Russia reiterated Wednesday that it had begun withdrawing some troops from close to the Ukrainian border. But many Western nations said there was little evidence of a pullback – and fear an invasion of Ukraine was still imminent. Henry Ridgwell reports. …
France on Wednesday said a decision on salvaging Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers was just days away and that it was now up to Tehran to make the political choice. Indirect talks between Iran and the United States on reviving the tattered agreement resumed last week after a 10-day hiatus and officials from …
Read more “France: Decision on Iran Nuclear Deal Days Away; Ball in Tehran’s court”
Russia reiterated claims Wednesday that it has begun withdrawing some troops from close to the Ukrainian border. Many Western nations, however, say there is little evidence of a pullback and fear an invasion of Ukraine is still imminent. Russia’s Ministry of Defense released several videos purporting to show tanks and troops withdrawing from the border …
Read more “West Skeptical of Russian Troop Withdrawal as Ukraine Diplomacy Continues”
In the Central African Republic’s countryside, Russian mercenaries from the controversial Wagner Group are backing government forces in the fight against rebels. In the capital Bangui, they’re fronting a Russian film campaign produced in the CAR backing Wagner’s role in combating insurgents in Mozambique. VOA has more in this report from Bangui. Camera: Clément Di Roma …
Read more “Central African Republic Becoming a Hub of Russian Mercenary Group’s Propaganda”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken denounced Wednesday a move by Russian legislators to recognize two Russian-supported breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent. Russia’s lower house voted Tuesday to ask President Vladimir Putin to recognize the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics, which declared independence from Ukraine in 2014 after President Viktor Yanukovych was removed …
Read more “Blinken Warns Russia Not to Recognize Two Russian-Backed Breakaway Regions in Ukraine”
President Emmanuel Macron hosts African leaders on Wednesday ahead of an expected announcement that France is withdrawing its troops from Mali after an almost decade-long deployment to battle a jihadist insurgency. Multiple sources have told AFP that Macron will announce that French forces will leave Mali and redeploy elsewhere in the Sahel region, following a …
Read more “Macron Hosts African Leaders Ahead of Expected Mali Withdrawal”
Everything is normal — or appears so. Outside the grand nineteenth-century city hall in Lviv, the capital of western Ukraine where Western embassies hurriedly relocated consular staff from Kyiv earlier this week, the streets are bustling. Children squeal with delight as they try to master their roller-skates in an outdoor skating rink nearby. Their breath …
Read more “On Day Russia Was Meant to Invade, Stoical Ukrainians Have No Time to Celebrate “
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday he is “troubled by dubious new charges” against Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who went on trial Tuesday in a penal colony outside of Moscow. Navalny is accused of embezzlement and contempt of court. If convicted, he could face up to 15 more years in prison. “Navalny …
Read more “US Calls New Charges Against Kremlin Critic Navalny ‘Dubious’”
Catholic groups Tuesday accused Italy’s Church of an “institutional failure” to confront clergy sexual abuse and demanded an independent national inquiry mirroring ones conducted in France and Germany. A collective of nine groups — seven headed by women — issued the demand during the launch of a campaign called “Beyond the Great Silence” and a …
Read more “Pressure Groups Demand Church in Italy Submit to External Sexual Abuse Inquiry”
Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny went on trial Tuesday in a penal colony outside of Moscow, accused of embezzlement and contempt of court. If convicted, he could face up to 15 more years in prison. The hearing is taking place inside the maximum-security prison in Moscow’s Lefortovsky district court, where he is being held, …
Read more “Kremlin Faces New Charges in Trial Outside of Moscow “
Crowds gathered in Barcelona’s historic downtown to watch in awe and snap cellphone photos as teams of people in colorful garb formed human towers rising into the air like the spires on the nearby medieval cathedral. A giant figure in bright blue dress and a floral crown paraded through the streets in representation of St. …
Read more “With COVID Rules Eased, Barcelona Embraces Festival’s Return”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has arrived in Brussels for talks with NATO leadership and allied defense ministers, as tens of thousands of Russian troops have surrounded Ukraine from the north, south and east. During the gathering on Wednesday and Thursday, Austin and his counterparts will discuss how to deter Russia from invading Ukraine …
Read more “US Defense Chief Austin in Brussels for High Stakes NATO Talks”
The European Union and African Union are holding their once every-three-year summit this week, after a two-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders from the two continents will meet in Brussels to discuss, among other things, the reaction to the pandemic and helping Africa adapt to climate change. African countries are not happy with …
Read more “Africa, EU to Meet After Rifts Over COVID Vaccines”
Britain’s Prince Andrew has settled a lawsuit from Virginia Giuffre, the woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. News of the settlement came in a letter filed with a Manhattan court Tuesday by Giuffre’s lawyer David Boies. Details of the settlement have not been disclosed, but the letter said Andrew …
Read more “Prince Andrew Reaches Settlement With Sexual Assault Accuser”
Russia says it is withdrawing some of its forces from areas close to the Ukrainian border after completing military drills, mocking Western intelligence agencies for naming February 16 as the date a Russian invasion of its neighbor would start. And the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and his senior aides say diplomacy is winning. “We and …
Read more “Russia Keeps West Guessing on Its Ukraine Intentions”
Diplomacy has reached a fever pitch between NATO allies and President Vladimir Putin, with the White House offering the Russian leader two choices: an invasion of Ukraine, with devastating consequences; or a negotiated peace, with what Putin sees as humiliating concessions. Anita Powell reports. …
Five Turkish journalists were beginning jail sentences Tuesday after a court rejected their appeal against a conviction related to their coverage of the deaths of Turkish intelligence officers in Libya in 2020, a lawyer in the case said. The five were convicted in September 2020 of revealing information and documents connected to intelligence activities. They …
Read more “Five Turkish Journalists to Be Jailed Over Libya Coverage After Failed Appeal”
Little more than a week ago, the questions from non-Chinese reporters at daily Olympics briefings were about sensitive things involving China — tennis player Peng Shuai, the government’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in the northwest, the efficiency of the anti-COVID “closed-loop system.” These days, they’re all about a drug scandal — the one with Russia …
Read more “Russia’s Olympic Doping Case Helps China Skirt Dicey Topics”
The trial of jailed Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny has started inside a penal colony on new charges of embezzlement — which he calls politically motivated — that could see as many as 10 more years tacked on to his prison time. Moscow’s Lefortovo district court started the trial on February 15 inside Correctional Colony …
Tennis star Novak Djokovic says he is prepared to skip the next two major championships if it means he will have to take a COVID-19 vaccine to enter the host countries. During an interview with the BBC Tuesday, the world’s number one male tennis player said he remains opposed to taking the vaccine, and says …
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Russia, Ukraine and the West on Monday to de-escalate tensions, saying “there is no alternative to diplomacy.” “The price in human suffering, destruction and damage to European and global security is too high to contemplate,” he said of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, which the West says could happen …
Read more “UN Chief on Russia-Ukraine: ‘No Alternative to Diplomacy’”
Despite their popularity in recent years, Azerbaijan’s Valentine’s Day celebrations are somewhat muted this year. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, as well as poverty, are blamed by some shopkeepers for the gloomy attitude. “During the pandemic, our business has been weak. Can’t sell much,” street vendor Tamkin Nagiyev told VOA. “People ask the …
Read more “Pandemic, Poverty Affect Valentine’s Day Celebrations in Azerbaija”
Polish ministers say they are drafting plans with the country’s regional governors to cope with the possible arrival of up to a million refugees from neighboring Ukraine in the event Russia decides to invade — an action U.S. and British officials have warned could come as early as this week. Mariusz Kamiński, the country’s interior …
Read more “Ukraine’s Neighbors Ready for Refugees; War Worries Peak “
The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has been going on for a long time and has many fronts, not just military. The religious schism between the Moscow and Kyiv Patriarchates of the Orthodox Church, and the struggle over the use of the Russian or Ukrainian language are two important battlegrounds in this conflict. Jon Spier …
Read more “Religion, Language Emerge as Key Fronts in Ukraine Conflict”