Ghosts, skeletons, princesses and black cats roamed the streets as usual this Halloween, but they kept their distance, wore face coverings and carried hand sanitizer in their quest for treats.As with everything else this year, the pandemic left its mark on Halloween. Parades, parties and haunted houses were canceled because of bans on large gatheringsRead more
Armenia and Azerbaijan once more accused each other of bombing residential areas on Saturday, in defiance of a pact to avoid the deliberate targeting of civilians in and around the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Shelling was reported by both sides within hours of the latest agreement to defuse the conflict, reached after talks in Geneva betweenRead more
U.S. special forces rescued an American citizen who had been kidnapped by armed men in an operation Saturday in northern Nigeria that is believed to have killed several of his captors, U.S. officials said. Forces including Navy SEALs rescued 27-year-old Philip Walton, who had been abducted on Tuesday from his home in neighboring southernRead more
Ursula Gacek, head of the election observer mission to the United States from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, cheerfully refers to November 3, the U.S. presidential election, as “E-day.” Gacek spoke to VOA by phone after the release last week of a report by the elections arm of the OrganizationRead more
The recent decapitation of a French schoolteacher in a Parisian suburb over showing caricatures of Prophet Muhammad to his class is the latest in a series of violent attacks in recent years over depictions of Islam’s holiest figure. Some experts charge that illustrations and paintings have long been a controversial topic in Islam because theRead more
Scottish movie legend Sean Connery, who shot to international stardom as the suave, sexy and sophisticated British agent James Bond and went on to grace the silver screen for four decades, has died aged 90. The BBC and Sky News reported his death on Saturday. “I was heartbroken to learn this morning of the passing ofRead more
Rescue teams on both sides of the Aegean Sea searched Saturday through crushed buildings and concrete rubble, pulling out at least 27 dead and hundreds more injured after a powerful earthquake toppled buildings in the Turkish city of İzmir and created sea surges on at least two Greek islands. At least 60 separate aftershocks haveRead more
With only three days of campaigning left before Election Day in the United States, both top candidates travel to battleground states Saturday, with Republican President Donald Trump focusing on Pennsylvania while Democratic candidate former Vice President Joe Biden plans events in Michigan.Biden will be campaigning alongside former President Barack Obama for the first time duringRead more
Rescue teams in Turkey working around the clock recovered another body Saturday from the rubble of a collapsed building in Bayrakli district in Izmir struck by a strong earthquake.The quake hit Turkey’s third-largest city and a nearby Greek island on Friday morning, killing at least 27 people and injuring more than 800.Haluk Ozener, director ofRead more
Georgia is voting Saturday to elect a new parliament and prime minister, with opposition groups aiming to oust the party in power.Forty-eight political parties and two political blocs are competing for the 150 seats of the former Soviet republic’s parliament.The ruling Georgian Dream Party has its leader, billionaire former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, as theRead more
Tens of thousands of Poles joined a march Friday in Warsaw, the biggest in nine days of protests against a ruling by the country’s top court last week that amounted to a near-total ban on abortion in the predominantly Catholic nation.Defying strict rules that restrict gatherings to five people during the coronavirus pandemic, demonstrators walkedRead more
The setting: a rolling patch of Pennsylvania farmland, about 15 miles from the little town where “Night of the Living Dead” was filmed. The moment: Halloween season 2020, a moonlit Friday night.She strides up to the hayride, then beckons you to the dimly lit tent behind her. Her eyes are hollow. “Blood” streaks her nurse’sRead more
With Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election upon us, it is far from certain that either President Donald Trump or his Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, will emerge as the clear winner on election night.While Biden is leading Trump by a cumulative average of 8 percentage points in national polling, the Democrat’s lead shrinks toRead more
Walmart Inc said on Friday it had begun returning firearms and ammunitions to the floors of its U.S. stores a day after the world’s largest retailer said it had removed these products to protect customers and employees as tensions across the country rise.”After civil unrest earlier this week resulted in damage to several of ourRead more
On the steps of a Bucharest court on Friday, Adrian Albu pointed to his sister among the pictures of the 65 people who died in a nightclub fire five years ago, triggering mass protests across Romania at a culture of graft and lack of accountability.Hundreds of people wearing protective masks and standing 4 meters apartRead more
Foreign ministers from Armenia and Azerbaijan met in Geneva Friday with representatives from France, Russia and the U.S. in an attempt to resolve the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region that has left hundreds dead.The three powers co-chair the Minsk Group, set up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1992 to mediateRead more
The Michigan appeals court on Thursday rejected an appeal from a Democratic state official who wants to ban the open carrying of guns outside polling places.The court, in a 3-0 order, declined to hear the case but noted that it’s already illegal to intimidate voters or aggressively wave a gun in public.”Anyone who intimidates aRead more
An Iranian teachers union leader, who has been jailed in Iran since 2016 and whose prison term was recently extended by a decade, is receiving inadequate medical treatment for severe pain, according to his wife.In a Tuesday interview with VOA Persian from her home in Tehran, the wife of Esmail Abdi said the dissident toldRead more