When Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and threw its support behind separatists in the country’s east more than seven years ago, Kyiv’s underfunded and disorganized armed forces struggled to mount a credible response. Now, amid fears that a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine’s border could signal a possible attack, military experts say Moscow would face …
Read more “Ukrainian Military Long on Morale but Short on Weaponry”
President Joe Biden is seeking to reassure Ukraine that his strategy to prevent a Russian military invasion will work, amid continued tensions over a massive Russian troop buildup along their common border. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports. Camera: Nike Ching …
Officials in Switzerland Friday presented two sets of restrictions they are considering to address surging COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations that are threatening the nation’s health system. Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health recorded 10,163 new cases and 51 deaths in the previous 24 hours – the largest spike in deaths since January. The office reported …
Read more “Switzerland Considers New COVID-19 Restrictions as Cases Surge”
An independent, unofficial panel of British lawyers, academics and businesspeople has concluded that China’s government committed genocide against Uyghurs, a ruling denounced by China as a “farce.” A Chinese spokesperson for the government of Xinjiang region, Xu Guixiang, Friday called the verdict “extremely despicable” as well as illegitimate. “The so-called final pronouncement is a piece of …
Read more “Unofficial British Tribunal Says China Committed Genocide Against Uyghurs”
France announced Friday that it would soon declassify some of the most secret sections of its national archives concerning the Algerian war of independence, opening the door for citizens to explore some of bloodiest parts of the country’s history. The Algerian war of independence lasted from 1954 to 1962, as the National Liberation Front fought …
Read more “France to Unseal Secret Records on Algerian War of Independence “
A British court has ruled that Julian Assange, the 50-year-old founder of the whistleblowing website Wikileaks, can be extradited to the United States to face charges of hacking and theft. As Henry Ridgwell reports, press freedom campaigners are dismayed at the ruling. …
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday arrived in Liverpool, England, to begin a series of in-person meetings with foreign ministers regarding the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as part of a December 9-17 trip that also will take him to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Hawaii. The top U.S. diplomat will meet Friday with …
Read more “Blinken Arrives in Britain on Trip to Further Advance Indo-Pacific Strategy”
Russia’s influence in the Central African Republic is growing as the country grapples with insurgents, according to the International Crisis Group. The CAR government hired the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary contractor for security. But Wagner’s alleged rights violations against killing civilians, aid workers, and journalists have caused tensions with CAR’s western supporters and uproar …
Read more “Russian Mercenaries Threaten CAR Stability Over Alleged Civilian Abuses”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated his call Friday for Russia to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine, respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and return to diplomacy to solve its regional differences. Stoltenberg made the comments in Paris where he held meetings with France’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, and Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly. For several …
Read more “NATO Chief Urges Russia to De-Escalate Ukraine Situation, Return to Diplomacy”
Growing inequality and the proliferation of multiple crises around the world have dashed hopes raised for a better, more equitable world 73 years after the U.N. General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres warns the world is at a crossroads. “The COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis and the …
Read more “Human Rights Under Siege as Global Crises Proliferate”
Germany’s Bundestag – the lower house of parliament – approved a measure Friday requiring health care workers to be vaccinated, the first step by the country’s new government to fight the latest surge of COVID-19. The measure passed 571 to 80 and was expected to be approved by parliament’s upper house later Friday. The …
Read more “German Parliament Approves COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Health Workers”
The European Union will on Monday impose a package of sanctions on targets linked to the Russian private military contractor Wagner, accused of stirring trouble in various conflicts. Foreign ministers from EU member states will meet in Brussels next week and endorse a list of individuals and firms to hit with asset freezes and visa …
A British appellate court has opened the door for Julian Assange to be extradited to the United States by overturning a lower court ruling that found the WikiLeaks founder’s mental health was too fragile to withstand the American criminal justice system. The appellate court ruling handed down Friday is likely to be appealed. A lower …
Read more “UK Court Overturns Denial of US Request to Extradite Assange”
The Kremlin and Chinese Communist Party are learning from each other in shaping and conducting information warfare aimed at exacerbating political divisions in the West and undermining trust in democracy, according to a new study. While there’s only limited evidence of explicit cooperation, there are instances of narrative overlap, said the Center for European Policy …
Read more “Amid Pandemic, Russian Disinformation With Chinese Characteristics”
The United States is seeking to reassure Kyiv that Washington’s strategy to prevent a Russian military invasion will work, despite Washington’s refusal to send ground troops to help defend Ukrainian soil. U.S. President Joe Biden spent nearly an hour and a half on the phone Thursday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, updating Ukraine’s leader on …
Read more “Biden Seeks to Allay Ukraine’s Concerns of Possible Russian Invasion”
The United Nations marked the day of remembrance of victims of genocide with a warning that the crime has not been relegated to the history books but remains a threat today. The U.N. set the tone for its observance of the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide …
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has until now been able to maintain good relations with his Ukrainian and Russian counterparts, but now analysts warn that escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine could mark the end of that balancing act. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …
To mark “International Anti-Corruption Day,” the Biden administration announced a raft of sanctions Thursday on 15 foreign government officials and companies it says are involved in corruption. The announcement of sanctions covering people and companies in Central America, Africa and Europe came as Biden opened a virtual “democracy summit.” Among those targeted by the U.S. …
The World Health Organization’s Africa regional health officials said Thursday that while the new omicron variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has driven up cases dramatically, there are early indications the variant is less severe than the delta strain. In a virtual briefing Thursday, the officials said overall, the continent saw a 93% increase …
Read more “WHO: While African COVID-19 Cases Surge, Omicron Appears Less Severe”
More than one thousand people, many of them young children, are living in a makeshift refugee camp amid freezing temperatures in eastern Belarus, a humanitarian crisis that critics say is political. Europe nations accuse the disputed president Alexander Lukashenko of using migrants as a weapon against Poland. For VOA, Jamie Dettmer narrates this report from …
Read more “Hundreds of Migrants Remain Trapped on the Belarus-Poland Border”
A small but influential group of Western nations has announced diplomatic boycotts of the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, citing its record of human rights abuses. The boycott allows the nations to send athletic delegations to the Games while refusing to send any high-ranking officials or dignitaries as an official delegation. The nations involved in the …
Read more “5 Western Nations Join Together in Diplomatic Boycott of China’s Winter Olympics”
Two journalists, one from the Philippines and the other from Russia, will receive the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in Oslo Friday. The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it was honoring the pair for their efforts to safeguard press freedom. The Nobel Peace Prize is the latest accolade for Filipino American journalist Maria Ressa, …
Read more “Filipino, Russian Journalists to Receive Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo”
Two journalists from Russia and the Philippines will receive the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo Friday. The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it was honoring the pair for their efforts to safeguard press freedom. Henry Ridgwell reports. …
U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he would not order the deployment of American troops to Ukraine to counter a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. “That is not on the table,” Biden told reporters on the White House South Lawn. “The idea the United States is going to unilaterally use force to confront Russia …
Read more “Biden Says Deployment of US Troops to Ukraine is ‘Not on the Table’”