Month: June 2022

Britain’s four days of Platinum Jubilee celebrations to mark Queen Elizabeth’s 70 years on the throne conclude on Sunday with a pageant through central London, and with tens of thousands of people expected to take part in nationwide street parties. Singer Ed Sheeran and more than 100 “national treasures” ranging from former soccer player Gary …

Read more “Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee Celebrations End with Pageant Through London”

Albania’s parliament on Saturday elected a top military official as the country’s new president after no candidates were nominated in three rounds of voting. General-Major Bajram Begaj won the post after the 140-seat Parliament voted 78 in favor, four against and one abstained.The governing left-wing Socialist Party nominated and voted for Begaj, 55, after failing …

Read more “Albania Elects Top General as Country’s New President”

British pop superstar Ed Sheeran was on Sunday set to bring the curtain down on four days of momentous nationwide celebrations to honor Queen Elizabeth II’s historic Platinum Jubilee. The multi-award-winning singer-songwriter will perform at the finale of a daylong pageant lauding the 96-year-old monarch’s record seven decades on the throne, as a long weekend …

Read more “Sheeran to Crown Queen’s 4-Day Jubilee Party”

As images of Elizabeth’s reign were displayed onto the walls, Charles, 73, said the Jubilee had given the country the chance to say thank you …

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.: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian shelling has destroyed 113 churches in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, CNN reports.  …

In return for Turkey agreeing on the NATO membership of Sweden, officials in Ankara have requested that Stockholm hand over or censor journalists, politicians and activists who, they say, are supporting Kurdish “terrorists.” One of these people, Amineh Kakabaveh, a Swedish parliament member, spoke to VOA’s Dakhil Shammo in Stockholm. Camera: Bapeer Sherwani …

As soon as they had finished burying a veteran colonel killed by Russian shelling, the cemetery workers readied the next grave. Inevitably, given how quickly death is felling Ukrainian troops on the front lines, it won’t be empty for long. Col. Oleksandr Makhachek left behind a widow, Elena, and their daughters Olena and Myroslava-Oleksandra. In …

Read more “As Ukraine Loses Troops, How Long Can It Keep up the Fight?”

As designer Clary Salandy pushes open the kitchen door at a nondescript community center in west London, her visitors pause at the sight. A dozen giraffe heads, crafted in shades of orange and brown with top hats and flowing eyelashes, smile in a tidy row atop the commercial-grade stove, while a pair of zebras peer …

Read more “Pageant Participants in Queen’s Jubilee Celebrate Diverse UK”

Queen Elizabeth’s son and heir Prince Charles and her grandson Prince William will pay tribute to the record-breaking monarch at a pop concert at Buckingham Palace on the third day of nationwide celebrations for her 70 years on the throne. The “Party at the Palace,” which will feature singers Alicia Keys and Diana Ross, is …

Read more “Princes Charles, William to Deliver Jubilee Tributes to Queen Elizabeth”

A wildfire whipped by gale-force winds blazed through vegetation in a southern suburb of Athens on Saturday, fire authorities said, forcing residents to evacuate and damaging about 20 properties.  The Greek Civil Protection agency issued an emergency appeal for people to leave Ano Voula as the flames reached homes.  Officials reported no casualties, but four …

Read more “Greece Evacuates Athens Suburb Under Wildfire Threat “

The death toll from a German train derailment near a Bavarian Alpine resort climbed to five on Saturday as another body was recovered from the wreckage, police said.   Investigators were combing the overturned carriages for victims and clues as to the cause of Friday’s accident near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a region gearing up to host the …

Read more “German Train Crash Toll Rises to Five”

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has met with Finland’s prime minister and spoken to Turkey’s president as he seeks to overcome Turkish resistance to Finland and Sweden joining the alliance. Stoltenberg, who visited Washington this week, tweeted late Friday that he met with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin while there and discussed “the need to address …

Read more “NATO Chief Speaks With Erdogan About Finland, Sweden Joining”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent a message of congratulations to Queen Elizabeth, the reclusive state’s foreign ministry said, as Britain celebrates her Platinum Jubilee. Friday marked the second of four days of pomp, parties and parades to celebrate the 96-year-old monarch’s record-breaking 70 years on the throne. “I extend my congratulations to …

Read more “North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Sends Congratulations to Queen Elizabeth on Jubilee”

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.: Volunteers have carried out the largest evacuation from Ukraine’s Kharkiv region to date. Around 1,500 people were evacuated from the occupied territory in just one day on May 30 …

Read more “Latest Developments in Ukraine: June 4”

Fighting raged in two key eastern Ukrainian cities on the 100th day of Russia’s war, with both Moscow and Kyiv claiming progress on the battlefront.  Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Russian troops had succeeded in their main stated task of “protecting civilians” in the separatist-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine.  He added that Russian …

Read more “Fighting Rages in Eastern Ukraine on 100th Day of War”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “victory will be ours” Friday as the conflict with Russia entered its 100th day. Zelenskyy appeared in a video filmed outside the presidential palace in Kyiv, flanked by the same officials who appeared in a similar video on the day of the invasion, February 24. “Our team is much bigger. …

Read more “Zelenskyy Says ‘Victory Will Be Ours’ as Ukraine War Enters 100th Day”

Two Reuters journalists were injured and a driver was killed on Friday after the vehicle they were in came under fire while heading to the eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, the latest battle line in Russia’s assault on its neighbor. Photographer Alexander Ermochenko and cameraman Pavel Klimov were traveling in a car provided by Russia-backed …

Read more “Two Reuters Journalists Injured, Driver Killed in Eastern Ukraine”

For some Afghans who were evacuated as their country fell to the Taliban last summer, the journey to the United States has stalled, and perhaps ended, at a sun-baked cluster of tents and temporary housing on an American base in the Balkans.  While more than 78,000 Afghans have arrived in the U.S. for resettlement since …

Read more “Security Concerns Leave Afghan Evacuees Stuck in Balkan Camp”

The Russians occupied the Ukranian village of Yahidne in the early days of the invasion. When they were driven out in late March, the residents who endured the occupation began telling their story. Anna Kosstutschenko reports from the Chernihiv region of Ukraine. Camera: Oleksiy Yakushev …

The top African Union official met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to discuss the war in Ukraine and its effects on Africa. A cutoff in grain exports has heightened food insecurity in many African countries, leaving millions of Africans hungry. Senegalese President Macky Sall met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Russian city …

Read more “African Union Chair Meets Putin to Discuss Food Insecurity”

Horse-loving Queen Elizabeth was thanked for being “in the saddle” for 70 years as head of state at a service on Friday to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee, an event she missed due to her “mobility issues.” Other senior members of the royal family joined a congregation of politicians, charity figures and groups the queen has …

Read more “Queen Elizabeth Thanked for Being ‘Still in the Saddle’ After 70 Years”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it was summoning the heads of U.S. media outlets in Moscow to a meeting this Monday to notify them of tough measures in response to U.S. restrictions against Russian media. “If the work of the Russian media – operators and journalists – is not normalized in the United States, the most …

Read more “Russia Summons Heads of US Media Outlets, Warns of ‘Stringent Measures’”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that Russian forces occupy about 20% of Ukrainian territory. Friday marks the 100th day of fighting which continues on several fronts. “Just imagine! Constant fighting, which stretched along the front line for more than a thousand kilometers,” Zelenskyy told the Luxembourg parliament in a virtual speech Thursday. He said …

Read more “Friday Marks 100th Day of Fighting in Ukraine”

More than three months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. Justice Department is girding for more Russian cyberattacks, the department’s top national security official said Thursday. “At DOJ, we’re particularly focused right now on the cyberthreat from Russia,” said Matthew Olsen, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “And we are bracing for …

Read more “US Justice Department Braces for More Russian Cyberattacks “