Pavlo Vyshebaba joined the military on the first day of the Russian invasion, having no combat experience at all. Then the well-known Ukrainian eco-activist headed straight to his native Donbas region. During brief calm moments on the front line, he wrote about what he was seeing and feeling. Lesia Bakalets has the story, narrated by …
President Emmanuel Macron held talks Tuesday with France’s main party leaders in a bid to show he is open to dialogue after his centrist alliance failed to win an absolute majority in parliamentary elections. The meetings at the Elysee presidential palace come after Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne formally offered her resignation Tuesday, in line with …
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Analysts say the African Union (AU) is unlikely to offer Ukraine much support against Russia despite a passionate address Monday by Ukraine’s president. Many African nations have historical ties to Russia and have refused to condemn its invasion of Ukraine. In his speech to the African Union Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of …
Read more “Africa Won’t Give Ukraine What It’s Asking For, Analysts Say”
Ukraine reported heavy strikes Tuesday in the Sievierodonetsk region as Russian forces push to gain full control of the eastern city. A spokesman for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said at a daily briefing that fighting in Sievierodonetsk was fierce, with Russia conducting both airstrikes and shelling on Ukrainian positions. Luhansk …
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Russia has summoned the European Union’s envoy to Moscow to “strongly” protest new restrictions on goods shipments to its Kaliningrad exclave through EU member Lithuania while threatening the Baltic state with “retaliation.” The Foreign Ministry in Moscow said on Tuesday that EU Ambassador to Moscow Markus Ederer was informed of the “inadmissibility of such actions” …
Lawyers for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange are urging the Australian government to do more to gain the release of the Queensland-born activist. Assange is to be extradited from Britain to the United States to face espionage charges, in a move approved by the British government late last week. To his supporters, Julian Assange is a …
Read more “Australia Urged to Intervene in Long-Running Wikileaks Extradition Case”
A British subsidiary of mining and trading giant Glencore on Tuesday formally pleaded guilty to seven counts of bribery in connection with oil operations in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Sudan. At a Southwark Crown Court hearing in London, Glencore Energy admitted to paying more than $28 million in bribes to secure …
Read more “Glencore UK Subsidiary Pleads Guilty to Bribery in Africa “
British rail workers launched their biggest strike in decades on Tuesday. Last-minute talks to avoid the stoppage failed Monday, with the rail management and the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union unable to resolve a dispute about pay and job security. Union leaders say pay has failed to keep pace with inflation. British Transport Secretary …
Read more “Stoppage is country’s largest rail strike in decades”
Dmitry Muratov, editor of one of Russia’s last independent newspapers, auctioned off his 2021 Nobel Peace Prize medal on Monday, bringing in a record-shattering $103.5 million to benefit children displaced by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Organizer Heritage Auctions did not identify the winning bidder of the auction, which took place on World Refugee Day. The …
Read more “Nobel Prize Auction Nets $103.5 Million for Displaced Ukrainian Children”
Two Americans detained in Ukraine while fighting on the Ukrainian side of the war were mercenaries who endangered the lives of Russian servicemen and should face responsibility for their actions, the Kremlin said Monday. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, interviewed by the U.S. television network NBC, also said U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, held in Russia …
Read more “Two Detained Americans Endangered Russian Servicemen, Kremlin Says”
According to United Nations estimates, since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, some 2.5 million Ukrainians have crossed the Polish border and gone back to Ukraine. Iryna Martynenko was among those who returned to her native city of Sumy, in the northeast. Olena Adamenko has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera and video editing …
Read more “In Poland and Far From Family, Woman Returns to Ukraine”
What’s the price of peace? That question could be partially answered Monday night when Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov auctions off his Nobel Peace Prize medal. The proceeds will go directly to UNICEF in its efforts to help children displaced by the war in Ukraine. Muratov, awarded the gold medal in October 2021, helped found the …
Read more “Russian Journalist Sells Nobel Prize for Ukrainian Children “
Two months after French President Emmanuel Macron won reelection, his second term is now threatened with gridlock and a possible political crisis after his centrist party lost its ruling majority in the lower house of the National Assembly Sunday. Legislative vote saw a surging far left and far right — and near-record abstention. France’s Prime …
Read more “Legislative Setback Leaves Difficult Path Forward for France’s Macron “
The tooth of assassinated Patrice Lumumba, Congo’s first democratically elected leader, is scheduled to be handed over to his family Monday. The Belgium government will hand over the tooth to Lumumba’s family in an official ceremony in Brussels. Lumumba elected as Congo’s first democratically elected prime minister in 1960 and was hugely popular with his …
Britain’s railway network this week faces its biggest strike action in more than three decades in a row over pay as soaring inflation erodes earnings. Rail union the RMT has said that more than 50,000 workers will take part in a three-day national strike, coinciding with major events including the Glastonbury music festival. Schools are …
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “we should expect greater hostile activity from Russia” this week as European Union leaders consider whether to support candidate status for Ukraine in the EU. “And not only against Ukraine, but also against other European countries. We are preparing. We are ready. We are warning partners,” Zelenskyy said in his …
Read more “Zelenskyy Expects Increase in Russian Hostility Ahead of EU Vote”
Firefighters in Spain and Germany struggled to contain wildfires on Sunday amid an unusual heat wave in Western Europe for this time of year. The worst damage in Spain has been in the northwest province of Zamora where over 25,000 hectares (61,000 acres) have been consumed, regional authorities said, while German officials said that residents …
Read more “Spain, Germany Battle Wildfires Amid Unusual Heat Wave “
France voted Sunday in the second-round runoff of legislative elections that saw a new left-wing alliance threatening President Emmanuel Macron’s majority in the National Assembly, the lower house of the country’s Parliament. Voters trickled out of Neuilly Plaisance’s city hall, shopping carts in tow. After casting their ballots, their next stops were the …
Read more “French Voters Cast Ballots in Legislative Runoff “
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Sunday a new British law to change part of a Brexit deal to try to ease trade with Northern Ireland was “unilateralism of the worst kind” and urged the government to resume talks. The European Commission launched two new legal proceedings against Britain this month after London published …
Read more “Irish PM Martin Urges Britain to Resume Talks With EU Over its N.Ireland Law “
More than 100 migrants were rescued early Sunday off the island of Mykonos in the Aegean Sea and four are missing, the Greek coastguard said. Port police responded to a distress call sending three boats and a tug boat to help the stricken vessel which had come from Turkey, the coastguard told AFP. It said …
Read more “Greek Rescuers Save More Than 100 Migrants in Aegean “
The head of NATO said Sunday the war in Ukraine could last years and Ukrainian forces faced intensified Russian assaults after the EU executive recommended that Kyiv should be granted the status of a candidate to join the bloc. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was cited by Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper as saying the supply …
Read more “NATO Warns of Long Ukraine War as Russian Assaults Follow EU Boost for Kyiv”
Despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, couples there continue to get married. For many, the war itself prompted them to officially tie the knot – especially military couples. At least one jewelry store provides military couples with free wedding bands; wedding ceremonies are often held online, at times, literally from the front lines. Anna Kosstutschenko …
Read more “Despite Ongoing Military Action, Ukrainians Continue to Get Married”
Fine Italian knitwear packed in boxes addressed to retailers in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kursk sit stacked in a Lombardy warehouse awaiting dispatch. Although not subject to sanctions to punish Russia for invading Ukraine, the garments are not likely to ship any time soon. Missing payments from the Russian retailers who ordered the garments are …
Read more “Russian Sanctions Hurting Small Italian Fashion Producers”
Lithuanian authorities said a ban on the transit through their territory to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad of goods that are subject to EU sanctions was to take effect Saturday. News of the ban came Friday, through a video posted by the region’s governor Anton Alikhanov. The EU sanctions list notably includes coal, metals, construction …
Read more “Lithuania Says Sanctions on Goods to Kaliningrad Take Effect”