New research shows a quarter of freshwater animals are threatened with extinction
WASHINGTON — Nearly a quarter of animals living in rivers, lakes and other freshwater sources are threatened with extinction, according to new research published Wednesday. “Huge rivers like the Amazon can appear mighty, but at the same time freshwater environments…
US to pledge $500M for Ukraine as Austin hosts his final Ramstein meeting
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin held bilateral meetings Thursday with his Ukrainian and British counterparts Wednesday before hosting the Ukraine Defense Contact Group one last time. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb is traveling with Austin as the U.S. is…
US to pledge $500M for Ukraine at Ramstein meeting
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, GERMANY — The United States is providing Ukraine with $500 million in additional weapons and equipment from its existing military stockpiles, in what officials told VOA will be the final military aid package before President Joe Biden…
VOA Persian: Iran rejects claims of obstruction in 2020 downing of Ukrainian airliner
An Iranian official on Wednesday rejected accusations of judicial obstruction in the case of a Ukrainian passenger plane downed by Iran over Tehran five years ago. Critics and victims’ families say Iran’s lack of transparency, frequent contradictions and repeated false…
Russian missile attack kills at least 13 in southern Ukraine
A Russian missile attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia killed at least 13 people Wednesday and injured dozens more, Ukrainian authorities reported. The attack came minutes after regional Governor Ivan Fedorov warned that “high-speed missiles” and “glide bombs”…
‘A Syrian-led future’: Security Council highlights priorities ahead
In his briefing, UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen underscored the delicate nature of the transitional phase, describing it as a moment of “great opportunities and real dangers.” He urged careful navigation to ensure that decisions taken now lead…
DPR Korea’s nuclear quest thwarts disarmament efforts, Security Council hears
Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for peacebuilding and political affairs, briefed ambassadors two days after the DPRK, commonly known as North Korea, fired off what it described as a new type of intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile (IRBM) loaded with a hypersonic…
Rights experts call for immediate release of Abu Zubaydah from Guantánamo
On Monday the United States military sent 11 long-term detainees from the facility to Oman after reaching agreement with the Government there on relocation and resettlement. Only 15 detainees now remain, according to news reports. The prison opened in 2002…
Ukraine in grip of third winter of escalating Russian attacks
In a scheduled update mandated by the Council in Geneva, Nada Al-Nashif said that these attacks had led to the deaths of 574 civilians – an increase of 30 per cent over the previous year. She noted that Russian bombardment…
Ukrainian drone attacks target Russia’s Saratov region
Ukrainian forces carried out what Russian officials said Wednesday was a mass drone attack on the Saratov region, causing damage to an industrial enterprise. Saratov Governor Roman Busargin said the attack targeted the neighboring cities of Saratov and Engels, an…