French prosecutors seek 20-year term for Pelicot in mass rape case

AVIGNON, France — French prosecutors asked for the maximum 20-year prison sentence for Dominique Pelicot, who organized the repeated mass rape of his then-wife by knocking her unconscious with drugs and inviting dozens of strangers to abuse her in the family home.  Pelicot, 71, has admitted the charges in a trial that attracted worldwide attention and turned into an examination of the pervasiveness of sexual violence …

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From VOA Russian: Georgia’s Parliament opens with opposition boycott

VOA Russian’s correspondent reports from Georgia, where the first session of the new parliament is meeting after the election won by the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party was boycotted by the opposition and met with street protests outside the parliament building. See the full story here.    …

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Hundreds of homeowners in England and Wales battle floodwaters after weekend storm  

London — Hundreds of homeowners in England and Wales were battling floodwaters Monday morning after the second major storm of the winter brought widespread disruption to the United Kingdom.  Several rail operators cancelled services as more than 180 flood warnings remained in place after Storm Bert lashed the country with heavy rains and wind gusts up to 129 kph over the weekend. As much as 130 …

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$300B COP29 climate deal sparks outrage, hope 

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN — Anger and frustration from developing nations vulnerable to climate impacts are likely to linger following the conclusion of the climate change summit in Azerbaijan, COP29, as nations adopted a $300 billion global finance target to help poorer nations cope with climate change, a deal that many recipient nations slammed as severely insufficient. Global North countries, often historic emitters responsible for global warming, agreed …

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Russian aerial attack injures at least 15 in Kharkiv

Ukrainian officials said Monday a Russian attack on the northeastern city of Kharkiv injured at least 15 people. Oleh Syniehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region, said on Telegram that Russia hit central Kharkiv and that the attack also damaged several buildings. In Ukraine’s Mykoloaiv region, Governor Vitaliy Kim said Monday that Russian drone attacks targeted energy infrastructure and disrupted electricity services. Ivan Fedeorov, governor of …

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Foreign ministers meet in Italy for the last G7 of the Biden administration

ROME — Foreign ministers from the world’s leading industrialized nations are meeting Monday, with the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East entering decisive phases and a certain pressure to advance diplomatic efforts ahead of the new U.S. administration taking over. Hopes for brokering a cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon are foremost on the agenda of the Group of Seven meeting outside Rome that is gathering …

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Pro-Russian candidate creates a surprise in Romanian presidential election

BUCHAREST — A Romanian hard-right NATO critic and leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu appeared in dead heat after the first round of presidential elections on Sunday, partial tallies showed, in a shock result threatening Romania’s staunchly pro-Ukraine stance.  After nearly 93% of votes were counted, Calin Georgescu, 62, was at 22%, while Ciolacu had 21%, suggesting they will likely qualify to face each other in the …

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Trump ‘incredibly concerned’ about escalation of munitions in Russia-Ukraine conflict, aide says  

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is “incredibly concerned” about the escalating use of different types of weaponry in Russia’s nearly three-year war on Ukraine, his designated choice for national security adviser said Sunday. Michael Waltz, now a Florida congressman, told “Fox News Sunday” that the decision by the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden to allow Ukraine to use anti-personnel land mines to try to halt …

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Moscow offers debt forgiveness to new recruits and AP sees wreckage of new Russian missile

KYIV — Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law granting debt forgiveness to new army recruits who enlist to fight in Ukraine. The measure, whose final version appeared on a government website Saturday, underscores Russia’s needs for military personnel in the nearly 3-year war, even as it fired last week a new intermediate-range ballistic missile. According to Russian state news agency Interfax, the new legislation …

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Iran says will hold nuclear talks with France, Germany, UK on Friday 

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Iran said on Sunday that it would hold nuclear talks in the coming days with the three European countries that initiated a censure resolution against it adopted by the U.N.’s atomic watchdog.  Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the meeting of the deputy foreign ministers of Iran, France, Germany and the United Kingdom would take place on Friday, without specifying a …

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Designer describes invitation to work on Notre Dame cathedral’s reopening as ‘calling’

paris — When Jean-Charles de Castelbajac watched as Notre Dame cathedral burned in April 2019, he felt compelled to act.  Returning home, the French fashion designer began sketching ideas, imagining the monument’s reconstruction.  So, when the Paris Archbishop’s emissary approached him to design the liturgical garments for the cathedral’s reopening next month, Castelbajac — a believer with personal roots with the church — felt the moment …

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Has a waltz written by composer Frederic Chopin been discovered in an NYC museum?

NEW YORK — The brooding waltz was carefully composed on a sheet of music roughly the size of an index card. The brief, moody number also bore an intriguing name, written at the top in cursive: “Chopin.” A previously unknown work of music penned by the European master Frederic Chopin appears to have been found at the Morgan Library & Museum in Manhattan. The untitled and …

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Hard right’s Simion in with a chance as Romanians vote for president

BUCHAREST — Romanians vote on Sunday in the first round of a presidential election that may give a shot at victory to hard-right politician George Simion, who opposes military aid to Ukraine, admires Donald Trump and wants to emulate Giorgia Meloni’s Italy. Outgoing two-term president Klaus Iohannis, 65, had cemented Romania’s strong pro-western stance but was accused of not doing enough to fight corruption. Voting starts …

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Ukraine has lost 40% of Russia’s Kursk region, military source says

KYIV, UKRAINE — Ukraine has lost more than 40% of the territory in Russia’s Kursk region that it rapidly seized in a surprise incursion in August as Russian forces have mounted waves of counterassaults, a senior Ukrainian military source said. The source, who is on Ukraine’s General Staff, said Russia had deployed some 59,000 troops to the Kursk region since Kyiv’s forces swept in and advanced …

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Russia’s claim of emissions in Ukraine regions draws protests at COP29

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN — Russia has included the territories it occupies in Ukraine in its recent greenhouse gas inventory report to the United Nations, drawing protests from Ukrainian officials and activists at the COP29 climate summit this week. The move by Moscow comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin eyes potential peace negotiations with incoming U.S. President Donald Trump that could decide the fate of vast swathes of …

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Blinken to attend G7 meeting in Italy, US State Department says

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will travel to Italy over the weekend to attend a meeting of the Group of Seven major democracies next week, the State Department said on Friday, amid rising tensions in the war in Ukraine. G7 leaders last Saturday reiterated a pledge to keep imposing severe costs on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine through sanctions, export controls and …

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North Korean troops massed in Russia to enter Ukraine war ‘soon,’ Pentagon chief says

Sydney — The United States expects that thousands of North Korean troops massing in Russia will “soon” enter combat against Ukraine, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said Saturday. About 10,000 North Korean soldiers were believed to be based in the Russian border region of Kursk, Austin said, where they were being “integrated into the Russian formations.” “Based upon what they’ve been trained on, the way they’ve been …

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Polish foreign minister: Europe must be ready as US rethinks Ukraine strategy 

Europe must be ready to fill the potential gaps in funding and weapons for Ukraine that may arise when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said Friday. In an exclusive sit-down interview with VOA Eastern European Bureau chief Myroslava Gongadze, Sikorski noted that Trump and fellow Republicans appear reluctant to continue robust U.S. support for Ukraine, and he said it …

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Mixed martial arts star McGregor sexually assaulted woman in 2018, jury finds

dublin — Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor sexually assaulted a woman at a party in Dublin in 2018 and must pay her nearly 250,000 euros ($259,950) in damages, a jury decided on Friday. The jury of eight women and four men reached its verdict in the civil trial at Ireland’s high court after six hours and 10 minutes of deliberation. The plaintiff, Nikita Hand, …

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‘We have taken risks to tell the stories,’ says press freedom awardee

NEW YORK — This time last year, American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was in a Russian prison, jailed on bogus charges. On Thursday night, free from her ordeal, she accepted a prestigious press freedom award from the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ, in New York. “This is a very emotional moment for me. It means so much,” Kurmasheva told VOA shortly before receiving her award. “I …

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Russian drone attack on Sumy kills 2, injures 12, local authorities say

KYIV, UKRAINE — A Russian drone attack on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy killed two people and injured 12 on Friday morning, regional authorities said. Twelve apartment buildings, five private residences, a store and three cars were damaged after three drones attacked the city around 5 a.m. (0300 GMT), the national police said. Volodymyr Artiukh, Sumy regional governor, said Russian forces had equipped drones with …

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Russia gave North Korea anti-air missiles in exchange for troops, Seoul says

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — Russia gave North Korea anti-air missiles in exchange for deploying troops to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine, Seoul’s top security adviser said Friday. The United States and South Korea have accused the nuclear-armed North of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Russia fight Ukraine, with experts saying Kim Jong Un was eager to gain advanced technology, and battle experience for his …

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IAEA board orders Iran to cooperate more; West pushes Tehran toward talks

VIENNA — The United Nations atomic watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution on Thursday again ordering Iran to urgently improve cooperation with the agency and requesting a “comprehensive” report aimed at pressuring Iran into fresh nuclear talks.  Britain, France, Germany and the United States, which proposed the resolution, dismissed as insufficient and insincere a last-minute Iranian move to cap its stock of uranium that …

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New EU diplomat vows tough stance on China, strong alliance with US

VIENNA, AUSTRIA — Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s next foreign policy chief, is already sending signals that she will take a tough stance on Russia and China and be an advocate for a strong alliance between Europe and America. Kallas spoke to the European Parliament for the first time in her new role at a hearing on November 12, where she stressed that the EU will …

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