Year: 2022

Chinese state-controlled media are placing volumes of content on popular social media platforms to air the government’s unique message about Russia’s war on Ukraine to a Western audience, analysts say. News readers don’t always know the content’s origin, they add.    The official Xinhua News Agency, the English-language newspaper China Daily and the English website …

Read more “China Uses Overseas Social Media to Spread Unique Views on War in Ukraine”

Rights activists in Azerbaijan say the government’s recent sentencing to prison of an opposition party leader on charges of slander is another sign of how defamation laws are being used against political opponents and civil society activists in the country. Last month the Baku Appellate Court upheld the five-month prison sentence given to Ali Aliyev, …

Read more “Azerbaijan’s Jailing of Opposition Party Leader Highlights Criminalization of Slander”

The emergence of thousands of foreigners volunteering to fight for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion has drawn sharply differing responses from the governments of those pro-Ukraine fighters, some of whom are from Russia itself and its ally Belarus. The three main types of responses identified by VOA include Western governments giving tacit or explicit permission to …

Read more “Foreigners Fighting for Ukraine Elicit Scorn, Ambivalence, Support From Governments  “

The World Health Organization reports hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees are arriving in Poland in utter distress and afflicted with a staggering number of health and mental disorders. Poland is host to about 61% of the more than 3.5 million refugees who have fled war-torn Ukraine into neighboring countries. The World Health Organization reports …

Read more “WHO: Ukrainian Refugees in Poland Suffering Health, Mental Disorders”

The ideologue. The charismatic leader. The pragmatist. The key players in the Ukraine conflict — Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Joe Biden — represent three distinct leadership styles, according to Samuel Hunter of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. “It doesn’t always happen that you have one of each. …

Read more “Key Players in Ukraine Conflict Embody Distinct Leadership Styles”

With Russia’s ground invasion largely stalled and stuttering, a minority view is emerging among some Kremlin watchers that Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s days are numbered.   “Whatever Putin does, he does not look as if he can survive for long,” tweeted Anders Aslund, a Swedish economist and former economic adviser to the governments of Kyrgyzstan, …

Read more “What Are the Chances of a Kremlin Coup?”

A court in Russia has found opposition politician Alexey Navalny guilty of embezzlement and contempt charges and sentenced him to nine years in prison. Judge Margarita Kotova announced the verdict on Tuesday at the penal colony outside Moscow where Navalny is being held. Prosecutors had asked for a prison sentence of 13 years. Navalny was …

Read more “Navalny Jailed for 9 Years on Charges He Denies”

Despite the war, education is still happening full time in thirteen areas of Ukraine, and part time in eight. It is mainly done remotely, and children can log in to their classes from anywhere in Ukraine or around the world. Lesia Bakalets has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. …

As the war unfolds in Ukraine, the owner of Amazing Piñatas in Los Angeles, has found a creative way to help Ukrainian refugees. Originally from Nicaragua, Lorena Robletto tells VOA’s Verónica Villafañe why she wants to help. …

Japan is protesting Russia’s decision to break off negotiations formally ending nearly eight decades of lingering hostilities from World War II because of Tokyo’s response over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The two nations have been trying to reach a peace treaty for years to resolve a disputed chain of islands off Japan’s northern island of …

Read more “Japan Protests Russia’s Decision to Quit World War Two Peace Talks “

A Russian court found jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny guilty of large-scale fraud on Tuesday, a move likely to see the time that President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic spends in jail extended by years.  Navalny is already serving a two-and-a-half sentence at a prison camp east of Moscow for parole violations related to charges …

Read more “Russian Court Finds Kremlin Critic Navalny Guilty of Fraud”

Zelenskyy says he’s ready for negotiations with Putin   …

One million tickets for the 2024 Paris Olympics will be sold for $26.50 (24 euros) each with availability for all 32 sports, organizers said Monday. The Paris proposal to the International Olympic Committee sets the basic price lower than that of the 2012 London Olympics, where the tickets cost more than $31. “This is something …

Read more “Paris Olympics Sets $26 Rate For 1 Million Tickets”

Full developments of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine     …

The European Union’s top diplomat said Monday that he has ordered the suspension of combat training for soldiers in Mali until he receives guarantees from the government there that the trainees will not be working with Russian mercenaries.  Rebel Malian troops have launched two military coups in recent years. The junta has postponed elections meant …

Read more “EU Freezes Some Mali Army Training Over Mercenary Concerns”

As the Ukraine crisis continues, the West is rethinking its dependence on Russian energy, analysts say.  According to Russian thinking, Europe’s energy dependence on Moscow would prevent it from interfering with Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Yet on February 22, two days before the invasion, Germany halted the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea gas …

Read more “Analysis: Ukraine Crisis Reshaping Global Energy Flows”

The European Commission is set to delay the publication of proposals on sustainable farming and nature that were expected this week, with the impact of the war in Ukraine on food supply leading some countries to question the European Union’s environmental push.  The EU’s “Green Deal” is overhauling all sectors, including agriculture, which produces roughly …

Read more “Ukraine War Delays EU Sustainable Farming Proposals”

While much of the world is focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, analysts warn that nations should not ignore Islamist militants, who are increasing attacks in Africa’s Sahel region and spreading to West Africa’s coastal states. Since 2020, terror groups linked to Islamic State and al-Qaida have carried out attacks against Ivorian forces. In response …

Read more “International Community Trains Ivorian Forces in Preparation for Terror Threat”

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Anhelina sat and prayed in the basement of her home in Bucha after Russian forces overran her small town north of Kyiv this month after fierce fighting. “There was no light, water, or gas. It was impossible to go out because they shoot. People were being shot around the house, which is a terrible sound, …

Read more “Life Under Russian Occupation: Hunger, Fear and Abductions “

OSLO — Norway’s Equinor has shut its Snorre B oil platform as a precautionary measure following an earthquake in the North Sea, although no damage has been reported so far, the company said Monday.  It was not yet clear when Snorre B, which produces between 30,000-35,000 barrels per day of oil, could resume normal operation, …

Read more “Norway’s Equinor Shuts Snorre B Oil Platform As Precaution After Earthquake”

A critical week for diplomacy, as US President Joe Biden heads to Europe for a special NATO summit aimed at defusing the conflict in Ukraine and imposing more consequences on Russia for invading their Western neighbor. European nations fear this conflict could spread into their territory. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington, …

Read more “Biden Heads to Europe to Meet with NATO, EU, G7 Heads Over Ukraine”

Forced civilian deportations from Ukraine’s besieged port town of Mariupol to Russia are “unconscionable,” U.S. officials said Sunday after authorities in Kyiv and Mariupol’s mayor accused Moscow of transporting thousands of people against their will. The claims are unverified so far but earlier this month Kyiv rejected an offer from Moscow to create “humanitarian corridors” …

Read more “Soviet Echoes of Deportations Alarm Historians”

Government says Russian invasion is a threat to international rules-based order …