VOA News A 94-year-old former guard at Europe’s most notorious concentration camp has gone on trial in Germany, where he faces 170,000 counts of accessory to murder. Reinhold Hanning has said he served at Auschwitz as a 20-year-old member of the German SS guard, but insists he served in a part of the camp where […]readmore
VOA News The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has left Moscow on a trip to Cuba in which he will both make a state visit to the Cuban President, Raul Castro, and hold a historic meeting with the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis. Kirill left Moscow on Thursday, ahead […]readmore
VOA News NATO’s secretary general says the alliance’s increased “forward presence” in Eastern Europe sends a «clear signal» to any would-be aggressor. Speaking Wednesday in Brussels before a two-day NATO defense ministers meeting, Jens Stoltenberg said with an obvious reference to Russia, that “NATO will respond as one to any aggression against any ally.” «I […]readmore
Robert Berger JERUSALEM— A high-profile court case involving events that led to the Gaza war in 2014 has concluded in Israel; but not without controversy.A Jerusalem court sentenced two Israeli teenagers to long prison terms for murdering a Palestinian youth, an incident that Israeli officials described as «Jewish terrorism.» One Israeli got life in prison and […]readmore
Jeff Seldin WASHINGTON—Some U.S. officials are heralding new intelligence on the number of Islamic State (IS) fighters as a sign the tide is starting to turn in the battle against the terror group but there are concerns the self-declared caliphate’s larger, global strategy remains very well intact. The terror group, also known as ISIL or […]readmore
Luis Ramirez LONDON—U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has pledged nearly $1 billion in new U.S. aid for Syrian refugees at an international donors conference and is calling for the Syrian government and Russia to halt attacks on rebel-held areas in order to let humanitarian aid through. The conference opened Thursday in London with donor […]readmore
The United Nations is reporting new cases of alleged sexual abuse and exploitation by U.N. peacekeepers in the Central African Republic. The U.N. mission in the C.A.R., MINUSCA, said it has identified seven new possible victims in the town of Bambari. According to a statement Thursday, U.N. investigators believe at least five of the victims […]readmore
Simone Orendain BAHILE, PALAWAN PROVINCE, PHILIPPINES—In the tiny coastal Philippine town of Bahile in Palawan province, fishermen drop off the night’s catch with the local fish distributor.On the one main road that bisects the town, fish sorters load plastic tubs with the catch while children play on the shore during the sunny late morning. But […]readmore
Luis Ramirez, Ken Bredemeier, Chris Hannas LONDON/WASHINGTON—The United Nations on Wednesday called off the fractious Syrian peace talks in Geneva until the end of February.U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura, who was alternating between discussions with representatives of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and opposition groups trying to overthrow him, called the delay until February 25 a «temporary […]readmore
VOA News Negotiators meeting for Syrian peace talks that began Friday in Geneva are focusing on urgent goals: establishing a cease-fire, delivering humanitarian aid, and setting a course for long-term resolution of the nearly five-year conflict. They’re also confronting a crisis years in the making, rife with deep sectarian divisions, clashing regional and international interests, […]readmore