World

  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin hold a joint press conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun at the State Department in Washington, Oct. 31, 2024. state department — Most of the North Korean troops sent to Russia are now deployed near the Ukrainian border and are expected to join the fight against Ukraine “in the coming days,” according to top U.S. and South Korean diplomats and military officials. “We now assess that there are some 10,000 North Korean soldiers in total in Russia, and the most recent information indicates that as many as 8,000 of those North Korean forces have been deployed to the Kursk region,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Bl...

  FILE - Xiaolei Wu, who was indicted on charges of stalking and threatening a pro-democracy activist at his college in Boston, walks out of a federal court in Boston with his lawyer, Jessica Hedges, after a pre-trial conference, July 27, 2023. (Hai Lun/VOA) washington — Xiaolei Wu, a Chinese student who had been serving a nine-month prison sentence for threatening pro-democracy activists in Boston, received an early release on September 16 and returned to China, according to federal documents obtained by VOA’s Mandarin Service. U.S. and Chinese officials have not commented publicly on Wu and whether he may have been part of a prisoner swap, but his return to China came about the time that American pastor David Lin was released and return...

  FILE - This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows damaged buildings at Iran's Parchin military base outside of Tehran, Oct. 27, 2024. Recent attempts by Iran to establish deterrence through direct strikes on Israel have mainly failed, according to analysts, leaving the Islamic Republic more vulnerable to its prime foe. Israel’s recent retaliatory airstrikes on Iran are said to have dismantled all of Iran’s S-300 defense missile system. The strikes came in response to Iran\'s October 1 ballistic missile attacks against Israel. Iran says it is still assessing damage from the strikes. Nicholas Heras of the Washington-based New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy told VOA that the airstrikes showed Israel has “the qualitative ...

  FILE - Google logos found online during a search on Sept. 11, 2023. Russia has fined Google an amount larger than the entire world\'s gross domestic product over restricting Russian propaganda channels on YouTube. Russian business newspaper RBC reported this week that legal claims brought by 17 Russian TV channels against Google in Russian courts, which have imposed compound fines on Google, had reached $20 decillion — an incomprehensible sum with 34 zeros. By comparison, the International Monetary Fund estimates the world\'s total gross domestic product to be $110 trillion. Google\'s parent company Alphabet, meanwhile, has a market value of around $2 trillion. On Thursday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov admitted to reporters that ...

  Georgian opposition supporters rally to protest results of the parliamentary elections that showed a win for the ruling Georgian Dream party, outside the parliament building in central Tbilisi, Oct. 28, 2024. Tbilisi and Moscow have exchanged harsh rhetoric about the results of the October 26 parliamentary elections in Georgia that brought thousands to the streets protesting the victory of the ruling Georgian Dream party. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who is aligned with the pro-Western opposition, accused Russia of running a “special operation” to “falsify” the election results in favor of the ruling party, which is widely seen as increasingly pro-Kremlin and authoritarian. In response, Russia denied involvement and framed ...

  bangkok — A recent attack on a Chinese consulate in Myanmar reflects growing anti-Chinese sentiment in the country fed by Beijing\'s support of the ruling junta, experts say. On October 18, the Chinese consulate in Mandalay, Myanmar\'s second-largest city, was struck by a small explosive device. Reports say the building was damaged but there were no casualties. It was the first attack was on a Chinese diplomatic facility in Myanmar since anti-China riots in Yangon in 1967. In a statement to journalists, the nation\'s military authorities said the blast damaged tiles on the roof of the two-story building and that they were seeking to identify and arrest the "terrorists" who were responsible. Two weeks later, no one has been ...

  FILE - Kenya's Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki speaks during a press conference in Kilifi county, Kenya, March 27, 2024. Kindiki has been cleared by a Kenyan court to become the country's next deputy president. Nairobi, Kenya — A Kenyan court has lifted orders blocking the swearing-in of Deputy President nominee Kithuri Kindiki — dealing a blow to former DP Rigathi Gachagua who was impeached and removed from office in mid-October amid accusations of gross misconduct and undermining the president. Gachagua\'s lawyers filed about 30 court cases arguing against his ouster in the last two weeks. The three-judge bench appointed to hear the case by the deputy chief justice, made the highly anticipated announcement Thursday. "...

  Supporters of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) take part in a rally to protest the arrest of Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Ozer, in Istanbul, Turkey, Oct. 31, 2024. ISTANBUL — Hundreds gathered Thursday in Istanbul to protest the arrest and removal from office of a mayor from Turkey\'s main opposition party for his alleged links to a banned Kurdish militant group. Ahmet Ozer, mayor of Istanbul\'s Esenyurt district and a member of the Republican People\'s Party, or CHP, was detained on Wednesday by anti-terrorist police over his alleged connection to the Kurdistan Workers\' Party, or PKK. Turkey\'s government on Thursday replaced Ozer with Istanbul\'s deputy governor, a move the CHP\'s leader, Ozgur Ozel and other politic...

  In this photo provided by the Georgian Prime Minister Press Office on Oct. 29, 2024, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, left, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban walk during their meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia. TBILISI, GEORGIA — Standing side by side with Georgia\'s prime minister, Hungary\'s Viktor Orban was among the first to congratulate the ruling Georgian Dream party on its recent electoral victory. This endorsement came as much of the Western world raised questions about the legitimacy of the election and tens of thousands of Georgians were in the streets to protest it. Orban\'s swift acknowledgment underscored his bond with Georgia\'s government. "I congratulate the prime minister on his election victory," ...

  People walk past Moroccan and French flags on Mohammed V avenue ahead of French president Emmanuel Macron official visit to Morocco, in the capital Rabat, Oct. 28, 2024. RABAT, Morocco — A Moroccan economist known for his work defending human rights was detained after criticizing the government in remarks posted on social media during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to the North African kingdom. Prosecutors apprehended Fouad Abdelmoumni in Casablanca on Wednesday and announced he was under investigation on suspicion of disseminating false information and accusing others of crimes on social media, Morocco\'s state news agency reported. If charged and convicted, he could face up to five years in prison under cybercrime statu...