Month: June 2024

Gaborone, Botswana — Some Southern African countries pushing against the United Kingdom’s anti-hunting efforts suffered a blow when the Labor Party, expected to form the next government, committed last week to support a ban on hunting trophy imports. Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe said in a joint statement that they are disappointed Britain’s …

Read more “Southern African nations wary as UK’s Labor Party commits to hunting trophy ban”

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Tbilisi, Georgia — Protesters in Georgia have vowed to continue anti-government demonstrations driven largely by the so-called “foreign agent” law that took effect last week. Thousands of people have taken to the streets of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, in the past two months to protest the law, which critics have compared to similar measures in Russia. …

Read more “Georgia’s protesters vow to stay on streets until government falls”

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, in recent weeks to protest a new ‘foreign agent’ law, which critics have compared to similar legislation in Russia. The law is now in force – but its opponents have vowed to continue their demonstrations until crucial elections scheduled for later this …

Read more “Georgia’s protestors vow to stay on streets until government falls”

CARACAS, Venezuela — A fleet of Russian warships reached Cuban waters on Wednesday ahead of planned military exercises in the Caribbean in what some see as a projection of strength as tensions grow over Western support for Ukraine. Three ships slowly crossed the mouth of the Havana Bay accompanied by small boats that guided them through …

Read more “Russian warships reach Cuban waters ahead of military exercises in the Caribbean”

Before Russia’s invasion, Ukraine was an international surrogacy hub. Relatively low cost and a favorable legal framework led to thousands of babies born every year thanks to Ukrainian surrogate mothers, many of them for overseas parents. Despite the war and the risks, hopeful foreigners keep coming to Ukraine. Mariia Prus has the story. …

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The Hague — A Dutch court will on Wednesday hand down a long-awaited verdict over the 2021 assassination of high-profile crime journalist Peter R. de Vries, a killing that shocked the country. De Vries was gunned down in broad daylight on a busy Amsterdam street in July 2021, sparking an outpouring of grief and spotlighting the …

Read more “Verdict due in Dutch crime reporter’s killing”

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Russia says it is holding more than 6,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war. For many of those released, liberation is the start of a painful process of recovery. From Kyiv, Lesia Bakalets brings the story of one former prisoner of war. Videographer: Vladyslav Smilianets …

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White House  — The last time leaders of the world’s seven richest economies met, at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan in 2023, they denounced China’s rising economic security threats and vowed to support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion for as long as it takes. This week in Apulia, Italy, U.S. President Joe Biden wants the group …

Read more “At G7 Italy, Biden to push plans to deal with Russian frozen assets, Chinese overcapacity”

The destruction of the Kakhovka dam a year ago [June 2023] in southern Ukraine put the water supply of hundreds of thousands of people at risk, including residents of Kushuhum in the Zaporizhzhia region. With the region now in Ukrainian hands, Kushuhum officials say people are returning to their homes and making water issues worse. …

Read more “Water shortage caused by dam breach hits southern Ukraine  ”

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MOSCOW — Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Monday said it has rescinded the accreditation of a correspondent for Austria’s public broadcaster ORF and told her to leave the country in response to Austria’s expulsion of a journalist for Russian state news agency Tass.  The ministry said in a statement that Maria Knips-Witting was ordered to hand over …

Read more “Russia orders Austrian journalist to leave in response to Austria expelling Tass journalist”

Brussels — A court in Brussels on Monday sentenced a 65-year-old Belgian-Rwandan man to 25 years in prison for murder and rape committed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.   Emmanuel Nkunduwimye was found guilty of war crimes and genocide for a series of murders as well as the rape of a Tutsi woman.  Nkunduwimye, who was …

Read more “Man jailed in Belgium for 25 years over Rwandan genocide      “

Paris — Right-wing parties chalked up major gains in several key European countries following the European parliament elections — with France facing perhaps the biggest fallout. French President Emmanuel Macron has dissolved parliament and called for new legislative elections later this month, after the far-right National Rally scooped up nearly one-third of the vote in Sunday’s …

Read more “French leader calls for new legislative vote after far-right victory in EU polls”