Year: 2022

The Biden administration has been working with European countries and energy producers around the world on ways to supply fuel to Western European countries should Russian President Vladimir Putin slash oil and gas exports in retaliation for sanctions imposed for an invasion of Ukraine.  “We’ve been working to identify additional volumes of non-Russian natural gas …

Read more “Energy Contingency Plan in Motion Amid Russia-Ukraine Crisis “

Kazakhstan’s leader has trumpeted ambitious economic reforms following the worst unrest in the country of 19 million in three decades. The measures are aimed at reducing the state’s deep involvement in the economy, bridging the gap between the wealthy minority and the struggling majority — and eliminating triggers for further turmoil.  Experts say the announced …

Read more “Explainer: What Post-unrest Reforms Is Kazakhstan Proposing?”

Russia says it is watching “with great concern” a U.S. move to put 8,500 troops on alert for possible deployment to Eastern Europe, amid fears a Russian invasion of Ukraine could be imminent. As VOA’s senior diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine reports, diplomatic efforts continue as the U.S. and NATO boost their military deterrence. …

Norway Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere has described as “serious” and “genuine” the talks his country hosted this week between the Taliban and Afghan civil society activists as well as Western diplomats regarding the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.    The three-day talks concluded Tuesday amid protests and criticism, particularly from Afghan rights groups, of Norway’s …

Read more “ Norway Defends Hosting Talks with Afghan Taliban”

The United States warned Russia Tuesday that it would face faster and far more severe economic consequences if it invades Ukraine than it did when Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014. “We are prepared to implement sanctions with massive consequences that were not considered in 2014,” a national security official told reporters in Washington. …

Read more “US Warns Russia Economic Sanctions Would Be Sharper Than in 2014”

Why won’t Russia’s Vladimir Putin let Ukraine go? He might not be able to, according to a former head of Britain’s MI6 external intelligence agency, Alex Younger.   In an interview Tuesday with the BBC, Younger said he cannot see how the Russian leader can back down as fears mount that Putin is poised to order …

Read more “Putin ‘Playing Poker Rather Than Chess,’ Says Former UK Spy Chief”

A French national who has been in Iranian custody since May 2020 was sentenced Tuesday by an Iranian court to eight years and eight months in prison for spying. Benjamin Briere, 36, was accused by Iranian authorities of flying a drone equipped with a camera near the Turkmenistan-Iran border. He was convicted of spying and …

Read more “Iran Sentences French Citizen to 8 Years for Spying”

A severe snowstorm battering Greece is growing into a political crisis with the main opposition leader calling on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to resign and hold snap elections. The call comes after thousands of people were left trapped along a main highway near the capital, Athens. The Greek government’s response to the storm is being …

Read more “Severe Snowstorm in Greece Grows Into Political Crisis”

London police said Tuesday they were investigating Downing Street lockdown parties in 2020 to determine if U.K. government officials violated coronavirus restrictions, putting further pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson.  The Metropolitan Police Service has launched an inquiry into “a number of events” at Downing Street because they met the force’s criteria for investigating the …

Read more “London Police Investigating Lockdown Parties at British PM’s Offices “

Most countries have made little to no progress in bringing down corruption levels over the past decade, and authorities’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic in many places has weighed on accountability, a closely watched study by an anti-graft organization found Tuesday. Transparency International’s 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index, which measures the perception of public sector corruption …

Read more “Report: Anti-corruption Fight Is Stalled, COVID Not Helping”

Russia has added jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny and several of his allies to its list of “terrorists and extremists,” as the government continues its assault on the country’s civil society.  The entries for Navalny and five of his associates — Lyubov Sobol, Vyacheslav Gimadi, Georgy Alburov, Lilia Chanysheva, and Ruslan Shaveddinov — appeared in the register …

Read more “Russia Adds Navalny to List of ‘Terrorists’ “

A Slovenian business group has said its members are facing a Chinese backlash days after Prime Minister Janez Jansa publicly discussed his hopes for closer ties with Taiwan during an interview. It marks the latest case of China refusing to tolerate dissent on the issue of Taiwan’s autonomy.   On January 17, Jansa told Indian media that …

Read more “Slovenian Trade Group Reports Chinese Backlash After PM Praises Taiwan”

Washington has put 8,500 military personnel on heightened alert for possible deployment to Europe and will evacuate some embassy personnel from Ukraine, as tensions rise between Russia and NATO countries over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s continued mobilization of troops near the Ukrainian border. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington. …

In the months since Russia began massing troops on the border of Ukraine, the Biden administration has, on multiple occasions, warned that any further aggression by Moscow toward its neighbor would be met with unprecedented levels of sanctions. Now, the White House appears to be dropping some specific hints about what those sanctions might look …

Read more “Biden Administration Considers Technology Sanctions if Russia Invades Ukraine”

U.S. President Joe Biden is meeting virtually Monday afternoon with key European leaders about the ongoing threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine as he weighs sending several thousand U.S. troops to the Baltics and Eastern Europe.  Biden has not decided whether to move U.S. military equipment and personnel closer to Russia. But White House …

Read more “Biden Meeting with European Leaders About Threat of Russian Invasion of Ukraine”

A gunman at a German university on Monday killed one and wounded three during a lecture in the school’s auditorium before fatally shooting himself.   The incident took place at the University of Heidelberg in southwestern Germany, and police say the man appears to have acted alone.   “We assume that there was only one …

Read more “Lone Gunman Opens Fire at Germany’s Heidelberg University”

The Russian stock market took a dive Monday as war fears triggered a massive sell-off, with tens of billions of dollars wiped from the value of some of the country’s leading businesses. As concerns mount that President Vladimir Putin is poised to order an invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the ruble also hit a 14-month low, …

Read more “Russian Markets Plunge as War Fears Mount”

Germany doesn’t appear to view Russian military threats against Ukraine with the same sense of urgency as the United States and some of its European allies, who have started to identify Berlin as a weak link in the Western alliance, say diplomats and analysts. The country’s new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has added his voice to …

Read more “Germany Seen as Western Alliance’s Weak Link”

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Monday won the first stage of his effort to overturn a U.K. ruling that opened the door for his extradition to U.S. to stand trial on espionage charges. The High Court in London gave Assange permission to appeal the case to the U.K. Supreme Court. But the Supreme Court must …

Read more “Assange Wins First Stage in Effort to Appeal US Extradition”

French designer Thierry Mugler, who reigned over fashion in the 1980s and died on Sunday, was as famous for his fantastical couture as for his blockbuster fashion shows. He was 73. Mugler’s daring collections came to define the decade’s power dressing, with his clothes noted for their structured and sophisticated silhouettes, showcased by his extravagant …

Read more “French Fashion Designer Thierry Mugler Dies Aged 73”

The State Department on Sunday ordered the departure of eligible family members from the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv and authorized the voluntary departure of U.S. direct hire employees due to the continued threat of Russian military action against Ukraine. The State Department also is asking U.S. citizens in Ukraine to consider departing the country now …

Read more “US Orders Departure of Family Members of Ukraine Embassy Staff”

A Taliban delegation led by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday started three days of talks in Oslo with Western officials and Afghan civil society representatives amid a deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. The closed-door meetings were taking place at a hotel in the snow-capped mountains above the Norwegian capital and are the …

Read more “Taliban Talks in Norway Raise New Debate About Recognition”

The United States began shipments of lethal aid to Ukraine after U.S. President Joe Biden recently said that any Russian troop movement into Ukraine would be considered an invasion. President Biden’s comments come as Russian President Vladimir Putin stations more than 100,000 troops along Ukraine’s border. Russian and U.S. diplomats so far have agreed to …

Read more “US Weighs Options on Ukraine”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Russia on Sunday that Washington knows “all of the tactics and techniques” that Moscow can deploy to undermine the Ukrainian government but will continue to engage in diplomatic talks in hopes of easing tensions in eastern Europe.  “It is certainly possible that the diplomacy the Russians are engaged …

Read more “US Warns It Knows Russia’s Tactics to Undermine Ukraine”