Europe

Paris — A Lebanon donors’ conference in Paris on Thursday has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for the war-battered country — but ending the conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah that has devastated the country seems unlikely anytime soon. The pledges rolled in at the Paris conference. Early on, both Germany and France earmarked around $100 million apiece for Lebanon. The funds …

Strasbourg, France — The EU parliament awarded the bloc’s top rights Sakharov prize on Thursday to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and her ally, former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. They won the prestigious award for their fight for democracy under President Nicolas Maduro’s iron-fisted rule. Machado, 57, played a key role in Venezuela’s presidential election in July. Although the authorities proclaimed Maduro the winner, …

NEW DELHI — While U.S. officials express the view that the BRICS grouping meeting in the Russian city of Kazan is not evolving into a geopolitical rival, analysts say BRICS members are working on issues that could further decouple them from Western influences. Among the topics discussed between members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are ways to establish an alternative payment system that would …

WASHINGTON — There is new evidence China, Iran and Russia are aggressively expanding their efforts to influence American voters to potentially sway the result of the upcoming U.S. elections. Two threat intelligence reports Wednesday, one from software giant Microsoft and the other from the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, detail growing activity by cyber actors linked to each country — all aiming to impact U.S. public perceptions …

VIPPEROD, Denmark — European scientists have developed an artificial intelligence algorithm capable of interpreting pig sounds, aiming to create a tool that can help farmers improve animal welfare. The algorithm could potentially alert farmers to negative emotions in pigs, thereby improving their well-being, according to Elodie Mandel-Briefer, a behavioral biologist at University of Copenhagen who is co-leading the study. The scientists, from universities in Denmark, Germany, …

WASHINGTON — Gathered Wednesday at a summit in the Russian city of Kazan, the members of BRICS adopted a joint declaration calling for the creation of an independent payment system based on their national currencies, a move in response to what they regard as illegal sanctions that are damaging the global economy. BRICS member countries, which account for about 35% of the global economy, issued the …

The president of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has announced the establishment of the Red Family Fund to honor humanitarian aid workers who have died in the line of duty. Kate Forbes told the organization’s general assembly in Geneva that aid workers find themselves working under “increasingly difficult” conditions that include not only an escalation in conflicts in the …

The United States said there is evidence that North Korean troops are in Russia, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv had learned that two North Korean military units were training in Russia for potential combat in Ukraine. VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb reports. …

Washington — Ukraine will receive $50 billion in loans, backed by frozen Russian assets, from Group of Seven allies, the White House said Wednesday. Distribution of the money will begin by year’s end, according to American officials who said the United States is providing $20 billion of the total. Leaders of the wealthy democracies agreed earlier this year to engineer the mammoth loan to help Ukraine …

Ankara — A deadly attack was carried out at the Turkish Aerospace Industries’ headquarters near Ankara on Wednesday, the government said, as broadcasters showed footage of several armed assailants entering the building amid reports of gunfire and a loud explosion. “A terrorist attack was carried out against the TUSAS facilities in Kahramankazan, Ankara. Unfortunately, we have martyrs and injured people,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on …

Athens — Wildfire-plagued Greece has suffered its worst year in terms of climate conditions in four decades in 2024, its prime minister told parliament on Wednesday. The already sun-baked Mediterranean region has been designated by scientists as a climate change “hotspot”, with warming higher than the global average, according to United Nations reports.  Greece has been perennially struck by scorching heatwaves and destructive wildfires every summer, …

The European Union’s next foreign policy chief has told lawmakers that strengthening security must be a priority, warning that Europe must be prepared as Russia and “partly China” exploit the continent’s open societies. “European security is deeply personal to me as a native of a country that has long told others that Russia’s imperialistic dream never died,” Kaja Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister, said …

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday it destroyed 14 Ukrainian aerial drones in areas along the Ukraine-Russia border as well as four uncrewed Ukrainian boats in the Black Sea. The ministry said Russian air defenses destroyed 10 drones over Russia-occupied Crimea, and another four over the Rostov region. Russian forces carried out a second consecutive night of heavy drone attacks targeting the Sumy region in southern …

Ukraine’s prosecutor general announced his resignation Tuesday amid charges that his office provided exemptions to the military draft for government officials.   “Many shameful facts of abuse have been established within the system of the prosecutor’s offices of Ukraine,” Andriy Kostin said in a statement.   Kostin’s resignation followed a meeting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held with senior officials concerning the issuance of disability …

For Lev Skoryakin, a fugitive Russian political activist on the Kremlin’s wanted list for staging anti-government protests, luck ran out in June 2023. Having fled to Kyrgyzstan the previous summer, he managed to keep a low profile for more than a year before Kyrgyz authorities, acting on a Russian government request, found him in the capital, Bishkek. In October of that year, they extradited him …

LONDON — Two passenger trains collided in Wales, killing a man and injuring 15 people, transport police said Tuesday. The low-speed crash on Monday evening happened near the village of Llanbrynmair in central Wales. “We can sadly confirm a man has died following this evening’s incident,” said British Transport Police superintendent Andrew Morgan. Those taken to hospital were not believed to have suffered serious injuries. Morgan …

Russian officials said Tuesday a Ukrainian drone attack caused an explosion and fire at a biochemical plant in the Tambov region. Tambov Governor Maxim Yegorov said on Telegram the fire was extinguished early Tuesday and that preliminary information indicated there were no injuries. Ukrainian drones also damaged two distilleries in the Tula region, officials said Tuesday. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it shot down 11 …

SYDNEY — Britain’s King Charles was embraced by an Indigenous elder after a welcome smoking ceremony on Tuesday in the birthplace of Australia’s urban Aboriginal civil rights movement in Sydney, a day after being heckled by an Indigenous senator in Canberra. Charles met with Indigenous elders at the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in inner-city Redfern, including “bush tucker” – or native food – chef Aunty …

Many European Union countries are calling for the bloc to clamp down on migration amid a surge in support for right-wing political parties. But Spain is bucking the trend — and insists Europe’s aging population needs controlled migration to boost its economy. Henry Ridgwell reports. Camera: Alfonso Beato. …

TIRANA, Albania — Albania’s left-wing Freedom Party said Monday its leader and former Albanian President Ilir Meta has been arrested on alleged corruption charges. Meta, 55, was arrested in the capital, Tirana, by officers with the National Investigation Bureau, according to local media. Local television stations showed masked, plainclothes police officers taking Meta from his vehicle after he returned from neighboring Kosovo ahead of holding a …

Paris — French drugmaker Sanofi’s confirmation that it will sell a controlling stake in its consumer health unit to a U.S. investment fund sparked a new political backlash Monday, stoked by fears the deal marks a loss of sovereignty over key medications.   Paris “must block the sale” using powers to protect strategic sectors, Manuel Bompard, a senior lawmaker in the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, …

In late September, the Russian parliament backed new legislation that will make it harder for some people to adopt children from the country. Some adoption advocates say the legislation is really designed to punish the West. VOA Russian has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Andre Sergunin   …

CHISINAU, Moldova — A knife-edge majority of 50.17% voted “yes” in Moldova’s pivotal referendum on joining the European Union, nearly final results showed on Monday, after President Maia Sandu said Sunday’s twin votes had been marred by “unprecedented” outside interference. The tight finish – with fewer than 1.5% of the ballots still to be counted – is far from a resounding endorsement of the pro-EU path …

CANBERRA, Australia — An Indigenous senator told King Charles III that Australia is not his land and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the monarch is not needed as the country’s head of state as the British royal visited Australia’s parliament on Monday. Indigenous independent Senator Lidia Thorpe was escorted out of a parliamentary reception for the royal couple after shouting that British colonizers have taken Indigenous …