German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to deepen defense ties with New Delhi and bring the two countries’ militaries closer, he said on Friday, after meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Germany has not traditionally had close defense ties with India, but is now pitching to join the latter’s effort to wean its arms base from decades of dependence on Russia, at a time when the …
Russia targets Kyiv in overnight drone attack
Russia sent two waves of drones at the Ukrainian capital overnight in its 15th air attack on Kyiv this month, city officials said on Friday. More than a dozen drones were downed over the city during the strike, which lasted around four hours, city military administrator Serhiy Popko said on Telegram. He added that authorities had not received any reports of injuries and that debris …
G7 is finalizing $50B loan to Ukraine
A $50 billion loan to Ukraine from the G7 major industrialized nations is moving forward after months of negotiations, with countries announcing their contributions to the package this week. The loan package is aimed at providing Ukraine with an economic lifeline from $280 billion worth of Russian assets frozen since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. According to the plan, the loan will be repaid …
White House pushes for de-escalation in Mideast, warns North Korea for aiding Russia
The Biden administration continues to push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and de-escalation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. In Europe, the administration has revealed intelligence that North Korean troops are being trained in Russia to help its war efforts. VOA White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara spoke with White House national security communications adviser John Kirby on the latest developments …
Blinken shuttles around Mideast on peace quest
washington — Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with key negotiators Thursday during a frenetic four-day exercise in Middle East shuttle diplomacy that aims to relaunch talks to pull the grinding war in Gaza to a close. On Thursday, he announced $135 million in additional U.S. aid for Palestinian civilians. He also reiterated President Joe Biden’s stance that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last …
Putin tells BRICS leaders that Middle East on brink of full-scale war
kazan, russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin told BRICS leaders on Thursday that the Middle East was on the brink of a full-scale war after a sharp rise in tension between Israel and Iran, though the Kremlin chief also faced calls to end the war in Ukraine. The BRICS summit, attended by more than 20 leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi …
Moldovan president says bribery affected election, pledges run-off vote
CHISINAU, Moldova — Moldova’s pro-European president said on Thursday that mass bribery had affected a presidential election and a referendum on joining the European Union. However, Maia Sandu vowed to press on with a Nov. 3 runoff vote to win a second term, instead of ordering a new election. Sandu issued her pledge, saying it was up to the people to determine Moldova’s future, after police …
Rebel-held Syria celebrates Hezbollah deaths while mourning Gaza
In rebel-held Syria, many people celebrated the deaths of Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon last month, even as they mourned the deaths of families in Gaza. As VOA’s Heather Murdock reports from Istanbul with Moawia Atrash and Ahmad Fallaha in Idlib, Syria, war in the Middle East is growing increasingly complex, with loyalties divided, even within individuals. …
Blinken announces $135 million in additional US aid for Palestinians
State Department — In a latest diplomatic push to end the conflicts in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that negotiators will meet “in the coming days.” He also announced $135 million in additional U.S. aid for Palestinian civilians. “In referring to negotiators coming back together, that was referring specifically to negotiations on the return of hostages and a …
Paris donors conference raises millions in humanitarian aid for Lebanon
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 …
India, China move to stabilize ties, but mistrust lingers
A bilateral meeting between the Indian and Chinese leaders held Wednesday on the sidelines of the BRICS summit is expected to pave the way for improving political and economic ties damaged by a border standoff four years ago. Analysts say lingering mistrust in India could hamper quick normalization. Anjana Pasricha has a report from New Delhi. …
Venezuelan opposition figures win EU’s top rights Sakharov prize
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, …
BRICS meeting highlights geopolitical aspirations, rivalries with West
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 …
Indonesia says Chinese vessel twice driven away after disrupting energy survey
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A Chinese coast guard vessel was driven out of Indonesia’s waters for a second time this week after it initially disrupted a survey by state energy firm Pertamina in the South China Sea, Indonesia’s maritime security agency said on Thursday. While Chinese coast guard vessels have been spotted numerous times in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone, the most recent incidents came just days after …
Blinken meets with Qatari officials in push to resolve conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Thursday with Qatar’s ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as part of a tour of the region in which Blinken has focused discussions on ending the conflicts in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. Blinken is also meeting Thursday with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed Al Thani ahead of talks with Arab officials Friday in London. While one …
New evidence China, Russia and Iran targeting US elections
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 …
AI decodes oinks and grunts to keep pigs happy in Danish study
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, …
Tropical Storm Trami wreaks havoc in the Philippines, at least 26 dead
Manila, Philippines — Tropical Storm Trami has killed at least 26 people and forced more than 150,000 to flee their homes in the Philippines, officials said on Thursday, as it made landfall on the northeastern coast. Trami, locally known as severe tropical storm Kristine, dumped heavy to torrential rain on the main island of Luzon triggering widespread flooding and landslides. With maximum sustained winds of 95 …
Japan’s rising ramen prices give election voters food for thought
TOKYO — Taisei Hikage is fighting a losing battle at his Tokyo ramen shop – not to attract customers, but to keep a lid on the price he charges for Japan’s national comfort food in the face of an incessant rise in ingredient and fuel costs. Since opening his shop in the west of the capital a year and a half ago, Hikage, 26, has raised …
China backs Russia-proposed BRICS payment system
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 …
Analysis: China, Russia, North Korea and Iran described as new ‘Axis of Evil’ by some
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials are becoming increasingly concerned about the emerging partnership among China, Russia, Iran and North Korea – a bloc being talked about by some in Washington as a new “axis of evil.” Those worries got a major boost on Wednesday with confirmation by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a trip to Rome that North Korean troops are now present in Russia, presumably …
Humanitarian aid workers face ‘increasingly difficult’ conditions
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 …
For Tibetan political leader, ‘Middle Way’ to autonomy is still core focus
Prague/Washington — In the lobby of an upscale hotel in Prague, Sikyong Penpa Tsering talked about death — specifically, the eventuality that China’s Xi Jinping will one day die. “Nothing is permanent. Even our life is not permanent. We are born, and we have to die. So even empires rise and fall. Governments rise and fall. Xi Jinping will also have to die. So, these are …
US says there is evidence of North Korean troops in Russia
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. …