Novak Djokovic will be allowed to play at the French Open even if he is not vaccinated against COVID-19 as long as the coronavirus situation in France remains stable, organizers said Wednesday. Russian tennis players, including top-ranked Daniil Medvedev, will also be admitted to play in the tournament but as neutral athletes because of the …
Read more “Djokovic, Russian Players Expected to Compete at French Open”
A look at today’s situation on Day 21 after Russia invaded Ukraine. …
Journalists of Belarus’ oldest newspaper were handed prison terms Tuesday in the latest move in a relentless government crackdown on independent media. Nasha Niva’s chief editor, Yahor Martsinovich, and journalist Andrey Skurko each were sentenced to two and a half years in prison on charges of dodging communal payments they have rejected as politically driven. …
Read more “Belarusian Journalists Handed Jail Terms in Media Crackdown”
India is exploring the possibility of buying oil from Russia amid sanctions imposed by Western countries in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine. India’s petroleum and natural gas minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, said in parliament Tuesday that the government was having discussions with Russia on crude oil purchases. “I myself have had a conversation …
Read more “India in Talks with Russia to Buy Discounted Crude Oil”
For Anastasia and Maria Starozhitska, the flight from war-torn Ukraine ends here — at a bustling train station in northeastern Paris, where pigeons bask in the afternoon sun. “We are in winter clothes, and we come Paris and it’s all summer clothes,” Anastasia Starozhitska jokes of the unseasonably warm weather, minutes after stepping off a …
Read more “At Paris Train Station, Ukrainian Refugees Get a Warm Welcome “
In response to Russian invasion, NATO defense ministers, heads of state to discuss increasing security preparations …
Full developments of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine …
Russia said on Tuesday it has written guarantees it can carry out its work as a party to the Iran nuclear deal, suggesting Moscow could allow a revival of the tattered 2015 pact to go forward. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s comments appeared to signal Moscow may have backed off its previous view that Western …
Read more “Russia Says It Has Written Guarantees on Iran Nuclear Deal”
The prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia traveled to the embattled Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday in a show of support for Ukraine even as bombardment by the Russian military edged closer to the center of the city. The three leaders went ahead with the …
Read more “3 EU Prime Ministers Visit Kyiv as Russian Attacks Intensify”
U.S. President Joe Biden will travel next week to Brussels, where he will join an “extraordinary” NATO summit set to take place on March 24 — one month after Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine. White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced Biden’s travel plans hours after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called for the meeting, tweeting …
Read more “Biden to Attend ‘Extraordinary’ NATO Summit in Brussels”
British Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has had her British passport returned, British lawmaker Tulip Siddiq said on Tuesday, as Tehran and London pressed on with talks about a long-standing 400-million-pound ($520 million) debt. “I am very pleased to say that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been given her British passport back,” Siddiq, who is the member …
Read more “UK Lawmaker: British Iranian Zaghari-Ratcliffe Gets Her British Passport Back”
The U.S. broadcaster FOX News on Tuesday announced that cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski has died in Ukraine. Zakrzewski, 55, was injured while on assignment with FOX News correspondent Benjamin Hall. Their vehicle was struck by incoming fire in Horenka, near Kyiv, according to a memo shared with the broadcaster’s staff. Oleksandra Kuvshynova, a Ukrainian journalist who …
The United States on Tuesday announced more sanctions on Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko for his role as an ally of Russia during the invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions will block Lukashenko and his wife from accessing U.S. property and limit the ability of Americans to conduct business with them. The U.S. has already sanctioned Lukashenko …
Read more “US Announces More Sanctions on Belarus Leader, Russian Officials”
Russian prosecutors are seeking an additional 13-year sentence for high profile Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, a spokeswoman for Navalny said Tuesday. “We’ve been saying that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin wants to keep Navalny in prison forever. The upcoming sentence has nothing to do with the law,” the spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, wrote on Twitter. Navalny, 45, …
Read more “Russian Prosecutors Seek 13 Year Additional Sentence for Dissident Navalny “
China says it does not want to get caught up in the diplomatic and economic blowback Russia is facing from Western nations over its invasion of Ukraine. State media said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed his government’s wishes during a lengthy phone conversation Monday with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares. According to a …
Read more “China Says It Is ‘Not a Party’ to Ukraine Crisis”
More than 2.8 million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion, according to the United Nations — the swiftest mass exodus of refugees since World War II, some experts say. The overwhelming majority of refugees from Ukraine are fleeing to European Union countries. More than half of those have fled to Poland, while hundreds of …
Read more “European Union Grants Temporary Protection to Ukrainians”
A look at the latest developments in Ukraine after Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. …
White House says ‘no evidence’ Russia willing to pair diplomacy with de-escalation …
The battle over Ukraine’s fate is happening on multiple fronts, with U.S. officials flying around the globe to meet with civilians who have been affected by the carnage, but also speaking virtually and in person with officials from other countries who have a role to play in ending this conflict. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from …
Read more “Ukraine Conflict Sees Multiple Diplomatic Fronts “
Some experts say China is trying to safeguard itself from the impact of Western sanctions without forfeiting ties to Russia …
WASHINGTON — Ukraine’s economy is expected to contract by 10% in 2022 as a result of Russia’s invasion, but the outlook could worsen sharply if the conflict lasts longer, the International Monetary Fund said in a staff report released on Monday. The report, prepared ahead of the IMF’s approval of $1.4 billion in emergency financing, …
Read more “Ukraine Economy to Contract Sharply in 2022 Due to War, IMF Report Says”
Full developments of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine …
Two months after the Berlin Wall fell, another powerful symbol opened its doors in the middle of Moscow: a gleaming new McDonald’s. It was the first American fast-food restaurant to enter the Soviet Union, reflecting the new political openness of the era. For Vlad Vexler, who as a 9-year-old waited in a two-hour line to …
Read more “Once a Powerful Symbol in Russia, McDonald’s Withdraws”
Russian officials have said that they will move to nationalize the assets of Western companies that pull out of their country over its invasion of Ukraine, a decision that will cause significant economic harm to hundreds of businesses while, at least temporarily, preserving the jobs of the tens of thousands of Russians employed by them. …
Read more “Putin Threatens to Privatize Western Companies that Exit Russia”