Business

Rovaniemi, Finland — Shuffling across icy ground on a cold December afternoon, lots of tourist groups poured into Santa Claus Village,...

Rights group accuses Russian mercenaries of abuses against civilians in Mali

12/12/2024 Newsmaker

DAKAR, SENEGAL — Mali’s armed forces, supported by Russian mercenaries, committed abuses against civilians since the withdrawal of a U.N. peacekeeping...

Ukrainian drones hit Russia’s Chechnya region

12/12/2024 Newsmaker

The head of Russia’s Chechnya region said Thursday a Ukrainian drone attack hit a police barracks, injuring at least four...

Australia to charge tech companies for news content if they do not pay

12/12/2024 Newsmaker

Business, Digest, Technology

SYDNEY — Australia’s center-left government said on Thursday it planned new rules that would charge big tech firms millions of dollars...

Serbia’s president says he won’t flee his country like Syria’s Assad did despite growing protests

12/12/2024 Newsmaker

BELGRADE, SERBIA — Serbia’s president accused Tuesday foreign intelligence services of trying to unseat him in the wake of spreading protests...

Democracy tested in Eastern Europe amid accusations of Russian meddling

12/11/2024 Newsmaker

LONDON — This year saw a battle for influence in eastern Europe between the West and Russia as elections were held...

Democracy tested in Eastern Europe amid accusations of Russian meddling

12/11/2024 Newsmaker

Western nations and Russia engaged in a battle for influence in Eastern Europe in 2024, as elections were held in...

EU imposes new sanctions on Russia

12/11/2024 Newsmaker

European Union ambassadors have agreed to a new raft of sanctions against Russia because of its war on Ukraine, mainly...

2024: Ukraine-Russia war deadlock sets stage for possible negotiations

12/11/2024 Newsmaker

In 2024, Russia’s war in Ukraine reached a near-standstill, with Russia pressing forward while Ukraine’s counterattacks faltered. Both sides, well...

Hundreds of arrests and mysterious beatings as Georgia cracks down on pro-EU protests

12/11/2024 Newsmaker

TBILISI, Georgia — Seventy-five-year-old Marina Terishvili’s teenage son Mamuka was shot dead at a nationalist rally in Georgia in 1992. Now...

Human trafficking rises sharply after dropping during pandemic, UN says

12/11/2024 Newsmaker

VIENNA — Human trafficking has risen sharply due to conflicts, climate-induced disasters and global crises, according to a United Nations report...

Russian officials report damage from Ukrainian air attacks in Bryansk, Rostov

12/11/2024 Newsmaker

Russian officials said Wednesday that Ukrainian aerial attacks caused damage in two regions along the Russia-Ukraine border. Bryansk Governor Alexander...

As climate change intensifies, vulnerable states seek legal redress against polluters

12/11/2024 Newsmaker

At a landmark hearing Tuesday on climate change law at the United Nation’s top court in The Hague, Britain argued...

US Treasury transfers $20 billion in Ukraine loan funds to World Bank

12/10/2024 Newsmaker

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday said it transferred the $20 billion U.S. portion of a $50 billion G7...

UN digital program seeks to empower Africa’s public workers

12/10/2024 Newsmaker

Business, Digest, Technology

NAIROBI, KENYA — The United Nations, Microsoft and Kenya’s Ministry of Information last week launched a digital and artificial intelligence center...

VOA Russian: Chechen wars and the formation of the political model of the Russian state

12/10/2024 Newsmaker

December 11th will mark 30 years since the beginning of the First Chechen war. The initial Russian assault on Chechnya signaled...

VOA Mandarin: Protesters in London call for accountability for China’s human rights violations

12/10/2024 Newsmaker

On this year’s International Human Rights Day on Tuesday, human rights organizations representing Chinese dissidents in exile from Hong Kong,...

Belarus says it has dozens of Russian nukes, is ready for new missile

12/10/2024 Newsmaker

MOSCOW — Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko said Tuesday his country is hosting dozens of Russian nuclear weapons and will prepare...

US sanctions Chinese cybersecurity firm for ‘malicious’ activities

12/10/2024 Newsmaker

Business, Digest, Technology

WASHINGTON — The United States slapped sanctions on a Chinese cybersecurity company and one of its employees Tuesday, accusing it of...

New generation must take up fight against nuclear weapons, Nobel laureate group says

12/10/2024 Newsmaker

OSLO, NORWAY — Young people must take up the fight for a nuclear-free world, with such weapons many times more powerful...

Zelenskyy says ‘decisiveness’ necessary to bring end to war

12/10/2024 Newsmaker

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that “only decisiveness” can bring Russia’s war in Ukraine to an end and bring...

Assad’s downfall marks the loss of Moscow’s main ally in the Middle East

12/10/2024 Newsmaker

Russian state media say Moscow has granted asylum to ousted Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, who reports say landed in Moscow...