Author: Mirits

The Vatican issued an update Saturday on the health of Pope Francis, who remains in Rome’s Gemelli hospital under the care of doctors, saying that while his prognosis remains “complex,” the pope is no longer in “imminent danger” of death. On Friday, the Vatican’s Holy See Press Office announced that since Francis’ condition is now considered stable, barring any major developments, updates on his health will be less frequent. The 88-year-old pontiff has spent four weeks in the hospital and is receiving treatment for double pneumonia. Medical bulletins from the pope’s doctors, which had been almost a daily occurrence since his admission to Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14, will be issued only when there is new information, the press office said Friday. The office emphasized that Francis’ recovery is progressing, but that it will require time to make sure the improvements continue. This also means the Holy See’s daily morning update about how the pope spent the night will no longer be issued, which leaves only the evening news briefing for journalists. The Vatican said that this is a “a positive sign” for the Catholic faithful, meaning that no news is essentially good news. Francis is continuing his prescribed medical treatments, which included motor physiotherapy Friday. He alternates between noninvasive mechanical ventilation at night and high-flow oxygenation with nasal cannulas during the day, according to the Vatican. Francis had part of a lung removed as a young man after a pulmonary infection and has in recent years battled recurring bouts of bronchitis. On Thursday, the press office said Francis celebrated the 12th anniversary of his papal election surrounded by health care staff. Part of the pope’s hospital stay comes during the Christian season of Lent. It is the annual 40-day period of prayer, fasting and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. Lent began on March 5. …

Britain’s leader encouraged his global counterparts to continue pushing for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine at the start of a virtual meeting Saturday intended to end the fighting between the two countries. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told a virtual meeting of mostly European leaders that “sooner or later” Russia would have to engage in talks on reaching a ceasefire in the three-year conflict. He addressed the group, described as a “coalition of the willing,” of mostly European leaders as well as those from Australia, New Zealand and Canada but not the United States. “Sooner or later, he’s going to have to come to the table,” Starmer said of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump urged Moscow to accept a ceasefire deal agreed to by U.S. and Ukrainian delegations in Saudi Arabia, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said “the ball is in Russia’s court.” Putin has said he agrees with a ceasefire in theory, but Russia still has certain conditions and questions that must be addressed before accepting any agreement. In his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that Putin is stalling and has demanded so many preconditions “that nothing will work out at all.” Meanwhile, the U.S. has expanded sanctions on Russian oil and gas as well as its financial sectors. Saturday’s discussion among world leaders could address future military and financial support for Ukraine and Zelenskyy’s security concerns if a peace deal is reached. Zelenskyy attended Saturday’s online video session. …

Relations between Russia and China are indeed closer than at any point since the 1950s, but they are shaped more by pragmatism, economic necessity and shared opposition to Western influence than by deep trust or historical affinity. …

CHARLEVOIX, QUEBEC, CANADA — Top diplomats from the Group of Seven leading democracies urged Russia on Friday to agree to a U.S.-proposed ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war. “We called for Russia to reciprocate by agreeing to a ceasefire on equal terms and implementing it fully,” the diplomats said in a joint statement from the talks in Canada. “We discussed imposing further costs on Russia in case such a ceasefire is not agreed, including through further sanctions, caps on oil prices, as well as additional support for Ukraine, and other means.” The White House said U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. “All G7 foreign ministers agree with the U.S. proposal of a ceasefire that is supported by Ukrainians,” and the focus now is on Russia’s response, said Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly on Friday. She added, “The ball is now in Russia’s court when it comes to Ukraine.” British Foreign Minister David Lammy echoed this sentiment, stating, “There is unity that now is the time for a ceasefire with no conditions. Ukraine has made its position clear. It is now up to Russia to accept it.” Lammy also noted that a “coalition of the willing” is forming to provide Ukraine with the necessary “security architecture” and monitoring mechanisms to support the ceasefire. The G7 joint statement comes as the Kremlin said that much remains to be done on a Ukraine ceasefire deal, signaling its reluctance to fully endorse the U.S. proposal. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Putin still awaits answers after raising several questions about the ceasefire’s implementation. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Putin’s response as “deliberately” setting conditions that complicate and “drag out the process.” “An unconditional 30-day interim ceasefire is the first crucial step that could bring us significantly closer to a just and lasting peace,” Zelenskyy wrote Wednesday in a post on the social media platform X. The G7 talks in Charlevoix, Quebec, brought together ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. China’s position Behind closed doors, G7 foreign ministers also discussed China’s role in global security, stability for the Indian and Pacific Ocean regions, and maritime security. On Friday, G7 foreign ministers held a session focused on strategic challenges posed by China, North Korea, Iran and Russia. Many foreign policy analysts and military officials refer to these four nations as the … “G7 urges Russia to accept ceasefire or face further sanctions” →

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday there are reasons for “cautious optimism” regarding a proposed ceasefire deal between Ukraine and Russia, following talks between a U.S. envoy and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Speaking to reporters in a telephone news briefing, Peskov referenced comments from Putin on Thursday in which he expressed qualified support for a U.S. ceasefire proposal to halt Russia’s war with Ukraine for 30 days but said some questions needed to be answered. Peskov said that “while much remains to be done, Putin “expressed solidarity with [U.S. President Donald] Trump’s position.” He said Putin held late night talks Thursday with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, during which Putin “conveyed information and additional signals to President Trump.” The Kremlin spokesperson said both sides agreed Putin and Trump should speak, adding that the timing of the conversation will be agreed upon once Witkoff has conveyed the new information to Trump. In his nightly address to his nation Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Putin’s comments were “very manipulative” and that he thought Putin’s qualified support for the U.S. plan was an effort to lay the groundwork for rejecting it. “He is in fact preparing a rejection at present, because Putin is, of course, scared to tell President Trump that he wants to continue this war, that he wants to kill Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy said. He noted Ukraine had accept the U.S. proposal and was ready to organize monitoring and verification. “We are not setting conditions that complicate the process; Russia is,” Zelenskyy said. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that no discussions between Trump and Putin have been scheduled, but she said that could always change. Referencing comments on the president’s Truth Social media account, Leavitt said Trump is pressuring the Russians to “do the right thing.” She called the talks in Moscow Thursday “a productive day for the United States of America and for the world in terms of peace.” On Thursday at the White House, ahead of talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump said it would be “very disappointing” if Russia ends up rejecting U.S. efforts to end the fighting. Meanwhile, Britain’s Defense Ministry said Friday that Russia’s prioritization of funding its war with Ukraine has likely resulted in insufficient funding for average Russians’ health care, leading to shortages of medical staff and equipment. In its defense intelligence report, the ministry said … “Kremlin: Reasons to be optimistic about ceasefire deal” →

The national assembly of Bosnia’s Serb-controlled Republika Srpska on Thursday adopted the draft of the new Republic Constitution, introduced by the autonomous republic’s president, Milorad Dodik, that includes articles that violate Bosnia’s constitution. Bosnian state prosecutors on Wednesday had ordered the arrest of Dodik and his aides for ignoring a court summons for allegedly trying to undermine Bosnia’s constitution. Republika Srpska is an entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina. Last month, a Bosnian court sentenced Dodik to one year in prison and banned him from politics for six years over his separatist activities and for defying decisions by the international High Representative that oversees the 1995 Dayton Accords. That agreement ended an ethnically rooted war that lasted more than three years and killed 100,000 people. Dodik rejected the arrest warrant, telling journalists in the regional capital, Banja Luka, on Wednesday that it was politically motivated and that he would ask Russia to veto an extension of the presence of EUFOR, the European Union’s peacekeeping force in Bosnia, at the U.N. Security Council. In an interview Thursday with VOA’s Bosnian Service, Dodik’s lawyer, Anto Nobilo, said Dodik does not recognize either the Bosnian court or state prosecutor’s office, and thus does not need legal defense. “I do not believe there will be Dodik’s arrest,” Nobilo said. “Mr. Dodik will not cooperate, or name his defense team, because he does not consider the proceedings legitimate. … Bosnia needs this situation defused immediately. This is a huge constitutional and legal and political crisis and has to be resolved politically.” Nenad Stevandic, president of Republika Srpska’s national assembly and a close ally of Dodik, denounced the moves against the Serb-controlled autonomous republic as an attack on the constitutional order. “We are absolutely right,” he said Wednesday. “However, to be right in Bosnia and Herzegovina means to be persecuted.” Meanwhile, in Washington, three members of the U.S. Senate — Chuck Grassley, Jeanne Shaheen and Jim Risch — led a group of nine other members of the U.S. Congress in calling on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to prevent further deterioration in Bosnia. “We are deeply concerned about the recent actions of Milorad Dodik, the leader of the Republika Srpska entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina,” they wrote in a letter to Rubio. “For years, he has engaged in secessionist activity, challenging Bosnia and Herzegovina’s state institutions, undermining the constitution and threatening the territorial integrity of the country.” … “Constitutional crisis shakes Bosnia” →

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia had trapped the remaining Ukrainian soldiers in its western Kursk region, where they have held on for more than seven months in one of the most important battles of the war. Putin told reporters in Moscow that the situation in Kursk was “completely under our control, and the group that invaded our territory is in isolation,” according to Reuters. Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into Kursk last August to divert Russian forces away from the front lines and grab land to trade for its own occupied territory. Ukraine’s top commander denied this week that his men were being encircled. Putin on Wednesday made a surprise visit to troops in Russia’s western Kursk region Wednesday, ordering soldiers to swiftly retake the region from Ukrainian forces. “If a physical blockade occurs in the coming days, then no one will be able to leave at all, there will be only two ways — to surrender or die,” Putin said at the Thursday press conference, according to Reuters. At the press conference, Putin also offered his qualified support for a U.S. ceasefire plan. Putin’s comments came after Russian aerial attacks overnight killed at least two people in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, officials said Thursday. Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram that his region came under attack by Russian drones and shelling, and that one other person was injured. In the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region, Governor Serhiy Lysak said at least three people were hospitalized after a Russian attack hit the city of Dnipro. Lysak said on Telegram the attack damaged multiple apartment buildings, including blowing out windows. Officials in the Sumy region reported Thursday that Russian drones fell on a set of garages, setting about 20 of them on fire. Ukraine’s military said Thursday it shot down 74 of the 117 drones that Russian forces launched overnight. The intercepts took place over the Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Sumy, Vinnytsia and Zaporizhzhia regions, the military said. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 77 Ukrainian drones, most of them in regions located along the Russia-Ukraine border. Vladislav Shapsha, governor of the Kaluga region, said the attacks injured one person and damaged an industrial building, a communication tower and a power line. The Russia military said it destroyed 30 of the drones over Bryansk, while officials in the region reported no … “Putin says Ukrainians must ‘surrender or die’” →

CHARLEVOIX, QUEBEC — Top diplomats from the Group of Seven leading industrial nations gathered Thursday in Charlevoix, Quebec, as host country Canada outlined its top agenda, focusing on achieving a “just and lasting peace in Ukraine” and strengthening security and defense partnerships as the G7 marks 50 years. During the opening remarks, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said, “Peace and stability is on the top of our agenda, and I look forward to discussing how we can continue to support Ukraine in the face of Russia’s illegal aggression.” Joly also emphasized the importance of addressing maritime security challenges, citing threats such as “growing the use of growing shadow fleets, dark vessels” and “sabotage of critical undersea infrastructure.” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he hopes a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine could take place within days if the Kremlin agrees. He also plans to urge G7 foreign ministers to focus on ending the Russia-Ukraine war. The G7 talks in Quebec follow U.S.-Ukraine talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where Ukraine said it is ready to accept a U.S. proposal for “an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire.” “Ukraine is committed to moving quickly toward peace, and we are prepared to do our part in creating all of the conditions for a reliable, durable, and decent peace,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote Wednesday in a post on social media platform X. He added that “Ukraine was ready for an air and sea ceasefire,” and “welcomed” the U.S. proposal to extend it to land. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia supports the U.S. ceasefire proposal in principle, but key details still need to be worked out. “Ceasefire, they can’t be coming with conditions, because all these conditions just blur the picture. Either you want to end this war, or you don’t want to end this war, so we need to be very firm,” said European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas during an interview with CNN International. “What we need to keep in mind is that Russia has invested, like over 9% of its GDP on the military, so they would want to use it,” Kallas said, adding the European nations “are massively increasing” their “defense investments.” The G7 talks bring together ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.  Rubio has underscored the need for monitors if a ceasefire is implemented. He told reporters on Wednesday that … “Ukraine peace, global security top G7 agenda as diplomats convene in Canada” →

PARIS — On the way to investigate the scene of a historic asteroid collision, a European spacecraft swung by Mars and captured rare images of the red planet’s mysterious small moon Deimos, the European Space Agency said Thursday. Europe’s HERA mission is aiming to find out how much of an impact a NASA spacecraft made when it deliberately smashed into an asteroid in 2022 in the first test of our planetary defenses. But HERA will not reach the asteroid — which is 11 million kilometers from Earth in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter — until late 2026. On the long voyage there, the spacecraft swung around Mars on Wednesday. The spacecraft used the planet’s gravity to get a “kick” that also changed its direction and saved fuel, mission analyst Pablo Munoz told a press conference. For an hour, HERA flew as close as 5,600 kilometers from the Martian surface, at a speed of 33,480 kilometers an hour. It used the opportunity to test some of its scientific instruments, snapping around 600 pictures, including rare ones of Deimos. The lumpy, 12.5-kilometer-wide moon is the smaller and less well-known of the two moons of Mars. Exactly how Deimos and the bigger Phobos were formed remains a matter of debate. Some scientists believe they were once asteroids that were captured in the gravity of Mars, while others think they could have been shot from a massive impact on the surface. The new images add “another piece of the puzzle” to efforts to determine their origin, Marcel Popescu of the Astronomical Institute of the Romanian Academy said. There are hopes that data from HERA’s “HyperScout” and thermal infrared imagers — which observe colors beyond the limits of the human eye — will shed light on this mystery by discovering more about the moon’s composition. Those infrared imagers are why the red planet appears blue in some of the photos. Next, HERA will turn its focus back to the asteroid Dimorphos. When NASA’s DART mission smashed into Dimorphos in 2022, it shortened the 160-meter-wide asteroid’s orbit around its big brother Didymos by 33 minutes. Although Dimorphos itself posed no threat to Earth, HERA intends to discover whether this technique could be an effective way for Earth to defend itself against possibly existence-threatening asteroids in the future. Space agencies have working to ramp up Earth’s planetary defenses, monitoring for potential threats so they can be … “Asteroid probe snaps rare images of Martian moon” →

Western politicians have repeatedly called on China to limit or cease tacit support for Russia’s bloody war against Ukraine. In response, China’s leadership insists it is committed to peace and respect for the territorial integrity of other nations. But unlike most United Nations member states, China has never condemned Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and their military-diplomatic partnership — from joint bomber flights near the U.S. state of Alaska to votes in the U.N. Security Council — has only helped the Kremlin overcome its international isolation. While President Donald Trump has said he has good personal relations with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, there is a consensus among experts in Washington that the China-Russia partnership poses a threat to U.S. interests, and that while Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, tried to establish a strategic dialogue with China, the Trump team appears to be prioritizing normalized ties with Russia while punishing China over trade. As the White House talks about the possibility of restoring economic cooperation with Russia, some of its officials are hinting at lifting or reducing the sanctions Washington has imposed on Moscow in recent years. Charles Hecker, an expert on Western-Russian economic ties and risks, and author of the book Zero Sum: The Arc of International Business in Russia, says some Western companies will quickly return to Russia if sanctions are lifted, particularly those involved in energy, metals and minerals. “There’s only so much oil in Norway, and there’s only so much oil in Canada; the rest of it is in some countries that have a very high-risk environment,” Hecker told VOA’s Russian Service. “And so, these kinds of companies are accustomed to business in these sorts of places, and they have the internal structures to help protect them. You know, there are energy companies doing business in Iraq right now. And I don’t want to compare Russia and Iraq, but they are high-risk environments.”  Still, Hecker cautions, their return to doing business in Russia wouldn’t signal an overall U.S.-Russian rapprochement — let alone a fracturing of Sino-Russian relations. “I think it will be very difficult for the West to pull Russia away from China,” he said. “Allowing Western companies back into Russia doesn’t necessarily change President Putin’s hostility towards the West. President Putin remains antagonistic towards a Western-dominated political and economic system, and he has said over and over again that he wants … “Can the US pry Russia away from China?” →

LONDON — A British jury on Thursday convicted a United Nations judge of forcing a young woman to work as a slave after tricking her into coming to the U.K. Prosecutors said Lydia Mugambe made the Ugandan woman work as her maid and provide childcare for free. Mugambe, who is also a high court judge in Uganda, was studying for a doctorate in law at the University of Oxford when the offenses occurred. Prosecution lawyer Caroline Haughey told jurors during the trial that Mugambe “exploited and abused” the victim, deceiving her into coming to the U.K. and taking advantage of her lack of understanding of her rights. Mugambe, 49, denied the charges. Jurors at Oxford Crown Court convicted her on all four charges she faced, including an immigration offense, forcing someone to work and conspiracy to intimidate a witness. There were gasps from the public gallery as the verdicts were read out, and the court was cleared after Mugambe appeared unwell. She is due to be sentenced on May 2. According to her United Nations profile page, Mugambe was appointed to one of the global body’s international courts in May 2023. …

BRUSSELS — Belgian federal prosecutors announced Thursday the arrests of several people as part of a corruption probe linked to the European Parliament amid reports in local media that Chinese company Huawei bribed EU lawmakers. The arrests came as an investigation by Le Soir newspaper and other media said lobbyists working for the Chinese telecoms giant are suspected of bribing current or former European Parliament members to promote the company’s commercial policy in Europe. About 100 federal police officers carried out 21 searches in Brussels, the Flanders and Wallonia regions, and Portugal, the federal prosecutor’s office said. The suspects would be questioned over “alleged involvement in active corruption within the European Parliament, as well as for forgery and use of forgeries,” prosecutors said. “The offenses were allegedly committed by a criminal organization.” Huawei public relations representatives in London did not respond to an emailed request for comment and could not be reached by phone. The European Parliament said only that the assembly “takes note of the information” and “always cooperates fully with the judicial authorities.” Huawei, which makes cellphones and is the biggest maker of networking gear for phone and internet carriers, has been caught in tensions between the United States and China over technology and trade. Some European nations have followed Washington’s lead and banned Huawei’s equipment from next-generation mobile networks over allegations that it poses a security risk that could help facilitate Chinese spying. The company has repeatedly denied this. European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said the EU’s executive branch had no comment regarding the investigation, but underlined security concerns the commission has about Huawei and Europe’s fifth-generation mobile phone networks. “The security of our 5G networks is obviously crucial for our economy,” Regnier told reporters. “Huawei represents materially higher risks than other 5G suppliers.” EU member states should swiftly “adopt decisions to restrict or to exclude Huawei from their 5G networks,” Regnier said. “A lack of swift action would expose the EU as a whole to a clear risk.” The federal prosecutor’s office, which did not name Huawei, said it believes there was corruption “from 2021 to the present day” in various forms, “such as remuneration for taking political positions or excessive gifts such as food and travel expenses or regular invitations to football matches.” Prosecutors say payments might have been disguised as business expenses and in some cases may have been directed to third parties. They would … “Belgium makes arrests in corruption probe linked to EU” →

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened the European Union with 200% tariffs on wine, champagne and other spirits produced in the 27-nation bloc after the EU levied what he said was “a nasty 50% tariff” on American-distilled whiskey. Trump contended in a post on his Truth Social media platform that the EU is “one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World.” He said it was formed in 1993 “for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States” economically. In the last month, Trump has been waging a tit-for-tat tariff fight with its biggest trading partners — Mexico, Canada, China and the EU — in what he says is an effort to staunch the flow of drugs, especially fentanyl, into the United States from Mexico and Canada, and also convince manufacturers to close their operations overseas and move them to the U.S. to create more American jobs. On Wednesday, Trump levied 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum exports to the U.S. from 35 countries, including the EU bloc. Europe quickly retaliated with its own tariffs on $28 billion worth of U.S. exports to countries that have long been U.S. geopolitical allies, while Canada imposed new tariffs on $20.7 billion worth of U.S. exports to its northern neighbor. The new EU measures will apply not only to steel and aluminum products but also textiles, home appliances and agricultural goods. Motorcycles, bourbon, peanut butter and jeans also will be hit, as they were during Trump’s first term that ran from 2017 to 2021. The EU duties aimed for political pressure points in the U.S. while minimizing additional damage to Europe. EU officials have said its tariffs, which are paid by importing companies and the cost of which is then mostly passed on to consumers, are targeting products from states dominated by Republicans like Trump, such as beef and poultry from Kansas and Nebraska, wood products from Alabama and Georgia, and liquor from Kentucky and Tennessee. Spirits producers have become collateral damage in the steel and aluminum dispute. Chris Swonger, head of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, called the EU move to tax U.S.-produced spirits “deeply disappointing and will severely undercut the successful efforts to rebuild U.S. spirits exports in EU countries.” The EU is a major destination for U.S. whiskey, with exports surging 60% in the past three years after an … “Trump threatens 200% tariffs on European spirits” →

Russian aerial attacks overnight killed at least two people in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, officials said Thursday. Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram his region came under attack by Russian drones and shelling, and that one other person was injured. In the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region, Governor Serhiy Lysak said at least three people were hospitalized after a Russian attack hit the city of Dnipro. Lysak said on Telegram the attack damaged multiple apartment buildings, including blowing out windows. Officials in the Sumy region reported Thursday that Russian drones fell on a set of garages, setting about 20 of them on fire. Ukraine’s military said Thursday it shot down 74 of the 117 drones that Russian forces launched overnight. The intercepts took place over the Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Sumy, Vinnytsia and Zaporizhzhia regions, the military said. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 77 Ukrainian drones, most of them in regions located along the Russia-Ukraine border. Vladislav Shapsha, governor of the Kaluga region, said the attacks injured one person and damaged an industrial building, a communication tower and a power line. The Russia military said it destroyed 30 of the drones over Bryansk, while officials in the region reported no damage or casualties. Russian air defense also shot down drones over Kursk, Voronezh, Rostov and Belgorod, the military said. The daily aerial attacks continue amid a U.S. push to secure a cease-fire in the conflict. The U.S. has proposed a 30-day halt in fighting, which Ukraine has said it would accept. U.S. officials are expected to discuss the plan with Russian officials in the coming days. The latest fighting came as Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to troops in Russia’s western Kursk region Wednesday, ordering soldiers to swiftly retake the region from Ukrainian forces. Dressed in military fatigues, Putin told the troops he was considering setting up a new buffer zone inside Ukraine’s Sumy region, adjacent to Kursk, to prevent any future Ukrainian incursions. “Our task in the near future, in the shortest possible timeframe, is to decisively defeat the enemy entrenched in the Kursk region and still fighting here, to completely liberate the territory of the Kursk region, and to restore the situation along the line of the state border,” Putin said. “And of course, we need to think about creating a security zone along the state border.” Some … “Deadly Russian aerial attacks hit Ukraine’s Kherson region” →

U.S. and Russian officials are expected to meet in Moscow to discuss a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Kremlin said Thursday that U.S. negotiators were on the way to Russia. That followed comments Wednesday from the White House saying special envoy Steve Witkoff would head to Moscow. “People are going to Russia right now as we speak,” U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday. “And hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that national security adviser Mike Waltz spoke to his Russian counterpart on Wednesday. U.S. officials met earlier this week with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia to present the ceasefire plan. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the U.S. effort, saying Wednesday Ukraine is “ready for a ceasefire for 30 days as proposed by the American side.” Zelenskyy said the halt in fighting could be used to create a broader peace deal for the conflict, which began with Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. …

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis marks 12 years as head of the Catholic Church on Thursday, seemingly out of danger after a month in hospital but with his health casting a shadow over his future. The 88-year-old was, for a time, critically ill as he battled pneumonia in both lungs at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, where he was admitted on Feb. 14. The Argentine’s situation has markedly improved since then, with the Vatican confirming his condition as stable on Wednesday evening, and talk is now turning to when he might go home. But his hospitalization, the longest and most fraught of his papacy, has raised serious doubts about his ability to lead the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Catholics. Slowing down Francis had before now refused to make any concessions to his age or increasingly fragile health, which saw him begin using a wheelchair three years ago. He maintained a packed daily schedule interspersed with frequent overseas trips, notably a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region in September, when he presided over huge open-air masses. But experts say his recovery could take weeks given his age and recurring health issues, not helped by having part of one lung removed as a young man. “The rest of his pontificate remains a question mark for the moment, including for Francis himself,” said Father Michel Kubler, a Vatican expert and former editor in chief of the French religious newspaper La Croix. “He doesn’t know what his life will be like once he returns to the Vatican and so, no doubt, reserves the option of resigning if he can no longer cope,” he told AFP. Francis has always left the door open to resigning were his health to deteriorate, following the example of Benedict XVI, who in 2013 became the first pope since the Middle Ages to voluntarily step down. But the Jesuit has distanced himself from the idea more recently, insisting the job is for life. While in hospital, Francis has delegated masses to senior cardinals but has kept working on and off, including signing decrees and receiving close colleagues. But he has missed a month of events for the 2025 Jubilee, a holy year organized by the pope that is predicted to draw an additional 30 million pilgrims to Rome and the Vatican. And it is hard to imagine he will be well enough to lead a full program of events for Easter, the holiest … “Hospitalized pope marks 12 years in job with future uncertain” →

WASHINGTON — A fossil of a partial face from a human ancestor is the oldest in western Europe, archaeologists reported Wednesday. The incomplete skull — a section of the left cheek bone and upper jaw – was found in northern Spain in 2022. The fossil is between 1.1 million and 1.4 million years old, according to research published in the journal Nature. “The fossil is exciting,” said Eric Delson, a paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History, who was not involved in the study. “It’s the first time we have significant remains older than 1 million years old in western Europe.” A collection of older fossils from early human ancestors was previously found in Georgia, near the crossroads of eastern Europe and Asia. Those are estimated to be 1.8 million years old. The Spanish fossil is the first evidence that clearly shows human ancestors “were taking excursions into Europe” at that time, said Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program. But there is not yet evidence that the earliest arrivals persisted there long, he said. “They may get to a new location and then die out,” said Potts, who had no role in the study. The partial skull bears many similarities to Homo erectus, but there are also some anatomical differences, said study co-author Rosa Huguet, an archaeologist at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution in Tarragona, Spain. Homo erectus arose around 2 million years ago and moved from Africa to regions of Asia and Europe, with the last individuals dying out around 100,000 years ago, said Potts. It can be challenging to identify which group of early humans a fossil find belongs to if there’s only a single fragment versus many bones that show a range of features, said University of Zurich paleoanthropologist Christoph Zollikofer, who was not involved in the study. The same cave complex in Spain’s Atapuerca Mountains where the new fossil was found also previously yielded other significant clues to the ancient human past. Researchers working in the region have also found more recent fossils from Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens. …

The US administration’s efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine are putting pressure on the Kremlin. But Moscow has made considerable territorial gains and some in Russia say they are prepared to give up nothing. VOA’s Jeff Custer narrates this report from our team in Moscow. …

As the U.S. seeks to strengthen ties with resource-rich Central Asia, the European Union is also reaching out to the region. Having adopted a new strategy for Central Asia in 2019, the bloc appears to be making renewed efforts to implement it. EU Commissioner for External Relations Jozef Sikela has begun a tour of the region ahead of an EU-Central Asia summit in Uzbekistan in April. Click here for the full story in Uzbek. …

The U.S. administration’s efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine are putting pressure on the Kremlin. But Moscow has made considerable territorial gains and some in Russia say they are prepared to give up nothing. VOA’s Jeff Custer narrates this report from our team in Moscow. …

As a court in London found three members of a Russian spy ring guilty, VOA Russian spoke to Roman Dobrokhotov, the editor-in-chief of the Russian investigative outlet The Insider, who was a target of the spy ring’s plot. Dobrokhotov described how the group planned to kidnap and assassinate him and his colleague Christo Grozev after The Insider’s groundbreaking investigation on the Kremlin’s involvement in the poisoning of Alexey Navalny. Click here for the full story in Russian. …

TEHRAN, IRAN — China, Iran and Russia conducted joint naval drills Tuesday in the Middle East, offering a show of force in a region still uneasy over Tehran’s rapidly expanding nuclear program and as Yemen’s Houthi rebels threaten new attacks on ships. The joint drills, called the Maritime Security Belt 2025, took place in the Gulf of Oman near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil passes. The area around the strait has in the past seen Iran seize commercial ships and launch suspected attacks in the time since President Donald Trump first unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. The drill marked the fifth year the three countries took part in the drills. This year’s drill likely sparked a warning late Monday from the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, which said there was GPS interference in the strait, with disruptions lasting for several hours and forcing crews to rely on backup navigation methods. “This was likely GPS jamming to reduce the targeting capability of drones and missiles,” wrote Shaun Robertson, an intelligence analyst at the EOS Risk Group. “However, electronic navigation system interference has been reported in this region previously during periods of increased tension and military exercises.” US-patrolled waters Russia’s Defense Ministry identified the vessels it sent to the drill as the corvettes Rezky and the Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov, as well as the tanker Pechenega. China’s Defense Ministry said it sent the guided-missile destroyer Baotou and the comprehensive supply ship Gaoyouhu. Neither offered a count of the personnel involved. Neither China nor Russia actively patrol the wider Middle East, whose waterways remain crucial for global energy supplies. Instead, they broadly cede that to Western nations largely led by the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet. Observers for the drill included Azerbaijan, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates — with the Americans likely keeping watch as well. However, China and Russia have deep interests in Iran. For China, it has continued to purchase Iranian crude oil despite facing Western sanctions, likely at a discount compared with global prices. Beijing also remains one of the top markets for Iranian imports. Russia, meanwhile, has relied on Iran for the supply of bomb-carrying drones it uses in its war on Ukraine. Iran … “China, Iran, Russia hold joint naval drills in Middle East” →

ROME — Pope Francis’ recovery from double pneumonia continued Wednesday as a chest X-ray confirmed improvement, two days after doctors declared he is no longer in imminent danger of death. The latest medical bulletin said the pope’s condition remained stable but indicated a complex picture considering his overall fragility. The Vatican said Francis, 88, again followed its spiritual retreat remotely and resumed physical and respiratory therapy after a quiet night. He continues to receive high flows of oxygen through nasal tubes during the day and a noninvasive mechanical mask to aid his rest at night. His weekly Wednesday general audience was canceled since the Vatican hierarchy is on retreat this week as part of the Lenten spiritual exercises that have been a mainstay of the Jesuit pope’s pontificate. Francis faces important milestones this week. On Thursday, he marks the 12th anniversary of his election as the 266th pope. The Holy See has not said how the anniversary, a public holiday in the Vatican, might be commemorated. No medical bulletin will be issued. The former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected on the fifth ballot of the 2013 conclave that was called after Pope Benedict XVI resigned. While Francis has praised Benedict’s humility in stepping down and said he might follow in his footsteps, more recently he has said the papacy is a job for life. Another milestone comes Friday, when Francis marks four weeks of hospitalization. St. John Paul II holds the record for a hospital stay, at 55 days, when in 1981 he underwent a minor surgical operation and then was treated for a cytomegalovirus infection. Francis is on track to equal the second-longest stay, 28 days, which John Paul recorded in 1994, when he had surgery to repair his right hip joint after he fractured his right femur in a fall, according to Gemelli hospital. The Vatican has released no photos or video of Francis since he was admitted. The pope recorded an audio message last week to thank people for their prayers, though the weakness and breathlessness of his voice made clear how frail he was. …

WASHINGTON — The United States on Wednesday announced sanctions against the Foxtrot Network, a Sweden-based gang accused of carrying out attacks against Israeli interests in Europe on behalf of Iran. Describing Foxtrot as one of Sweden’s “most notorious criminal gangs,” the U.S. Treasury and State Departments also placed sanctions on its leader Rawa Majid, with both agencies saying in statements that he had “specifically cooperated with the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security.” “Iran’s brazen use of transnational criminal organizations and narcotics traffickers underscores the regime’s attempts to achieve its aims through any means, with no regard for the cost to communities across Europe,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. The sanctions, which usually include asset freezes and U.S. entry bans, were issued in line with President Donald Trump’s reinstated “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, the agencies said. Sweden’s Sapo intelligence service announced last May that it believed Iran had recruited Swedish criminal gang members as proxies to commit “acts of violence” against Israeli and other interests in Sweden. That announcement came weeks after nighttime gunfire was reported outside Israel’s embassy in Stockholm, and three months after police found a live grenade lying on the grounds of the Israeli compound. At the time, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported that both Majid’s Foxtrot and arch-rival gang Rumba had been recruited by the Iranian regime, citing documents from Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad. DN said the Mossad documents showed Majid — a Swedish-Turkish dual national nicknamed the “Kurdish Fox” — had been arrested in Iran and ordered to cooperate with the Iranian regime or go to jail. Later, in October, the embassy was hit by gunfire, while the day after two explosions occurred near the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen. Swedish nationals have been arrested over the suspected grenade attack, according to Danish police. The attacks in Europe last year occurred as tensions soared between Iran and Israel over the devastating war in Gaza. But Sweden has struggled to contain surging gang violence in recent years, with shootings and bombings frequently occurring across the country. …

THE HAGUE — A jet that took former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte from Manila landed Wednesday in the Netherlands a day after he was arrested on an International Criminal Court warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity over deadly anti-drugs crackdowns he oversaw while in office. Rights groups and families of victims hailed Duterte’s arrest. Within days, he will face an initial appearance at which the court will confirm his identity, check that he understands the charges against him and set a date for a hearing to assess if prosecutors have sufficient evidence to send him to a full trial. If his case goes to trial and he is convicted, the 79-year-old Duterte could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The small jet taxied into a hangar where two buses were waiting. An ambulance also drove close to the hangar, and medics wheeled a gurney from the ambulance into the hangar. The court did not immediately confirm that Duterte was aboard the arriving plane, which made a stopover in Dubai during its flight from Manila, or that the former president was in court custody. Duterte’s arrest was announced Tuesday by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, who said that the former leader was arrested when he returned from a trip to Hong Kong and that he was sent aboard a plane to the ICC. “This is a monumental and long-overdue step for justice for thousands of victims and their families,” said Jerrie Abella of Amnesty International. “It is therefore a hopeful sign for them, as well, in the Philippines and beyond, as it shows that suspected perpetrators of the worst crimes, including government leaders, will face justice wherever they are in the world.” Emily Soriano, the mother of a victim of the crackdowns, said she wanted more officials to face justice. “Duterte is lucky he has due process, but our children who were killed did not have due process,” she said. Duterte’s supporters, however, criticized his arrest as illegal and sought to have him returned home. Small groups of Duterte supporters and people who backed his arrest demonstrated on Wednesday outside the court before his arrival. The ICC opened an inquiry in 2021 into mass killings linked to the so-called war on drugs overseen by Duterte when he served as mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao and later as president. Estimates of the death toll during Duterte’s presidential term vary, … “Philippine ex-president Duterte faces charges linked to ‘war on drugs’” →

A federal court in New York has rejected a Russian businessman’s challenge to the U.S. government’s efforts to confiscate a luxury superyacht that allegedly belongs to sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleyman Kerimov. The decision brings the United States closer to taking ownership of the yacht — known as Amadea — through a legal procedure known as civil forfeiture. The ruling likely represents the biggest victory so far in plans started under former President Joe Biden’s administration to seize assets of sanctioned Russian tycoons and use them to support Ukraine’s war effort. On March 10, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that Russian businessman Eduard Khudainatov did not have standing to challenge forfeiture of the yacht because he was not its owner. And because no one else has claimed ownership, the U.S. Department of Justice will now pursue a judgment of forfeiture by default. Khudainatov’s legal team plans to appeal the decision. “The ruling is both legally and factually flawed, and we are confident it will not withstand appellate review,” Adam Ford, a lawyer representing Khudainatov and his company, said in a statement. The DOJ declined to comment on the ruling. U.S. prosecutors believe the 106-meter elite superyacht that is valued at over $230 million belongs to Kerimov, a senator, businessman and ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The court also concluded in legal documents that the evidence suggests that after September 2021, Kerimov or his family exercised ownership of the vessel. In 2018, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on Kerimov. The government later alleged he or people acting on his behalf made payments for repairs and upkeep of the yacht that passed through the U.S financial system — a violation of those sanctions. U.S. law enforcement seized the Amadea in 2022. But the following year, Khudainatov, who is not under U.S. sanctions, claimed ownership interest, setting the stage for a legal battle that continues today. The outcome of the case will be important not only for the true owner and Ukraine but also for American citizens. As VOA reported in May 2024, U.S. taxpayers have spent more than $740,000 a month on the yacht’s maintenance. Last December, The Washington Post reported that servicing the yacht had cost the country roughly $30 million. The court previously denied the DOJ permission to sell the yacht and convert it into cash, a move that would save the government … “Court rejects Russian oligarch’s challenge to US efforts to confiscate yacht” →