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Hi, I'm VOA's Alexis Strope with your worldwide news update.
NATO and Ukraine are set to hold emergency talks after Russia's attack with a new hypersonic missile. AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports. With a thin smile, Russian President Vladimir Putin says no one in the world has such weapons like the Oreshnik, an intermediate-range ballistic missile he says moves too fast for Western air defenses to stop. His Strategic Missile Forces' chief says the Oreshnik can hit targets across Europe and be fitted with nuclear or conventional warheads. Putin says Russia will start producing more of the missiles. "It would be wrong to say that it's not dangerous." But Angela Stent, who is America's top intelligence officer for Russia, warns against being intimidated by Moscow's threats. "We're not on the brink of World War III." Still, European officials do worry the war is escalating. And Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy is urging the West to make Putin really afraid of the consequences he might face. Sagar Meghani, Washington. Ten pro-Palestinian NGOs asked a Dutch court on Friday to ban the Netherlands from exporting weapons to Israel and trading with Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. Reuters correspondent Angela Johnston reports. Their argument is that the Netherlands, as a signatory to the 1948 Genocide Convention, needs to take all reasonable measures to prevent genocide, and that the state is failing to do that by continuing exports of weapons parts and military cooperation. Lawyers for the Dutch state asked judges to dismiss the NGOs' demands, arguing it's not up to a judge to dictate the Netherlands' foreign policy towards Israel. The judge in Friday's case said the court will rule on it on December 13. That was Reuters correspondent Angela Johnston. This is VOA News. German auto supplier Bosch is set to cut thousands of jobs in a further sign of auto industry woes. AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports. The company cited stagnating global auto sales and a slower-than-expected transition to electric-powered, software-controlled vehicles, among other factors. Some 3,500 of the job reductions would come before the end of 2027. Bosch has said the cuts would hit the part of the company that develops advanced driver assistance and automated driving technologies, as well as centralized vehicle software. About half those job reductions would be at locations in Germany. I'm Karen Chammas. A draft deal released Friday afternoon at the United Nations climate summit would put $250 billion annually by 2035 toward helping poorer countries cope with the effects of global warming. The amount pleases the countries who would be providing the money, but not the nations receiving it. The amount is more than double the previous goal of $100 billion a year set 15 years ago. But it's only a quarter for every dollar requested by poorer nations struck hardest by extreme weather. The number is about the limit of what rich nations say they can do, promoting a figure in this range as realistic. A jury in Ireland decided on Friday that Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor sexually assaulted a woman at a party in Dublin in 2018 and must pay her nearly $260,000 in damages. Olivia Zollino from Reuters reports. The plaintiff, Nikita Hand, alleged that McGregor and another man, James Lawrence, sexually assaulted her on December 9, 2018. The jury found that Lawrence did not assault Hand. Hand said that she and a friend made contact with McGregor, who she knew, after a work Christmas party. She said they were driven by McGregor to a party in a penthouse room of a South Dublin hotel where drugs and alcohol were consumed. She said McGregor took her to a bedroom there and sexually assaulted her. McGregor denied the allegation and said he had consensual sex with Hand. He also denied causing bruising to the plaintiff. After the verdict, McGregor posted on X that he planned to appeal. Speaking outside the court, Hand said she was overwhelmed by the support she had received and that she felt vindicated. That was Reuters correspondent Olivia Zollino. Myanmar's desperate military junta is ramping up attacks on villages that have fallen to opposition groups. The U.N. independent human rights investigator for Myanmar says that the junta carries out beheadings, gang rapes and torture and that women, children and the elderly have been among the victims. Thomas Andrews said in a new report to the General Assembly circulated Friday that the junta has responded to military defeats and the loss of territory by using sophisticated weapons against civilians and seeking to destroy towns that it cannot control. That wraps up this update, but the world and news never stop. For additional updates, visit our website. I'm Alexis Strope, VOA News. |