Category: Світ

“It’s worse than a plague,” said Pedro Antonio Sanchez, fuming over the volcanic grit coating his bananas, the main source of wealth on the Canaries’ island of La Palma. “It’s worse than a pest or disease because it scratches [the fruit],” said Sanchez, gesturing at the black sandy deposits that have rained down since the …

Russia’s state statistics service reported nearly 50,000 coronavirus deaths in the country in August, taking the toll since the beginning of the pandemic to over 400,000, nearly double the official government figure. Rosstat released its figures late Friday, reporting that 49,389 people died from COVID-19 in August, a figure much higher than 24,661, the government …

Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov of Novaya Gazeta and Philippine journalist Maria Ressa of Rappler have been named the recipients of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize — a move press freedom advocates hope will shine light on the threats to a global free press. Esha Sarai has more. Tommy Walker contributed. …

Surrounded by a group of men wielding axes, Romanian filmmaker Mihai Dragolea was sure he was going to die. The filmmaker, part of the independent Vagabond Film production company, was with his colleague Radu Mocanu as well as Tiberiu Bosutar, a former timber worker turned environmental activist, in a remote forested area in Romania last …

French President Emmanuel Macron faced the frustration of young people from across Africa on Friday over a range of issues, including migration and the vestiges of colonialism, at a summit aiming to turn the page with the continent. Billed as a chance to prove France’s commitment in particular to young Africans, the Africa-France summit gathering …

Starting next week, all public and private workers in Italy will be required to have a digital COVID-19 health certificate or face being sent home on unpaid leave and fined up to $1,730. The measure making the so-called “green pass” compulsory, announced last month, comes into effect October 15, and will remain in force until …

The United States and the European Union have honored the memory of a Russian investigative journalist slain 15 years ago by demanding that Moscow bring to justice those who ordered her killing and praising the independent journalists continuing her legacy under Kremlin pressure. In one of two statements issued Thursday, the 15th anniversary of Anna …

A Russian film crew blasts into space on a moviemaking history mission, an American actor known for playing a space explorer gets the chance to see the real deal, and more. VOA’s Jesusemen Oni has more on the Week in Space. …

The Irish and Estonian governments on Thursday agreed to sign on to a 15% global minimum tax rate on multinational firms, leaving only Hungary as the last hold-out against the far-reaching deal.  The reform aims to stop international corporations from slashing the tax bills by registering in nations with low rates.  “The government has now …

Spain’s airport authority for the Canary Islands shut down the airport on the island of La Palma again Thursday because of accumulating ash from a volcano that has been erupting there for 18 days.  From its Twitter account, the airport authority, Aena, said the facility was closed because of accumulating ash. In news agency video from …

A popular Russian newspaper has shut down its branch in Belarus after one of its local staff was arrested in the wake of a shootout that left an opposition supporter and a security officer dead. Komsomolskaya Pravda announced the decision to close its Belarusian subsidiary on Tuesday night, citing “the events of the past year …

German Health Minister Jens Spahn said Thursday the nation has vaccinated millions more people than previously thought, thanks to some unreported vaccination numbers discovered by the Robert Koch Institute for Disease Control. The institute says nearly 80% of adults in Germany are fully vaccinated, and about 84% have received at least one shot. Previous official …

NATO is expelling eight Russian diplomats and plans to halve the size of Russia’s observer mission to the Western alliance in response to alleged malign Russian espionage activities in Europe, which have included killings, attempted assassinations and explosions, say European officials. The diplomats have been told to leave Brussels by the end of this month. …

Russia’s Federal Security Service has issued an arrest warrant for investigative journalist Roman Dobrokhotov, editor of the Insider news website. He’s being accused of illegally crossing the border into Ukraine in August and could face up to two years in prison. Anna Rice has the story. …

Victims of sexual abuse by priests in France are calling for historic reform of the Catholic Church after an independent commission found that hundreds of thousands of children had suffered systematic abuse over the past seven decades. Henry Ridgwell reports. …

NATO said Wednesday it expelled eight members of Russia’s mission to the military alliance for allegedly working in secret as intelligence officers.  “We can confirm that we have withdrawn the accreditation of eight members of the Russian Mission to NATO, who were undeclared Russian intelligence officers,” an unnamed NATO official said. NATO also said it …

A September 29th meeting between the presidents of Russia and Turkey resulted in both sides committing to deepen relations. But as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, that rapprochement could come at a high cost to Turkey’s ties with NATO ally, the United States. Dorian Jones reports. …

After a push to patch U.S.-French relations, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken closes a Paris visit Wednesday with the final day of ministerial talks at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.  Blinken highlighted several challenges as he spoke at the opening of the meeting Tuesday, including the coronavirus pandemic, the climate crisis, inequity and setting rules for …

A group of French senators arrived in Taiwan for a five-day visit Wednesday following a large Chinese show of force with fighter jets amid the highest tensions in decades between China and Taiwan.  The group, led by senator Alain Richard, will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwanese economic and health officials and the Mainland Affairs Council. Richard, a …

NATO’s top official is signaling that it would be a mistake to see the withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan or simmering tensions between France and the United States as a weakening of the trans-Atlantic alliance.  Instead, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned would-be adversaries that NATO will remain unified and resolute against a growing number of threats …

Add U.S. military officials to the crescendo of voices warning Mali’s interim government against brokering any deal to use mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group to help with security and counterterrorism.  For weeks, U.S. and French officials have publicly tried to dissuade Malian leaders from moving forward with a reported deal that would pay Wagner $10.8 …

The European Union announced a comprehensive plan Tuesday to fight the growing problem of antisemitism on the continent, using a three-pronged strategy that includes combating hate speech and crimes, protecting Jewish culture, and educating the public about Judaism. The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, introduced the plan at a news conference in Strasbourg, France. …

The United States is sending nearly 900,000 doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to Mongolia. They are scheduled to arrive Wednesday, a White House official told VOA.   “Scientific teams and legal and regulatory authorities from both countries have worked together to ensure the prompt delivery of safe and effective vaccine lots to Mongolia,” the …

The crew of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft was welcomed aboard the International Space Station Tuesday, though a communications glitch during their final approach delayed their eventual boarding. The Soyuz spacecraft was launched Tuesday from the Russian spaceport in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The ship was carrying a history-making crew, as it included film director Klim Shipenko and …

French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed potential areas of cooperation Tuesday, as Blinken visited Paris to try to improve relations between the two allies following a dispute about a security partnership among the United States, Britain and Australia. A U.S. official told reporters the meeting, which was not on …

World leaders, politicians and pop stars are among thousands of individuals revealed to be concealing huge wealth through a network of anonymous companies. The revelations, known as the Pandora Papers, are part of a huge leak of almost 12 million files from the archives of several legal firms, which shed light on the secret world …