Europe

PARIS — Women and men demonstrated together Saturday in Paris and other French cities in support of Gisèle Pélicot and against sexual violence highlighted by the harrowing trial of her ex-husband and dozens of other men accused of rapes while she was drugged and unconscious. The demonstrations outside Paris’ criminal court, in the southeastern city of Lyon and elsewhere underscored how Pélicot’s courage in speaking out …

Britain’s six-time Olympic track cycling champion Chris Hoy has revealed he has “two to four years” to live after he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer which metastasized to his bones. The announcement comes after the 48-year-old Scot said in February he was feeling “optimistic and positive” as he was undergoing treatment for an unspecified cancer diagnosed last year. However, the sprinter, who worked as …

Ukraine’s military deployed air-defense systems late Saturday to repel an aerial assault on Kyiv, according to the capital’s top elected official.    “Stay in shelters!” Mayor Vitali Klitschko warned on the Telegram messaging app, according to Reuters.     Reuters was unable to independently confirm the scope of the aerial assault.  Saturday’s attack follows a visit to the city by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who said …

istanbul — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday that a project to possibly supply Turkey with Eurofighter jets was an effort being driven by Britain and was in the early stages.  “It is something that will continue to develop, but is now being driven forward from there [Britain],” he said when asked about potential movement on the issue at a press conference in Istanbul with …

Russia and Ukraine carried out a new exchange of prisoners of war on Friday, each side bringing home 95 prisoners in an agreement in which the United Arab Emirates acted as mediator. Russia’s Defense Ministry, in a post on the Telegram messaging app, said the returning Russian service members were undergoing medical checks in Belarus, one of Russia’s closest allies in the more than 2-1/2-year-old …

US President Joe Biden met with European counterparts on Friday, in a brief trip to Germany where leaders discussed the war in Ukraine and the widening conflict in the Middle East. White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Berlin. …

paris — France’s prime minister said Friday that firefighters and other rescuers have been involved in about 2,300 operations, some of them lifesaving, in what appears to be the biggest flooding in 40 years in central France. Michel Barnier visited French authorities’ crisis center in Paris and said there hadn’t been such violent rain in many people’s memory. Over 1,000 people were evacuated. Most of them …

Emails threatening terror attacks led to the evacuation of hundreds of businesses, media outlets and foreign embassies in Ukraine this week. Ukrainian national police searched dozens of properties targeted by the threat, including the Kyiv office of VOA sister network Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, according to reports. Police said the searches did not find evidence of explosives. The country’s Foreign Ministry said that about 60 …

ISTANBUL — With a farewell song of “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys, a Turkish radio station fell silent this week after nearly 30 years of broadcasts. The final Acik Radyo broadcast on Wednesday came as a court upheld the Turkish media regulator’s order to revoke the Istanbul-based station’s license over the mention of “Armenian genocide” on air. Following the court ruling on October 8, the …

A day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented a “victory plan” to European Union leaders and NATO defense ministers, the nation’s allies are giving it qualified support, with one leader saying it will be reconsidered after the U.S. election next month. Zelenskyy’s plan, which he unveiled to Ukraine’s parliament Wednesday, calls first for an unconditional invitation to join NATO, along with the deployment of a …

Berlin — President Joe Biden made a lightning-fast, pomp-filled visit to Germany Friday, making an in-person push for transatlantic unity and scooping up Germany’s highest civilian honor.   Biden also met in Berlin with Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, President Emmanuel Macron of France, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom to discuss a range of issues behind closed doors – including how to continue …

When it comes to military equipment being sent to Ukraine, big-ticket items like Patriot missiles and F-16 fighter jets come to mind. But for many Ukrainian soldiers, the U.S.-made 60-millimeter M224 mortars, also used by the U.S. Marine Corps, have been highly effective against Russian forces. Anna Kosstutschenko has the story. Video: Pavel Suhodolskiy …

Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukraine on Friday said it was evacuating thousands of people from an embattled northeastern town that Kyiv retook from Russia about six months after Moscow launched its invasion in 2022. Kupiansk, a key rail hub in the northeastern Kharkiv region, has suffered deadly shelling attacks in recent months as Moscow’s forces get within a few kilometers of the town. The region’s governor had …

seoul, south korea — South Korea said on Friday that it believes North Korea has sent troops to Russia, marking a grave security threat to the international community that Seoul will respond to with all available means, the presidential office said in a statement. Separately, the country’s spy agency said North Korea was participating in the war in Ukraine and had decided to send 12,000 troops, …

The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is facing mounting criticism over the rise of gender-based violence in Turkey, which ranks among the world’s worst countries for violence against women.  Just last week in Istanbul, a 19-year-old Turkish man killed two young women — first, his 19-year-old girlfriend at his home, and then a woman, also 19, whom he met in the city. He beheaded …

As the Republic of Georgia prepares to hold crucial elections on October 26, there are fears that the ruling Georgian Dream party may not easily give up power. As Henry Ridgwell reports from the capital, many civil society groups are mobilizing to ensure the election is free and fair. …

TBILISI, GEORGIA — An uneasy calm has descended on the streets of Tbilisi ahead of a crucial election on October 26, widely seen as a referendum on Georgia’s future. Beneath the surface, there is palpable tension. Campaign billboards, most for the ruling Georgian Dream Party, vie for voters’ attention with countless European Union, NATO and Ukrainian flags hanging from windows and graffitied on the city’s red …

Buenos Aires, Argentina — The death of Liam Payne, who shot to stardom as a member of British boy band One Direction and grappled with intense global fame while still in his teens, sent shockwaves across the world Thursday as Argentine investigators continued their investigation at the scene. Fans, music-industry figures and fellow musicians paid tribute to Payne, 31, who died after falling from a hotel …

London/Beijing — British Foreign Secretary David Lammy will visit China on a two-day visit starting on Friday in a bid to improve relations between the two countries after years of tensions over security concerns and alleged human rights abuses. Lammy will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing before visiting Shanghai to meet British businesses operating in China, a spokesperson for Prime Minister …

Bengaluru, India — The latest in a string of hoax threats made against Indian airlines targeted a flight from Germany, the airline said Thursday, with the plane landing safely in Mumbai. More than a dozen fake bomb threats have been made against flights operated by multiple Indian air services this week, prompting government and civil aviation authorities to warn that “very strict action” will be taken. …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Former One Direction singer Liam Payne was found dead after the 31-year-old fell from his third-floor room balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentine police said on Wednesday. Police said in a statement that they were called to the CasaSur hotel in the capital’s leafy Palermo neighborhood after being notified of an “aggressive man who could be under the effects of …

US President Joe Biden heads to Germany on Thursday, a week later than planned and on a compressed timeline after Hurricane Milton grounded him last week. Both he and Germany’s leader have been facing mounting pressure over their support for Ukraine — both having recently announced new security packages. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports. …

As the Republic of Georgia prepares for a crucial election on October 26, Russia’s influence looms over the vote. As Henry Ridgwell reports from Tbilisi, the former Soviet republic is struggling to carve out a new future aligned to the West as it tries to reconcile its troubled past. …

washington — Recent arrests in the United States and in Europe have law enforcement and intelligence agencies on alert, bolstering concerns about a reinvigorated Islamic State terror group bent on lashing out against the West. FBI officials Wednesday confirmed the bureau shared information with French authorities following last week’s arrest of 27-year-old Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, an Afghan national in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on charges connected to …