A rescue boat saved 59 migrants at sea off Libya on Saturday and Italy immediately said it would not welcome them, setting up a fresh standoff with Malta and adding to tensions among European governments over immigration. The migrants on board Open Arms, a boat run by the Spanish Proactiva Open Arms charity, include five women and four children, saidRead more

Fourteen European Union countries have said they are prepared to sign deals with Germany to take back asylum seekers who had previously registered elsewhere, part of an effort to placate Chancellor Angela Merkel’s restive Bavarian allies.   In a document sent to leaders of her coalition partners, seen by Reuters, Merkel listed 14 countries, includingRead more

The U.S. ambassador to Estonia says he has resigned over frustrations with President Donald Trump’s comments about the European Union and the treatment of Washington’s European allies. In a private Facebook message posted Friday, James D. Melville wrote: “For the President to say EU was ‘set up to take advantage of the United States, toRead more

June 30 marks Asteroid Day, a U.N.-sanctioned campaign to promote awareness around the world of what’s up in the sky. In Milan, scientists are assembling a new telescope that uses “insect vision” to spot risky celestial objects. Faith Lapidus explains. …Read more

Istanbul’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride march will go ahead on Sunday even though the governorship of the Turkish city banned it citing security concerns, the organizers of the event said on Friday. In a statement published on the Facebook page of Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week, the organizers said the decision to banRead more

There is momentum for improving Turkey’s frayed relations with the West even as it warms up to Russia, a senior Turkish government adviser told VOA on condition of anonymity, days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was re-elected. Erdogan’s adviser said that in February, during a visit by then-U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, bothRead more

U.N. agencies are cautiously welcoming an agreement the European Union reached Friday after a marathon summit on problems posed by migrants who reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea. The European Union states in principle have agreed to set up so-called secure centers to process asylum claims. Under the proposed deal, these centers are to beRead more

European Union leaders meeting Friday in Brussels hailed progress in reaching at least a partial deal on migration. But there appeared to be little breakthrough in two other key subjects: Brexit and reforming the eurozone financial union. It took marathon talks lasting until early Friday for EU leaders to reach a partial and vaguely wordedRead more

European leaders have agreed to extend their sanctions against Russia for its 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula. The EU leaders said in statement Friday the sanctions have been extended for six months. The decision was made at the leaders’ summit in Brussels after they had a “very short discussion” on Ukraine, an anonymous sourceRead more