What to know about plastic pollution crisis as treaty talks conclude
BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA — The world’s nations will wrap up negotiating a treaty this weekend to address the global plastic pollution crisis. Their meeting is scheduled to conclude Sunday or early Monday in Busan, South Korea, where many environmental organizations…
Ukraine says war has damaged most of its civilian airports
KYIV, UKRAINE — Fifteen of Ukraine’s civilian airports have been damaged since Russia invaded the country in February 2022, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal was quoted as saying by local media on Saturday. Ukraine, which the state aviation service says…
Ukrainian president says NATO membership can end ‘hot phase’ of war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says being admitted into NATO could end what he described as the “hot phase of the war” waged by Russia. In an interview with Sky News aired on November 29, Zelenskyy suggested that he would be…
Chinese scientists rush to climate-proof potatoes
YANQING, CHINA — In a research facility in the northwest of Beijing, molecular biologist Li Jieping and his team harvest a cluster of seven unusually small potatoes, one as tiny as a quail’s egg, from a potted plant. Grown under…
Foreign smartphone sales in China drop 44% in October, data show
New data released Wednesday from a Chinese government-affiliated research firm showed sales of foreign-branded smartphones, including Apple’s iPhone, fell 44.25% year-on-year in China in October, while overall phone sales in China have increased 1.8%, Reuters reported. The data released by…
Alarm over high rate of HIV infections among young women, girls
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N.’s children’s fund raised the alarm on Friday over the high rate of new HIV infections among young women and girls, warning they lacked access to prevention and treatment. In a report ahead of world AIDS…
North Korea: Russia has right to exercise self-defense against Ukraine
seoul — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has told the Russian defense minister that Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons is the result of direct military intervention by the United States and that Moscow is entitled to fight in self-defense,…
From VOA Persian: Aviation group asked to condemn Iran over downing of Ukrainian flight
The Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims on Thursday urged the International Civil Aviation Organization to formally condemn the “killing of 176 innocent passengers and crew members aboard the Ukrainian passenger plane” by the Islamic Republic of Iran. See…
Putin claims new Oreshnik missile is unstoppable, sparking doubts
Russia struck Dnipro, Ukraine, with an experimental Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile on November 21. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the day after that the missile could not be intercepted. The claim is likely false. Leonid Martynyuk explains. Source: voanews.com
Kremlin critic convicted again, handed new prison term for opposing war in Ukraine
TALLINN, ESTONIA — Imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Gorinov was convicted again on Friday for opposing Russia’s war in Ukraine and handed a three-year prison term. A swift, three-day trial against Gorinov, once a low-profile activist, underscored Moscow’s intolerance of any…