A Ukrainian skeleton athlete flashed a small sign that read ” No War in Ukraine ” to the cameras as he finished a run at the Beijing Olympics on Friday night. Vladyslav Heraskevych’s sign was printed on a blue-and-yellow piece of paper, matching the colors of his country’s flag. He did not display the message …
Read more “Olympian Displays Sign Calling for ‘No War in Ukraine’”
President Joe Biden is urging US citizens to leave Ukraine immediately as tensions with Russia over its military buildup on the border continue to intensify. The US Embassy in Kyiv had already been urging citizens to consider leaving. Some American expats heeded the advice, others did not. Oksana Lihostova spoke to some Americans in Kyiv …
Read more “How US Expats in Kyiv Feel About Russia’s Possible War With Ukraine”
U.S. President Joe Biden cautioned American citizens about staying in Ukraine on Thursday, urging them to leave the country immediately and warning of a potential major conflict with Russia should a clash erupts between U.S. and Russian troops. Speaking in a televised interview on the U.S.-based television network NBC News, Biden said “American citizens should …
As Russia builds up forces along Ukraine’s borders and Chinese officials seek to punish Lithuania for opening a door to Taiwan, the heads of the Lithuanian parliament’s defense and foreign affairs committees called on their allies in Washington for support. Their message was clear: Lithuania is holding the line against two of America’s most powerful …
Read more “Lithuania Looks to US for Help Against China, Russia”
…
…
…
…
A ranking officer in one of North Korea’s elite military cyberwarfare units is being held in an undisclosed location in far eastern Russia after Moscow’s agents thwarted his attempt to defect, according to sources familiar with the matter and documents obtained by VOA’s Korean Service. Major Choe Kum Chol, a top information technology (IT) specialist …
Read more “North Korean Cyberwarfare Officer Arrested in Vladivostok While Seeking Asylum”
Visiting NATO headquarters Thursday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that Europe is facing its biggest security crisis in decades and pledged more military deployments in eastern Europe, in response to Russia’s troop buildup on the border with Ukraine. “The stakes are very high, and this is a very dangerous moment. And at stake are …
Read more “As Support for NATO Grows, Has Putin Miscalculated Over Ukraine?”
The commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service in London, Cressida Dick, announced her resignation Thursday following multiple accusations of misogyny, racism and sexism in the capital force’s ranks. Mayor Sadiq Khan said Thursday that he was dissatisfied with Dick’s response when he told her last week that the force needed to change to “root …
Read more “Commissioner of London Police Resigns After Multiple Scandals”
Russia opened 10 days of massive military drills in Belarus on Thursday and docked six of its ships at a strategic Black Sea port, drawing a sharp rebuke from Ukrainian officials who characterized Moscow’s actions as further escalating tensions in the region. The Russian maneuvers in Belarus involved thousands of troops and sophisticated weapons systems …
Read more “Russia Starts Military Drills in Belarus, Docks Ships at Crimean Port”
French police warned Thursday they would prevent so-called “Freedom Convoys” from blockading Paris, as protesters against COVID-19 rules began to drive toward the capital. Inspired by truckers paralyzing the Canadian capital, truckers and other motorists from across France are answering a call to converge on Paris on Friday. The movement has raised fears of a …
Read more “France to Truckers: We Won’t Tolerate Canada-style ‘Freedom Convoys’ “
French researcher Luc Montagnier, who won a Nobel Prize in 2008 for discovering HIV and more recently spread false claims about the coronavirus, has died at age 89, local government officials in France said. Montagnier died Tuesday at the American Hospital of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a western suburb of the capital, the area’s city hall …
Read more “French Discoverer of HIV, Luc Montagnier, Dies at 89”
Visiting NATO headquarters Thursday, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that Europe is facing its biggest security crisis in decades – and pledged more military deployments in eastern Europe in response to Russia’s troop build-up on the border with Ukraine. Henry Ridgwell reports. …
A senior Ukrainian official says her country will not bow to threats of military action from Russia and is prepared to fight to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva says she does not believe Russia intends to invade her country. Rather, Yevheniia Filipenko says Russia’s main objective …
Read more “Ukraine Remains Defiant in Face of Russian Invasion Threat”
Pentagon reporters have asked the Biden administration to grant them access to the approximately 3,000 U.S. troops being deployed to Eastern Europe and Germany in response to rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The Pentagon Press Association, which represents about 100 journalists, including two at Voice of America, wrote a letter Wednesday to Defense Secretary …
Read more “Pentagon Reporters Request Access to Troops in East Europe”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen Thursday announced a more than $172 billion investment plan for Africa, as part of the European Union’s Global Gateway infrastructure initiative. Von der Leyen made the announcement at a news conference in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, as she spoke to reporters alongside President Macky Sall. Von der Leyen is …
Read more “EU Chief Announces $172 Million Investment for Africa “
Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old Russian superstar who was expected to deliver her nation its third straight Olympic gold medal in women’s figure skating, practiced as usual on Thursday, hours after reports surfaced that she had tested positive for a banned substance. Valieva tested positive for the heart medication before the Beijing Games, the Russian newspaper …
Read more “Russian Star Practices Despite Report of Positive Drug Test “
France will build at least six new nuclear reactors in the decades to come, President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, placing nuclear power at the heart of his country’s drive for carbon neutrality by 2050. Macron said the new plants would be built and operated by state-controlled energy provider EDF and that tens of billions …
Read more “Macron Bets on Nuclear in Carbon-Neutrality Push, Announces New Reactors”
LONDON — Britain’s Prince Charles has tested positive for COVID-19 and is self-isolating, his office said Thursday. A message on his official Twitter page said Charles tested positive on Thursday morning and was “deeply disappointed” not to be able to attend a scheduled visit in Winchester, England. Charles, 73, met dozens of people during a …
Read more “Prince Charles Isolating After Testing Positive for COVID-19”
Turkey’s media regulator on Wednesday gave three international broadcasters, including Voice of America’s Turkish Service, short notice to obtain broadcast licenses or have their content blocked. The order from the Radio and Television Supreme Council, known as RTUK, also affects German broadcaster Deutsche Welle and Euronews, the regulator’s opposition board member said. “A decision was …
Read more “Turkey’s Media Regulator Forces VOA and Others to Obtain Licenses”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is meeting Thursday with leaders of Poland and NATO as he urges what his office called “solidarity with NATO allies who bear the brunt of Russian aggression.” Johnson has ordered 1,000 British troops be ready to respond to a potential humanitarian crisis resulting from a Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine. …
Read more “Britain’s Johnson Calls for Solidarity Against ‘Russian Aggression’ ”
Britain ordered 1,000 troops to be on a state of readiness to provide support in the event of a humanitarian crisis caused by any Russian aggression, ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to the leaders of NATO and Poland on Thursday. Johnson will go to Brussels and Warsaw to stress the need …
Read more “UK Readies 1,000 Troops for Humanitarian Support Over Ukraine Tensions”