Hungary’s government will assume emergency powers in order to be able to respond more quickly to challenges created by the war in neighboring Ukraine, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a Facebook video on Tuesday. Orban, who won a fourth consecutive term in an election on April 3, has used the special legal order in …
Read more “Hungary’s Government Gets Emergency Powers Due to Ukraine War, PM Orban Says”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba Tuesday urged other governments to send more weapons more quickly to aid Ukraine’s fight against Russian forces. “Too early to conclude that Ukraine already has all the arms it needs,” Kuleba tweeted Tuesday. “Russian offensive in the Donbas is a ruthless battle, the largest one on European soil since WWII. …
A Moscow court has upheld a nine-year prison term for opposition politician Alexey Navalny, who is already behind bars for a previous conviction he and his supporters have called politically motivated. Navalny took part in the Tuesday hearing via a video link from a prison in the Vladimir region. The Kremlin critic used his final …
Read more “Navalny’s Appeal of 9 Year Jail Sentence Denied in Moscow “
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 4:30 a.m.: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged other governments to send more weapons more quickly to aid Ukraine’s fight against Russian forces. 4:00 a.m.: U.S. President Joe Biden met …
Turkey is vowing to crush the presence of the Kurdish militant group PKK in Iraq. The PKK has used neighboring Iraq as the main base in its war for greater minority rights in Turkey. But as the Turkish military closes in on the PKK, analysts warn that the Kurdish group could turn to Iran, with …
Read more “Turkey Closes in on Kurdish Militants, Threatening Regional Shake Up”
At his swearing-in ceremony, new Education Minister Pap Ndiaye paid tribute to the nation’s teachers, singling out Samuel Paty, killed by an Islamist extremist in 2020. Ndiaye described himself as a symbol of meritocracy and diversity. Rather than feeling proud, he said, he assumed his new job with a sense of duty and responsibility. The …
Read more “France’s New Education Minister Sparks Surprise, Controversy “
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told world leaders and business executives at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland Monday that they faced a turning point following Russia’s invasion of his country — and that it was time to ratchet up sanctions against Moscow. It is the first time world and business leaders have gathered at …
Read more “Ukraine’s President Asks Davos Global Elite to Help Isolate Russia”
Scandal-tainted former Spanish King Juan Carlos I visited his son and current monarch Felipe VI in Madrid on Monday, during a brief but controversial trip home after almost two years in self-imposed exile. The meeting came at the end of the former king’s first visit to Spain since he moved to the United Arab Emirates …
Read more “Spain’s Ex-King Visits Son in Madrid for First Time in Two Years”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday he would cease talking to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and cancel a key meeting between their two governments, accusing the Greek leader of antagonizing Turkey. In a televised address following a Cabinet meeting, Erdogan accused neighboring Greece of harboring followers of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who …
Read more “Turkey’s Erdogan Says He Will No Longer Talk to Greek PM “
A veteran Russian diplomat to the United Nations office in Geneva resigned Monday because he said he was “so ashamed” of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine three months ago. In a rare, but not unprecedented protest within the Russian diplomatic corps, Boris Bondarev, 41, handed in his resignation in a letter addressed to …
Read more “Russian UN Envoy Quits in Protest of Ukraine Invasion”
So far, Russia’s oil exports have not slowed down a bit from the war in Ukraine and international sanctions. In fact, Russia exported more oil in April than it did before the war. And high oil prices mean Moscow is raking in money. That’s one reason Europe is considering a Russian oil ban: Current sanctions …
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country is interested in a major gas exploitation project in Senegal as he began a three-nation visit to Africa on Sunday that also is focused on the geopolitical consequences of the war in Ukraine. Senegal is believed to have significant deposits of natural gas along its border with Mauritania …
Read more “German Chancellor Scholz Kicks off Africa Trip in Senegal”
Cristian Mungiu’s Cannes Film Festival entry “R.M.N.” is set in an unnamed mountainous Transylvanian village in Romania, but the conflicts of ethnocentricity, racism and nationalism that permeate the multi-ethnic town could take place almost anywhere. Of all the films competing for the top Palme d’Or prize at Cannes, none may be quite as of the …
Read more “Cannes: Transylvania-set ‘R.M.N.’ Probes a Ubiquitous Crisis”
The usual trophies and prize money will be on the line for Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek and other top players at Wimbledon, but there is a significant change there this year: No one will earn ranking points, a valuable currency in tennis, when play begins June 27. The women’s and men’s professional tours announced Friday …
Read more “Explainer: Why Will Russia’s Ukraine War Affect Wimbledon?”
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 12:30 a.m.: During U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Japan this week, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told Biden Monday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “undermines the foundation of global order,” The New York Times reported. “We can in no …
Pope Francis on Sunday expressed his spiritual closeness to Catholics in China, voicing hope that the church there operates in “freedom and tranquility,” but making no mention of a 90-year-old cardinal who was recently arrested in Hong Kong. Addressing the public gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the pontiff’s traditional Sunday remarks, Francis noted that …
Read more “Pope Voices Hope Church in China Can Operate in Freedom”
Senegalese President Macky Sall said Sunday he would travel to Russia and Ukraine soon on behalf of the African Union, whose presidency he currently holds. The trip had been due to take place on May 18 but didn’t go ahead due to scheduling issues and new dates have been put forward, Sall said at a …
Read more “African Union Chief Announces Visits to Moscow, Kyiv”
One is a restaurateur who fled Belarus when he learned he was about to be arrested for criticizing President Alexander Lukashenko. Another was given the choice of either denouncing fellow opposition activists or being jailed. And one is certain his brother was killed by the country’s security forces. What united them is their determination to …
Read more “‘A Long Journey’: Volunteers From Belarus Fight for Ukraine”
Davos — the hub of an elite annual gathering in the Swiss Alps — is back, more than two years after the COVID-19 pandemic kept its business gurus, political leaders and high-minded activists away. There’s no shortage of urgent issues for the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting to tackle. With their lofty ambition to help …
Read more “Climate to Conflict, Davos’ Post-COVID Return Has Full Plate”
As Russia lays claim on the southeastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, Poland’s president makes an unannounced visit to Ukraine’s capital and addresses parliament in a show of support for the embattled nation. U.S. President Joe Biden signs a hefty aid package to Ukraine while Russia continues pressing its offensive in the eastern Donbas region. …
Read more “Russia Claims Victory in Capture of Ukraine’s Mariupol”
Britain has insisted it is up to the European Union to unblock political paralysis in Northern Ireland, after assuring a delegation from the U.S. Congress of its “cast-iron” commitment to peace in the province. The UK government has provoked anger on both sides of the Atlantic with a plan to overhaul the so-called Northern Ireland …
Read more “UK Demands EU Action on Northern Ireland as US Lawmakers Visit”
The first Grand Slam tournament without any COVID-19 restrictions since the pandemic started in early 2020 kicked off under menacing skies at Roland Garros Sunday. The French Open was the first major to be hit by the pandemic when it was postponed two years ago but all safety measures were lifted for this tournament, giving …
The wife of Iranian-Swedish citizen Ahmadreza Djalali accused of espionage and threatened with execution in Iran, on Saturday called on the European Union to secure her husband’s release. “I hope that the the EU can really act decisively in order to bring Ahmadreza home,” Vida Mehrannia said according to excerpts of an interview on Germany’s …
Read more “Wife of Swedish Citizen Threatened with Iran Execution Appeals to EU”
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 12:02 a.m.: Al Jazeera reports that Russia has again accused Ukraine of attacking its settlements. Roman Starovoit, the governor of the Kursk region, said there were no casualties or damage to infrastructure. …