The finance ministers of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations agreed Friday to move forward with an unprecedented plan to cap the price of oil that Russia sells on global markets in order to limit the funds that Moscow uses to pay for the war in Ukraine. The price cap proposal comes as the …
Read more “G7 Finance Ministers Press Forward With Plan for Price Cap on Russian Oil “
Ewa Jaworska has been a teacher since 2008 and loves working with young people. But the low pay is leaving her demoralized. She even has to buy her own teaching materials sometimes and is disheartened by the government using schools to promote conservative ideas which she sees as backward. Like many other Polish teachers, she …
Read more “Teacher Shortages Grow Worrisome in Poland and Hungary”
The U.K. will begin its autumn COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the coming weeks after authorizing booster shots made by Pfizer and Moderna that have been modified to target both the original virus and the widely circulating omicron variant. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said Saturday that it had approved the Pfizer vaccine for …
Read more “UK to Begin Rollout of New COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign”
Tens of thousands of protesters from the far right and far left joined forces to rally against the country’s pro-Western Czech government in the capital Saturday. Police estimated that the crowd at Prague’s central Wenceslas Square numbered around 70,000. Some of the groups represented at the demonstration included the major anti-migrant populist Freedom and Direct …
Read more “Tens of Thousands Protest Against Czech Government”
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant lost connection to its last main external power line Saturday, according to a statement from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, but the plant could still send electricity to the grid via a reserve line. The plant’s senior Ukrainian staff told the International Atomic Energy Agency experts who stayed behind after their …
Read more “Ukraine’s Largest Nuclear Plant Loses Main Power Line”
Pope Francis on Saturday dissolved the leadership of the Knights of Malta, the global Catholic religious order and humanitarian group, and installed a provisional government ahead of the election of a new grand master. The change, which the pope issued in a decree, came after five years of often acrimonious debate within the order and …
Read more “Pope Dissolves Knights of Malta Leadership, Issues New Constitution”
A cap designed for Black swimmers’ natural hair that was banned from the Tokyo Olympics has been approved for competitive races. Swimming governing body FINA said on Friday the Soul Cap was on its list of approved equipment. “Promoting diversity and inclusivity is at the heart of FINA’s work,” executive director Brent Nowicki said …
Read more “Swim Cap for Black Swimmers’ Hair Gets Race Approval After Olympic Ban”
Thousands of people lined up in Moscow Saturday to pay their final respects to the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, an architect of drastic reforms that helped end the Cold War. Russian President Vladimir Putin was notably absent, with the Kremlin saying the president’s busy schedule prevented him from attending the funeral …
Read more “Thousands Pay Last Respects to Gorbachev at Funeral Snubbed by Putin”
Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency are used to risky missions — from the radioactive aftermath of the Fukushima disaster in Japan to the politically charged Iranian nuclear program. But their deployment amid the war in Ukraine to Zaporizhzhia takes the threat to a new level and underscores the lengths to which the organization …
Read more “IAEA Visit to Ukraine Nuclear Plant Highlights Risks”
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has sent a special envoy to attend this weekend’s beatification of former Pope John Paul I, saying it demonstrates the close relations between the island and the Vatican, which has been courting China. The Vatican is Chinese-claimed Taiwan’s sole European diplomatic ally, and Taipei has watched with concern as Pope Francis …
Read more “Taiwan Sends Special Envoy to Former Pope’s Beatification”
An energy battle between Russia and the West over the war in Ukraine revved up Friday with Moscow delaying the reopening of its main gas pipeline to Germany and G-7 nations announcing a price cap on Russian oil exports. Russian energy giant Gazprom said it could not resume the supply of natural gas to Germany, …
Read more “Battle Over Energy Supplies Between Russia, West Heats Up “
A new hormone treatment improved the cognitive function of six men with Down syndrome by 10% to 30%, scientists said this week, adding the “promising” results may raise hopes of improving patients’ quality of life. However, the scientists emphasized the small study did not point toward a cure for the cognitive disorders of people with …
Read more “Treatment Improves Cognition in Down Syndrome Patients”
Editor’s note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this past week, as seen from the United Nations perch. IAEA team visits Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi led a team of inspectors to Ukraine this week on a support and assistance mission. He …
Read more “UN Weekly Roundup: August 27- September 2, 2022 ”
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday that he and his team saw everything they asked to see at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, were not surprised by anything, and he will issue a report early next week on his findings. “My concern would be the physical integrity — would …
Read more “IAEA Establishes Presence at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant”
U.N. agencies are quickly mobilizing resources and staff to assess the damage and provide aid needed to assist millions of people made homeless and destitute by flooding in Pakistan. Extensive rains, which have pummeled Pakistan since June, have inundated the country, putting a third of it under water. The United Nations said more than 1,100 …
Read more “UN: Scale, Scope of Humanitarian Crisis in Flood-Hit Pakistan Unprecedented”
Group of Seven finance ministers agreed Friday to impose a price cap on Russian oil aimed at slashing revenues for Moscow’s war in Ukraine while keeping crude flowing to avoid price spikes, but their statement left out key details of the plan. The ministers from the group of wealthy industrial democracies confirmed their commitment to …
Read more “G7 Finance Chiefs Agree on Russian Oil Price Cap but Level Not Yet Set”
Germany and the families of Israeli athletes murdered at the 1972 Munich Olympics have agreed on a compensation offer totaling $28 million, according to an interior ministry spokesperson on Friday. Last month, the families had said they were unhappy with the latest German compensation offers and that they planned to boycott a ceremony on Monday …
Read more “Germany Agrees to Pay $28M to Families of 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre Victims”
Belarus has become an accomplice to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. Russian troops used it as a launchpad for missile strikes and air raids on Ukraine. In response, Western countries have imposed tough sanctions on Belarus. Maxim Moskalkov reports. Camera: Elena Matusovsky. …
Human Rights Watch issued a report Thursday documenting the forcible transfer of Ukrainian citizens to Russia and Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, which HRW says constitutes war crimes and potential crimes against humanity. The 71-page report, We Had No Choice: “Filtration” and the Crime of Forcibly Transferring Ukrainian Civilians to Russia, includes interviews with 18 people …
Read more “VOA Exclusive: Ukrainians Forcibly Transferred to Russia ‘Had No Choice’ “
Russia this week shut off a major gas pipeline to Germany as Europe and the U.S. accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “weaponizing” energy. And as Henry Ridgwell reports from London, there are growing environmental concerns about an unexplained Russian gas flare close to the Arctic. …
Russia closed the major Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Germany on Wednesday, claiming the three-day shutdown is necessary for the maintenance of turbines. Europe and the U.S. dispute that claim and accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of “weaponizing” energy. Last year, Russia supplied 40 percent of the European Union’s gas. In recent …
Read more “Russia Shuts Key Pipeline, Burns Off Gas as West Accuses Putin of Weaponizing Energy “
The death of the late Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, has come at a critical moment in Russia’s history. Society is divided over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and analysts say the government of Vladimir Putin is becoming increasingly authoritarian and repressive, as explained in this report from the VOA Moscow bureau, narrated by Marcus Harton …
Read more “Some Russians Praise, Others Condemn Gorbachev’s Legacy”
A United Nations team of nuclear experts completed its first safety and security tour of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Thursday, even as fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces raged near the facility. International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi, leading a 14-member inspection group, told reporters the agency was “establishing our continued presence” …
Read more “UN Inspectors Complete First Tour of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant”
Lukoil, Russia’s largest private oil company and one of the few to voice opposition to the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, says its chairman has died following a “serious illness,” disputing local media reports that he had plunged to his death from a hospital window. “We deeply regret to announce that Ravil Maganov … passed away …
Read more “Lukoil Chairman Latest Russian Businessman to Die Under Mysterious Circumstances”