Category: Світ

Pope Francis hosted 1,500 poor and needy people for lunch on Sunday at the Vatican. Earlier he celebrated Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica to mark World Day of the Poor.Some 150 round tables were prepared in the large Vatican hall where the pope normally holds his indoor audiences with the faithful during the winter months.  …

Heavy police presence in Athens appeared to have prevented serious clashes Sunday with anarchists and other extreme leftists on the 46th anniversary of a student uprising against the then-ruling Greek military dictatorship.Over 20,000 people made the traditional march from the National Technical University of Athens, site of the 1973 uprising, to the U.S. Embassy on …

A senior official from Britain’s main opposition Labour Party says that leaks from a parliamentary report on Russian interference in British politics raises important questions about the fairness of next month’s general election.An 18-month-long investigation by the British parliament’s cross-party intelligence committee has concluded Russian meddling may have impacted Britain’s 2016 Brexit referendum, though the …

Pope Francis has agendas both pastoral and personal for his trip to Asia, where he’ll appeal for global nuclear disarmament at the sites of the atomic bomb and minister to two tiny Catholic communities that have suffered gruesome periods of persecution.Emphasizing the dignity of life is also on Francis’ to-do list for his trip to …

The owner of a kebab shop targeted in a deadly far-right attack in the German city of Halle last month has gifted the eatery to the two brothers who were working there during the shooting.Siblings Ismet and Rifat Tekin received a framed letter transferring the ownership of the Kiez-Doener to them in a ceremony on …

Prince Andrew offered a detailed rebuttal Saturday to claims he had sex with a woman who says she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein, providing an alibi for one of the alleged encounters and questioning the authenticity of a well-known photograph that shows him posing with the woman.In a rare interview with BBC Newsnight, Andrew categorically …

Venetians are bracing for the prospect of another exceptional tide in a season that is setting records.Officials are forecasting a 1.6 meter (5 feet, 2 inch) surge of water Sunday through the lagoon city. That comes after Tuesday’s 1.87-meter flood, the worst in 53 years, followed by high tide of 1.54 meters Friday.Those two events …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says all Conservative Party candidates in the upcoming election have pledged to back his Brexit deal. “All 635 Conservative candidates standing at this election — every single one of them — has pledged to me that if elected they will vote in Parliament to pass my Brexit deal so we can end the uncertainty …

A federal judge on Saturday ordered that a German citizen arrested on her return to the country on suspicion of being a member of Islamic State should remain in custody, prosecutors said.    Authorities said the suspect, identified only as Nasim A., left Germany for Syria in 2014, married a fighter and moved with him to …

France’s yellow vests staged demonstrations Saturday to mark the one-year anniversary of a protest movement for greater economic justice that once captured international headlines.     Demonstrators smashed store windows and bus stops in Paris and set bonfires in some streets. Police and firemen responded with tear gas and water hoses. At least one of the demonstrations was …

Venetians were woken up at dawn Friday to the wailing of flood sirens and the lapping of water as the already-deluged Italian city was struck by a new tidal surge, further damaging ancient monuments, palaces and churches and striking fear into residents.Although the new high tide, swollen by days of torrential rains, didn’t reach the …

The International Organization for Migration said Friday that 2019 might be the deadliest year for migrant deaths in the Americas since it began keeping records six years ago. The U.N. agency said 695 people have died this year while making the treacherous journey across the central Mediterranean Sea, the world’s deadliest migrant corridor. It said that’s one-sixth …

VOA Serbian service’s Jela de Franceschi spoke with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg about the shifting global alliances in the current political environment.Q. Both sides of the Atlantic are undergoing political upheaval, unprecedented in a sense. We have impeachment proceedings in the U.S., the fourth time in American history, and we have Brexit in Europe, …

Exceptionally high tidal waters returned to Venice on Friday, prompting the mayor to close the iconic St. Mark’s Square and call for donations to repair the Italian lagoon city just three days after it experienced its worst flooding in 50 years.                     The high tide peaked at 1.54 meters (5 feet) above sea level …

Britain’s ruling Conservatives are banking heavily on the star quality of their leader, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who’s had an uncanny ability in the past to connect with voters and to cheer them up.He’s struggled on the campaign trail for next month’s highly contentious election, however, and, surprisingly, he hasn’t prospered in several encounters with …

The United States is promising not to abandon the fight to eradicate the Islamic State terror group, while pushing its coalition allies to take more responsibility for foreign fighters and rebuilding Iraq and Syria. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed visiting foreign ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS to the State Department Thursday …

A band of GOP senators rebuffed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s effort to depict anti-Islamic State Kurd forces as terrorists in a contentious Oval Office meeting, as the White House allies took a far harder line against Erdogan than did President Donald Trump.                     Participants said Erdogan played a propaganda video for Republican senators …

Russia’s security services moved money through Estonia to finance operations overseas, the Baltic country’s finance minister, who is leading a cleanup after a money laundering scandal, told Reuters.Martin Helme said that Estonian authorities are also investigating whether individuals under U.S. sanctions benefited from the movement of money through Estonia, which is undertaking reforms after 200 …

Turkey is willing to purchase U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems but will not agree to disposing of the Russian S-400 system it has already bought, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday.Speaking to reporters on board his plane on his way back from a meeting with Donald Trump in Washington, Erdogan said the U.S. president …

Italy’s government is set to declare a state of emergency in flood-ravaged Venice, to swiftly secure the historic city funds to repair damage from the highest tide in 50 years.                     Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte described the flooding as “a blow to the heart of our country.”                     He said a cabinet meeting …

The Dutch-led team investigating the 2014 downing of the Malaysian Airlines jet over Ukraine has released new phone intercepts, saying they show ties between Russian military and political officials and separatists in eastern Ukraine were much closer than previously known.The intercepts were released on November 14 as part of a new push by the Dutch …

U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met at the White House Wednesday but did not reach resolutions on major irritants to bilateral relations including Turkey’s recent incursion into northern Syria and its purchase of Russian military hardware. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report.   …

The political crisis in Bolivia — where roiling street protests amid accusations of election fraud forced the resignation of longtime President Evo Morales this week — is exposing long-held differences within Russia’s own political system, with pro-Kremlin and opposition voices splitting along familiar dividing lines.As the events in La Paz unfolded, Russia’s Foreign Ministry was …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservatives have a healthy 10-point lead ahead of an election on Dec. 12, a poll by Savanta ComRes showed on Wednesday, extending their advantage over Labour after the Brexit Party stood down candidates.The poll, carried out for the Daily Telegraph newspaper, showed the Conservative Party with 40%, up 3 points …

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House for a second time at what is a low ebb in relations between Washington and Ankara.    “We’ve been friends for a long time,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “We understand each other’s country.”    Erdogan recently infuriated …

Placido Domingo is scheduled to sing two concert performances in Verdi’s “I Vespri Siciliani (The Sicilian Vespers)” next summer as part of the 100th anniversary Salzburg Festival, which features 221 performances over 44 days and includes seven staged operas.Domingo, who turns 79 in January, was dropped or has withdrawn from all his U.S. performances since …