In a one-on-one interview with VOA’s Russian White House correspondent Mykhailo Komadovsky, NSC spokesperson discusses U.S. support for Ukraine and Saudi Arabia, ties between Russia and Iran …
In 2012, actress Chulpan Khamatova was campaigning for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Now based in Latvia, she speaks out against Putin and his war on Ukraine. Anna Rice narrates this story from VOA’s Russian Service. …
Rising domestic demand is forcing Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to cut back or halt natural gas exports to China, prompting a shakeup of regional energy markets and a rethinking of trade relationships across Central Asia. Meanwhile, American experts have been urging the West to invest in the region’s energy infrastructure, arguing that this kind of support …
Read more “Central Asia Balances Domestic Demand with Foreign Exports”
A massive aquarium in Berlin has burst, spilling 1,500 tropical fish and a million liters of water into the complex surrounding the structure and into the street. About 100 emergency workers responded to the scene early Friday at the DomAquaree building . Officials say they do not know what caused the Aqua Dom to collapse. …
Ten people, including five children aged 3 to 15 years, were killed in a fire that broke out Friday morning at a residential building in Vaulx-en-Velin, near the French city of Lyon, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. Darmanin said the cause of the fire was not yet known. “There are several scenarios and a probe will …
Six Chinese diplomatic personnel left Britain this week for their alleged roles in assaulting protesters at the Chinese Consulate in Manchester in October. British parliamentarians and rights defenders welcomed Wednesday’s development, even as they criticized 10 Downing Street for not acting sooner. “Six Chinese Consulate officials, including the consul general, are being removed from the …
Russian and NASA engineers were assessing a coolant leak on Thursday from a Soyuz crew capsule docked with the International Space Station that could have been caused by a micrometeorite strike. Dramatic NASA TV images showed white particles resembling snowflakes streaming out of the rear of the vessel for hours. The coolant leak forced the …
Read more “Tiny Meteorite May Have Caused Leak From Soyuz Capsule”
The International Criminal Court on Thursday confirmed the convictions of Dominic Ongwen, a former Ugandan child soldier who rose to be a commander in the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army, and upheld his 25-year sentence for rape, murder and child abduction. “The appeals chamber rejects all the defense grounds of appeal and unanimously confirms the convictions,” …
Read more “ICC Confirms Upholds 25-year Sentence for Ugandan LRA Commander”
The European Parliament voted Thursday to suspend all work on legislation linked to Qatar after allegations of corruption involving a parliament vice president rocked the assembly. Prosecutors suspect the vice president, Eva Kaili, and three other people took bribes from World Cup host Qatar in its alleged bid to influence European Union policymaking. At a …
Read more “European Parliament Suspends Work With Qatar in Response to Criminal Probe”
Slovakia’s minority center-right government lost a no-confidence vote Thursday, raising political instability and possibly bringing an early election sometime in 2023 while the euro zone country battles soaring energy prices and a weakening economy. The no-confidence motion, passed by 78 lawmakers in the 150-seat parliament, will most likely not mean the immediate change of the …
Read more “Slovak Parliament Dumps Center-Right Cabinet, Early Election an Option”
Russia’s foreign ministry warned the United States on Thursday that if it ships sophisticated Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine, Moscow would consider it a “provocative move” that could prompt a response from the Kremlin. Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that U.S. deployment of Patriot missiles to combat Russian airstrikes would represent an escalation in …
Read more “Russia Warns US on Sending Patriot Missiles to Ukraine”
European Union leaders added Bosnia to the list of official candidates to join the wealthy 27-nation bloc, diplomats said Thursday. The Western Balkans country joined the waiting room despite continuing criticism of the way it is run. Three diplomats told The Associated Press that Bosnia was granted candidate status. They spoke anonymously because the conclusions …
Read more “EU Leaders Grant Bosnia Candidate Status to Join the Bloc”
Turkish forces are poised to launch a military offensive into Syria against US-backed Kurdish forces there. But as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, Ankara is facing opposition, and not only from Washington. …
German tennis star Boris Becker, 55, has been freed from a British prison, the government said on Thursday, meaning he is now expected to be deported from the country. In April, Becker, a six-times Grand Slam champion, was jailed for two years and six months by a London court for hiding hundreds of thousands of …
Read more “Boris Becker Freed from UK prison, Expected to be Deported”
Georgia’s imprisoned former president, Mikheil Saakashvili, is likely to stay in detention in the former Soviet republic after his legal bid for medical treatment abroad was delayed on Wednesday. After Saakashvili called off a hunger strike earlier in the week, his lawyer said Thursday that the former president would eat only food sent to him …
Read more “Former Georgian President Remains in Prison; Bid for Medical Treatment Abroad Delayed “
The United States imposed new economic sanctions on Russian financial interests Thursday, targeting one of the country’s richest businessmen, Vladimir Potanin, and his family, in the latest effort to pressure Moscow over its war against Ukraine. Potanin was once Russia’s deputy prime minister, and the U.S. said he has direct ties to President Vladimir Putin. …
Read more “US Targets Russian Oligarch in Latest Round of Sanctions”
National Health Service nurses in Britain staged a strike on Thursday, their first ever national walkout, as a bitter dispute with the government over pay increases pressure on already-stretched hospitals at one of the busiest times of year. An estimated 100,000 nurses will strike at 76 hospitals and health centers, cancelling an estimated 70,000 appointments, …
Read more “British Nurses Stage First Ever National Walkout Amid Pay Dispute”
Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele has been sentenced to 28 years in prison in Iran for a “fabricated series of crimes,” Belgium’s justice minister said on Wednesday, adding the government was doing everything possible to secure his release. Vandecasteele had been sentenced as retribution for a jail sentence Belgium imposed on an Iranian diplomat last …
Read more “Iran Sentences Belgian Aid Worker to 28 Years in Prison”
National Health Service nurses in Britain will strike on Thursday in their first-ever national walkout as a bitter dispute with the government over pay ramps up pressure on already-stretched hospitals at one of the busiest times of year. An estimated 100,000 nurses will strike at 76 hospitals and health centers on Thursday, canceling thousands of …
Read more “British Nurses Set to Begin First-Ever Strike as Pay Dispute Deepens”
The U.K. government announced on Thursday that it will significantly relax limits on taking liquids in carry-on luggage at airports from June 2024. Currently, only containers of less than 100 ml are allowed in the aircraft cabin at international airports, provided they are placed in clear bags at security checks. Larger containers have to be …
Read more “UK Airports to Relax Aircraft Liquid Rules Beginning in Mid-2024”
Kosovo’s leaders on Wednesday signed a formal application seeking the status of candidate for membership in the European Union amid a long-lasting dispute with neighboring Serbia, which immediately called on the bloc to cancel the process. Kosovo’s president, speaker and prime minister formally signed the application letter that they intend to hand over Thursday to …
Read more “Kosovo Leaders Sign Application Request to Join EU”
Convicted Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda has been transferred from the International Criminal Court to Belgium to start a 30-year sentence for war crimes, the tribunal said Wednesday. Dubbed the “Terminator,” Ntaganda, 49, was convicted by the ICC in 2019 of leading a reign of terror in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in the early …
Read more “Congolese Warlord Ntaganda to Serve Sentence in Belgium”
France and Kylian Mbappe are headed back to the World Cup final for a much anticipated matchup with Lionel Messi after ending Morocco’s historic run at soccer’s biggest tournament. France defeated Africa’s first ever semifinalist 2-0 Wednesday, with Mbappe playing a part in goals by Theo Hernandez in the fifth minute and then substitute Randal …
Read more “Mbappe, France Advance to World Cup Final, Blank Morocco 2-0”
Representatives of Ukraine have received the European Parliament’s 2022 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought on behalf of “the brave people of Ukraine” amid their battle to repel invading Russian forces. The annual prize, named after the Soviet physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, was established in 1988 by the European Parliament to honor individuals and …
Read more “Ukraine’s ‘Brave People’ Receive 2022 Sakharov Prize”