Month: May 2022

The possible expansion of NATO will be a focus of talks Saturday, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to Berlin for an informal NATO foreign ministerial meeting. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin have expressed their approval for joining the alliance, a move that would complete a major policy shift …

Read more “NATO Expansion in Focus as Blinken Travels to Europe for Talks on Russia-Ukraine War”

Russian forces suffered heavy losses in a Ukrainian attack that destroyed a pontoon bridge they were using to try to cross a river in the east, Ukrainian and British officials said in another sign of Moscow’s struggle to salvage a war gone awry.  Ukraine’s airborne command released photos and video of what it said was …

Read more “Russia Takes Losses in Failed River Crossing, Officials Say “

The EU’s foreign policy chief said on Friday that he believed there had been enough progress during consultations between his envoy and Iranian officials in Tehran this week to relaunch nuclear negotiations after two months of deadlock.  Talks to revive Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers have been on hold since March, chiefly over …

Read more “EU Says Talks With Iran ‘Positive Enough’ to Reopen Nuclear Negotiations”

The lawyer for WNBA star Brittney Griner said Friday her pre-trial detention in Russia has been extended by one month. Griner’s lawyer Alexander Boikov told The Associated Press he believed the relatively short extension of the detention indicated the case would come to trial soon. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was detained at the …

Read more “Detention of WNBA’s Griner in Moscow Extended for 1 Month”

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U.S. Senator Rand Paul Thursday blocked a vote on a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine, slowing U.S. efforts to quickly deliver more help to Ukraine as it battles a Russian invasion. “We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the U.S. economy,” Paul said. A unanimous Senate vote would have expedited the delivery of aid to …

Read more “US Senator Delays $40 Billion Aid Package to Ukraine”

A worker hurt in an explosion at a chemical factory in Slovenia has died from his injuries, bringing the total number of people killed in the accident to six, local media reported on Friday. The blast occurred Thursday when a cistern exploded at a resin factory belonging to chemicals company Melamin in the municipality of …

Read more “Death Toll in Slovenia Factory Blast Rises to 6”

A Frenchman murdered in the desert, a Dutch priest killed in a Nazi concentration camp and an Indian lay convert are among 10 new saints being created by Pope Francis on Sunday. Tens of thousands of people from around the world are expected in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican for the canonization mass, presided over …

Read more “Hermit, Martyr and Journalist Among New Catholic Saints”

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, citing the U.S. think tank the Institute for the Study of War, reports that Russia likely controls the Ukrainian city of Rubizhne and probably the town of Voevodivka …

Read more “Latest Developments in Ukraine: May 13”

An obscure mountain in the remote far west of Spain could prove to be a game changer in the race to end the West’s dependence on China for a mineral that is key to the world’s future mobility. Valdeflores, just outside Caceres, a city of about 100,000 inhabitants in Extremadura, a region well off the …

Read more “Europe Aims to Reverse Dependence on China for Electric Battery Mineral”

Colored marker stones placed on either side of a small river – blue and white for Finland, red and green for Russia – are all that separate the two countries in the windswept fields of the South Karelia region. The border stretches 1,340 kilometers from the Baltic Sea to the Arctic, much of it sparsely …

Read more “Will Finland’s 1,300-Kilometer Border Become NATO-Russia Frontier? “

Finland’s government says the country should immediately apply to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As Henry Ridgwell reports from the Russia-Finland border, such a move would have big implications for the region. Camera: Henry Ridgwell. Contributor: Mari-Leena Kuosa. …

Since the invasion of Ukraine began, the letter Z was used by Russia as a way to identify its military vehicles inside Ukraine. But the letter has now become a propaganda symbol inside Russia and Ukraine. VOA’s Russian service produced this report. …

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is disrupting crop exports and driving up global food prices. Both countries are major exporters of key staples like wheat and sunflower oil. In France, some farmers sense opportunity – particularly with sunflowers. Lisa Bryant reports from the French village of Labosse. …

Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin Thursday expressed their approval for joining NATO, a move that would complete a major policy shift for the country in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “NATO membership would strengthen Finland’s security. As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defense alliance,” they said …

Read more “Finland’s Leaders Support Joining NATO”

Calling US farms the ‘breadbasket of democracy,’ president vows to do more to offset food supply issues amid Russian invasion …

As he listened to his father die, the boy lay still on the asphalt. His elbow burned where a bullet had pierced him. His thumb stung from being grazed. Another killing was in progress on a lonely street in Bucha, the community on the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, where bodies of civilians are still …

Read more “‘This Tears My Soul Apart’: A Ukrainian Boy and a Killing”

Russian forces have been launching continuous artillery attacks on targets in southeastern Ukraine, continuing their push toward Odesa and other parts of the region. For VOA, Yan Boechat reports from the Zaporizhzhia oblast in southern Ukraine. Camera: Yan Boechat …

Over 560 soldiers from Ukraine’s National Guard, a force that includes the Azov regiment currently holed up in Mariupol’s steelworks, have been killed since the war with Russia began, its leader said Wednesday. Besides the 561 dead, an additional 1,697 troops had been wounded since the invasion began on February 24, National Guard chief Oleksiy …

Read more “Over 560 Ukraine National Guard Soldiers Killed in War, Kyiv Reports”

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.: Canada plans to charter three flights to bring Ukrainian refugees from Poland to Canada, The Washington Post reports. The flights will be May 23, to Winnipeg, Manitoba; May 29 …

Read more “Latest Developments in Ukraine: May 12”

Finland and Sweden are expected to apply for NATO membership in the coming days, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As Henry Ridgwell reports from Taipalsaari, close to the border, Russia’s actions have particular historical resonance in Finland. …

Iran’s intelligence ministry said on Wednesday it arrested two European nationals for allegedly fomenting “insecurity” in the country, state media reported, as the EU pushes to revive Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. The pair were accused of “organizing chaos and social disorder aimed at destabilizing [Iran]” in conjunction with foreign intelligence services, state TV …

Read more “Iran Detains Two Europeans for Fomenting ‘Social Disorder, State TV Says”

Ninety-nine-year-old Unto Hakuli and his fellow veteran and friend Tapio Niemi, 94, still live among the forests and frozen lakes of Finland’s border region, where they fought invading Russian soldiers more than 80 years ago. The bravery and skill of the defenders in what is known as the Winter War is feted far beyond Finland’s …

Read more “Finnish Veterans Who Fought Russian Invasion Support NATO Membership”

The fight for Ukraine played out beyond the battlefields on Wednesday, with Kyiv cutting off one Russian natural gas pipeline that supplies European homes and industry, while a Moscow-installed official in southern Ukraine said the Kremlin should annex Kherson after Russian troops took control.   Ukraine’s natural gas pipeline operator said it was stopping Russian …

Read more “Ukraine Cuts Off Russian Natural Gas Pipeline Supplying Europe”