MOSCOW — A Russian oil tanker carrying thousands of tons of oil products split apart during a heavy storm Sunday, spilling oil into the Kerch Strait, while another tanker was also in distress after sustaining damage, Russian officials said. An emergency rescue operation is now underway, Russian officials told state news outlets Sunday. The Volgoneft-212 tanker, which was carrying a crew of 13 and a cargo …
Fiji says 7 foreigners hospitalized after drinking cocktails
Suva, Fiji — Seven foreigners including four Australians and an American have been hospitalized after drinking cocktails at a five-star Fiji hotel resort, health officials said Sunday. The hotel guests were taken to hospital on Saturday night suffering “nausea, vomiting and neurological symptoms,” Fiji’s health ministry said in a statement. They fell ill after drinking a cocktail prepared at a bar in the luxury Warwick Fiji …
Israel sees increased threat from Syria despite moderate tone of rebel leaders
JERUSALEM — The threats to Israel from Syria remain despite the moderate tone of rebel leaders who ousted President Bashar al-Assad a week ago, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday, amid military moves by his country to counter such threats. “The immediate risks to the country have not disappeared and the latest developments in Syria increase the strength of the threat — despite the …
German far-right leader questions NATO membership
Berlin — The co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on Sunday said Germany should reconsider its membership of NATO if the U.S.-led military alliance did not consider the interests of all European countries, including Russia. “Europe has been forced to implement America’s interests. We reject that,” the AfD’s Tino Chrupalla told German daily Welt. “NATO is currently not a defense alliance. …
A week into a new Syria, rebels aim for normalcy and Syrians vow not to be silent again
DAMASCUS, SYRIA — At Damascus’ international airport, the new head of security — one of the rebels who marched across Syria to the capital — arrived with his team. The few maintenance workers who showed up for work huddled around Maj Hamza al-Ahmed, eager to learn what will happen next. They quickly unloaded all the complaints they had been too afraid to express during the rule …
‘Bali Nine’ drug ring prisoners fly home to Australia
SYDNEY — The five remaining members of the Australian “Bali Nine” drug ring flew home Sunday after 19 years in jail in Indonesia, ending a saga that had frayed relations between the two countries. Indonesian police arrested the nine Australians in 2005, convicting them of attempting to smuggle more than 8 kilograms of heroin off the holiday island of Bali. In a case that drew global …
Greece’s only miniature therapy horses bring joy to many, but the charity is struggling
ATHENS, GREECE — Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, a smile spreads across the little girl’s face. Blinking behind her glasses, she inches her wheelchair forward and gently reaches out to stroke the tiny gray horse. Soon, 9-year-old Josifina Topa Mazuch is beaming as she leads Ivi, a specially trained miniature horse, standing no taller than her pink wheelchair, through the school hallway. “I really want them …
Chinese gold mining threatens a protected UN heritage site in Congo
OKAPI WILDLIFE RESERVE, Democratic Republic of Congo — Scattered along the banks of the Ituri River, buildings cram together, cranes transport dirt and debris scatters the soil. The patches of trees are a scant reminder that a forest once grew there. Nestled in eastern Congo’s Ituri province, the Chinese-run gold mine is rapidly encroaching on an area that many say it shouldn’t be operating in at …
‘Endless torture’: Turkish inmate recalls hell of Syria jails
MAGARACIK, TURKEY — Finally home in Turkey, Mehmet Erturk cannot eat the bread his wife has made him. After 20 years jailed in Syria, half his teeth are missing and the other half are threatening to fall out. “It was torture after torture,” he told AFP, miming the truncheon blows to the mouth the guards would give him at a notorious Damascus prison known as the …
Britain joins trans-Pacific pact in biggest post-Brexit trade deal
LONDON — Britain officially became the 12th member of a trans-Pacific trade pact that includes Japan, Australia and Canada on Sunday as it seeks to deepen ties in the region and build its global trade links after leaving the European Union. Britain announced last year it would join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in its biggest trade deal since Brexit. The accession …
Iran currency slips to new lows amid US, Europe tensions
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — The Iranian currency extended its fall Saturday, hitting a new all-time low against the U.S. dollar amid uncertainties about Donald Trump’s imminent arrival in the White House and tensions with the West over Tehran’s nuclear program. The rial plunged to 756,000 to the dollar on the unofficial market Saturday, compared to 741,500 rials on Friday, according to Bonbast.com, which reports exchange …
India’s Supreme Court takes note of judge’s ‘communal’ speech
India’s Supreme Court has said it would review the controversial speech by a top court judge in which he said that the country would function according to the demands or wishes of the Hindu majority community. Many are demanding the impeachment of the judge, Shekhar Kumar Yadav, who practices at the High Court of Allahabad, the topmost court in the north Indian state of Uttar …
Who is Han Duck-soo, South Korea’s acting president after Yoon impeachment?
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who became South Korea’s acting president after Saturday’s impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol, is a career technocrat whose wide-ranging experience and reputation for rationality could serve him well in his latest role. With parliament’s impeachment vote against Yoon passed after his short-lived attempt to impose martial law, Yoon is suspended from exercising presidential powers, and the constitution requires …
Before ouster, Syria’s Assad told Iran Turkey was aiding HTS rebels
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — In the final days leading to his ouster, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad complained to Iran’s foreign minister that Turkey was actively supporting Sunni rebels in their offensive to topple him, two Iranian officials told Reuters this week. Five decades of rule by Assad’s family ended Sunday when he fled to Moscow, where the government granted him asylum. Iran had backed Assad …
Zelenskyy: Russia ‘using Korean soldiers in Kursk’
KYIV, UKRAINE — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that Russia has begun deploying North Korean soldiers to storm Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region. Zelenskyy said in his evening address that he had “preliminary evidence that the Russians have begun to use soldiers from North Korea in assaults — a noticeable number of them.” He said that according to his information, “the Russians include [North …
Serbia’s main gas supplier, controlled by Russia, faces US sanctions
BELGRADE, SERBIA — The United States plans to introduce sanctions against Serbia’s main gas supplier, which is controlled by Russia, Serbia’s president said Saturday. President Aleksandar Vucic told state RTS broadcaster that Serbia has been officially informed that the decision on sanctions will come into force on January 1 but that he has so far not received any related documents from the U.S. There has been …
At least 18 killed in Israeli Gaza strikes, Palestinian medics say
At least 18 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza Saturday, medics said, while the Israeli military said it targeted gunmen operating from shelters and aid storages. At least 10 people were killed in an airstrike near the municipality building in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, where people gathered to receive aid, medics said. Casualties were being carried by foot, on rickshaws …
VOA Kurdish: Turkey prepares for return of 3 million refugees to Syria
With the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, Turkey is preparing for nearly 3 million Syrian refugees to return to their country. But experts say the process will be challenging. Metin Corabatir, head of the Research Center on Asylum and Migration, discusses the complexities of their return. Click here for the full story in Kurdish. …
12 conservatives join opposition to impeach Yoon
South Korean lawmakers have impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his attempt to impose martial law. In a vote Saturday, 12 conservative lawmakers joined opposition forces to impeach Yoon, whose powers will now be suspended until the country’s Constitutional Court decides whether to formally remove him from office. Here is more from VOA’s Bill Gallo in Seoul. …
Ex-soccer player becomes Georgia’s president in blow to EU aspirations
TBILISI, GEORGIA — Former soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili became president of Georgia on Saturday, as the ruling party tightened its grip in what the opposition calls a blow to the country’s EU aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia. Kavelashvili, 53, easily won the vote given the Georgian Dream party’s control of a 300-seat electoral college that replaced direct presidential elections in 2017. Georgian …
A look at the South Korean leader who has been impeached
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — South Korea’s parliament has voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, a stunning fall from grace for a man who rose from political obscurity to the height of political power. His decades of achievement could be on the verge of crumbling due to a single, baffling decision to send out troops under martial law over vague claims that one of Asia’s leading …
South Korea’s parliament votes to impeach president over martial law order
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — South Korean lawmakers have impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his attempt to impose martial law, a high-stakes move that must now be approved by judges. In a Saturday vote, 12 conservative lawmakers joined opposition forces to impeach Yoon, who is just halfway through his single five-year term. The impeachment suspends Yoon’s powers until the Constitutional Court decides whether to formally remove …
New Zealander who doesn’t speak Spanish wins Spanish world Scrabble title
WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND — A New Zealand man playing his first-ever competitive Scrabble game in Spanish, a language he doesn’t speak, has won the board game’s Spanish-language world title. Nigel Richards, a professional player who holds five English-language world titles, won the Spanish world Scrabble championships in Granada, Spain, in November, losing one game out of 24. Richards started memorizing the language’s Scrabble word list a …
Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup. But when exactly?
ZURICH — Saudi Arabia scored a major win in its campaign to attract major sports events to the kingdom when it was formally appointed as the 2034 World Cup host on Wednesday. Still, many questions remain about the tournament as well as the 2030 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with three games in South America. Here are some of the …