Sudan  The United States called on Sudanese military forces to release all civilian leaders in detention, amid growing international condemnation of the military takeover. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored the U.S. support …

Iran said Wednesday it would resume talks with world powers about its nuclear development program by the end of November.  The U.S. State Department is aware of the reports but did not have “any further details,” a spokesman said, about new negotiations from the other parties to the 2015 international pact aimed at curbing Tehran’s …

Eyes in Beijing and Moscow are trained on Central Asia, prompted by the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. The security threat in Afghanistan and the desire to shut off Central Asia from other powers, such as the U.S., is motivating Beijing and Moscow to cooperate and gloss over their differences, according to Emil Avdaliani, director of …

Leaders of Germany’s newly-installed Bundestag – the lower house parliament – said Wednesday they will not extend the “epidemic situation of national scope” when it expires next month, though certain public health measures will remain to prevent the spread of COVID-19.   The declaration of the health emergency allows the federal and state governments to …

In an effort to stop a 4th wave of COVID, Russian authorities have decided to halt commercial activity and social gatherings. Russia’s national inoculation strategy is falling short: only 33% of the population is fully vaccinated.  Elizabeth Cherneff narrates this report from the VOA Moscow bureau. …

British Court to Rule on Assange Extradition Request …

Turkey is threatening to launch a new military operation against Syrian Kurdish forces after a deadly attack in Syrian territory where Turkish forces are present. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

A British court will consider this week whether Julian Assange, founder of the Wikileaks website, can be extradited to the United States on charges of hacking and theft. The two-day hearing is scheduled to begin Wednesday in London’s high court.  U.S. prosecutors appealed a British district court verdict from January, which ruled that Assange should …

Global pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions are just a fraction of what’s needed to prevent catastrophic global warming, according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Program. The warning comes ahead of the critical COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow which begins next week.  World leaders pledged to restrict global warming to no …

Global pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions are just a fraction of what’s needed to prevent catastrophic global warming. That’s the warning from the United Nations, ahead of the critical COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow, Britain next week – where world leaders will try to agree on further action to combat global warming. Henry Ridgwell …

Journalists who cover Russia’s space program say they may adopt a more cautious approach to their reporting after several aspects of Roscosmos were effectively declared off limits.  A Federal Security Service (FSB) order, which took effect October 11, lays out information that it says could be used to threaten national security if received by foreign …

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians, was released from a Washington hospital Monday morning after an overnight stay early in his 12-day visit to the United States.  Bartholomew, 81, was scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden later Monday at the White House, and also to meet with Secretary of State …

A German woman received a 10-year prison sentence Monday for allowing a young Yazidi girl, who was being kept as a slave in Iraq by the woman and her husband, to die of thirst in the hot sun. German authorities said the 30-year-old convert to Islam, identified only as Jennifer W., was a member of …

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen told British lawmakers Monday that the social media giant “unquestionably” amplifies online hate.  In testimony to a parliamentary committee in London, the former Facebook employee echoed what she told U.S. senators earlier this month. Haugen said the media giant fuels online hate and extremism and does not have any incentive to …

“Belfast”, a film drama by acclaimed actor and director Kenneth Branagh, chronicles the beginnings, in 1969, of the thirty-year political and sectarian violence in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles. Penelope Poulou reports. …