France will build at least six new nuclear reactors in the decades to come, President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, placing nuclear power at the heart of his country’s drive for carbon neutrality by 2050. Macron said the new plants would be built and operated by state-controlled energy provider EDF and that tens of billions …
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LONDON — Britain’s Prince Charles has tested positive for COVID-19 and is self-isolating, his office said Thursday. A message on his official Twitter page said Charles tested positive on Thursday morning and was “deeply disappointed” not to be able to attend a scheduled visit in Winchester, England. Charles, 73, met dozens of people during a …
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Turkey’s media regulator on Wednesday gave three international broadcasters, including Voice of America’s Turkish Service, short notice to obtain broadcast licenses or have their content blocked. The order from the Radio and Television Supreme Council, known as RTUK, also affects German broadcaster Deutsche Welle and Euronews, the regulator’s opposition board member said. “A decision was …
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is meeting Thursday with leaders of Poland and NATO as he urges what his office called “solidarity with NATO allies who bear the brunt of Russian aggression.” Johnson has ordered 1,000 British troops be ready to respond to a potential humanitarian crisis resulting from a Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine. …
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Britain ordered 1,000 troops to be on a state of readiness to provide support in the event of a humanitarian crisis caused by any Russian aggression, ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to the leaders of NATO and Poland on Thursday. Johnson will go to Brussels and Warsaw to stress the need …
Read more “UK Readies 1,000 Troops for Humanitarian Support Over Ukraine Tensions”
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called Wednesday for “pausing” diplomatic relations with Spain, not breaking them, as he escalated his criticism of Mexico’s former colonial power, which he says has exploited Mexico. Lopez Obrador made the comments at a regular news briefing during which he requested a “breather” in official ties, stating “the relationship …
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Ukrainian communities in some large California cities are taking to the streets in peaceful demonstrations to express support for their homeland as Russia seems to be preparing to invade Ukraine. Khrystyna Shevchenko has this report from California. …
French President Emmanuel Macron is pursuing a poisoned peace plan, say critics in Europe, who fear the outcome of his talks this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin could be to strengthen Moscow’s hand in the crisis over Ukraine. A backlash is building to Macron’s visits this week to Moscow and Kyiv among fellow …
The so-called Minsk accords of 2014 and 2015 attempted to end the war in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine between Ukraine and Russian-speaking separatists in the disputed areas of Donetsk and Luhansk. In 2014, representatives of Ukraine and Russian separatists agreed to a 12-part cease-fire deal in the Belarus capital of Minsk. The deal …
Top Russian commanders arrived in neighboring Belarus on Wednesday, set to oversee 30,000 Russian troops as they train for 10 days with the Belarusian military in the latest show of Moscow’s force along the Ukrainian border. Russia has moved two battalions of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems and numerous fighter jets into Belarus for the exercises, …
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An international humanitarian official warns a war in Ukraine would be cataclysmic, potentially engulfing neighboring countries and turning into a regional conflict. Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland just spent a week along the government side of the frontline that separates Ukrainian armed forces from the Russian-backed rebel-held regions of eastern Ukraine. He …
After years of deteriorating relations, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is inviting his Israeli counterpart to visit. The invitation signals a rapprochement that observers say is driven by powerful mutual interests, including concerns over Iran’s nuclear program and the future of oil and gas imports from Russia and Iran. For VOA, Dorian Jones reports from …
Turkey’s broadcasting watchdog has given three international news agencies 72 hours to obtain an operating license or else have access to their platforms blocked, a member of the agency said on Wednesday. Ilhan Tasci, who also is an opposition lawmaker, criticized the move by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK) to request licenses from …
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U.S. President Joe Biden has threatened to block the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline if Russia invades Ukraine. The undersea pipeline directly links Russian gas to Europe via Germany and is complete but not yet operating. It has become a major target as Western governments try to deter a Russian attack on its …
Read more “Explainer: What’s Russia’s Nord Stream 2 Pipeline to Europe?”
Britain’s health secretary says he wants the people who have delayed their non-COVID medical appointments to come back to the National Health Service. Sajid Javid told Sky News, “I want them all to come back because I want them to know the NHS is there, it’s open for them.” Javid said the NHS estimates between …
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U.S. President Joe Biden hosts German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for a White House meeting Monday that is likely to be dominated by efforts to deter a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. The two NATO members have expressed support for bolstering NATO troop positions in the eastern part of the alliance, with the United States ordering …
The threat of conflict along the Russia-Ukraine border is at the top of the agenda for separate talks Monday in Moscow and Washington, with Russian President Vladimir Putin hosting French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Joe Biden welcoming German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to the White House. The White House said Biden and Macron spoke …
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French President Emmanuel Macron Sunday downplayed the likelihood of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying in a newspaper interview that the massing of Russian forces on Ukrainian borders is likely part of a wider Kremlin strategy to secure Western concessions rather than a prelude to a full-scale offensive. “The geopolitical objective of Russia today is …
Read more “Macron Flies to Moscow Claiming His Diplomacy Will End Ukraine Crisis”
Pope Francis on Sunday decried the genital mutilation of millions of girls and the trafficking of women for sex, including openly on city streets, so others can make money off of them. In remarks to the public in St. Peter’s Square, the pope noted that the day was dedicated worldwide to ending the ritual mutilation, …
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz set off Sunday for Washington seeking to reassure Americans that his country stands alongside the United States and other NATO partners in opposing any Russian aggression against Ukraine. Scholz has said that Moscow would pay a “high price” in the event of an attack, but his government’s refusal to supply lethal …
Read more “German Leader’s Stance on Russia Looms Over First Visit to US”
A photographer who previously worked for RFE/RL’s Belarus service has been arrested and taken to pretrial detention in Minsk, his relatives say. Relatives of photographer Uladz Hrydzin told RFE/RL on Sunday that he was taken to the Akrestsina detention center and that his trial would take place Monday. The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAZh) also …
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Amid ongoing tensions with Russia, the Biden administration is warning that the more than 100-thousand Russian troops along Ukraine’s border could still launch an invasion at a moment’s notice. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more. …
The United States now believes a Russian invasion of Ukraine “could happen at any time,” White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Sunday, in what would be the biggest military operation in Europe since World War II. “We believe that the Russians have put in place the capabilities to mount a significant military …
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Russia is reporting a record daily count of new coronavirus infections of 180,071, a tenfold spike from a month ago as the highly contagious omicron variant spreads through the country. The figure released by the state coronavirus task force on Sunday was about 2,800 cases more than recorded the previous day and continued a surge …
Read more “Russia Hits New Daily COVID Record: 180,000 Cases”