Gothenburg, Sweden – Burial organizations in Sweden are looking to acquire enough land for something they hope they will never have to do: bury thousands of people in the event of war. This finding follows recommendations from the National Secretariat of the Church of Sweden, which reflect crisis preparedness guidelines from the Swedish Civil Contingencies … Read more
Moscow — Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart on Saturday after an Azerbaijani airliner crashed in Kazakhstan in what he called a “tragic incident”, killing 38 people. The Kremlin said in a statement that a Ukrainian drone strike on Wednesday caused firing from air defense systems near Grozny, the regional capital of … Read more
Istanbul- A delegation from Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish DEM party is due to meet on Saturday with jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence on Istanbul’s prison island, a party source said. “The delegation left in the morning,” the source told AFP, without elaborating on how they would travel to the island … Read more
Ukraine said on Saturday it had struck a storage and maintenance depot for long-range Martyr drones in Russia’s Oryol region, “significantly reducing” Russia’s ability to launch a large-scale drone attack on Ukraine. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army said in a statement on Telegram that the attack occurred on Thursday and was carried out … Read more
Dakar, Senegal – Senegal has announced the closure of all foreign military bases without setting any timeline for the withdrawal of foreign troops. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko made the announcement during a general policy statement in the National Assembly on Friday. “The President of the Republic has decided to close all foreign military bases in … Read more
A new set of rules that European Union (EU) cryptocurrency exchanges must follow come into force in 2025 as part of the Regulation for the Cryptoasset Market (MiCA). This is a set of rules that determines how bitcoin (BTC) exchanges and other cryptocurrencies in the region will operate starting this Monday, December 30. This, after … Read more
Frankfurt, Germany – German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday ordered the dissolution of parliament and new elections for Feb. 23 in the wake of the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition. Scholz lost the confidence vote in December. He leads a minority government after his unpopular and notorious three-party coalition collapsed on November 16, … Read more
Seoul, South Korea – A North Korean soldier captured while fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine has died of wounds, South Korea’s spy agency said Friday. Pyongyang has deployed thousands of troops to reinforce Russia’s military, including in the Kursk border area, where Ukraine made a sudden border incursion in August. One of those North … Read more
Seoul, South Korea – South Korea’s spy agency said Friday it has confirmed that a North Korean soldier sent to support Russia’s war against Ukraine has been captured by Ukrainian forces. Pyongyang has deployed thousands of troops to reinforce Russian forces, including in the Kursk border area, where Ukraine made a sudden border incursion in … Read more
Experts told VOA Russian that the Kremlin has completed preparations to isolate the Russian segment of the Internet from the rest of the World Wide Web. The Kremlin could impose severe internet restrictions in 2025, drawing on Iran’s experience in blocking unwanted web traffic. Experts say YouTube speeds in Russia are 20% of pre-war speeds, … Read more